Half-Truths

A white teenager grapples with racism in Baldwin’s YA historical novel.

Katie, a 15-year-old white girl living on a rural tobacco farm in North Carolina in 1950, dreams of a life beyond her family’s land. Her mother comes from a long line of farmers; her father, born into a wealthy Charlotte family, gave up his own gilded future to support them. When the KKK parades into town with support from much of the white working-class community—including Katie’s grandparents—she begins asking questions. Her father has always believed in equality (“Other stores in town won’t serve colored folk. Somehow, Daddy persuaded Mr. Smith that it was the right thing to do”), and Katie follows suit. Outraged by the rising hatred, she brings her observations to Horace Carter, the town’s progressive newspaper editor (and a real historical figure), who publishes them. The experience propels Katie toward journalism, and her parents agree to send her to live with her paternal grandparents in Charlotte to receive a better education. There, Katie faces new class expectations and the deep-seated racism in elite white society. She bonds with Lillian, the granddaughter of her grandmother’s Black maid. As their friendship deepens, a family secret comes to light. Katie’s decision to write about the revelation cements her determination to stay in Charlotte and become a journalist. Katie’s story closely hews to the “white savior” narrative, focusing on a white character’s journey toward allyship. However, the novel also makes space for Black characters to speak. Additionally, the narrative’s intersectionality regarding race, class, and gender complicates the trope, posing a question too few white-centric historical novels ask: What does it mean to benefit from systems you also want to critique? Despite its flaws, the novel is a worthwhile read.

YA historical fiction that treads the line between white savior narrative and profound meditation on racism.