Witness (Scholastic Gold)

About this book

Newbery Award winner Karen Hesse’s story about a community on the brink of disaster!

Leanora Sutter. Esther Hirsh. Merlin Van Tornhout. Johnny Reeves . . .These characters are among the unforgettable cast inhabiting a small Vermont town in 1924. A town that turns against its own when the Ku Klux Klan moves in. No one is safe, especially the two youngest, twelve-year-old Leanora, an African-American girl, and six-year-old Esther, who is Jewish.

In this story of a community on the brink of disaster, told through the haunting and impassioned voices of its inhabitants, Newbery Award winner Karen Hesse takes readers into the hearts and minds of those who bear witness.

Reviews

Distinctions and Praise for Witness:

Christopher Medal Award
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
An ALA Notable Children's Book
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year

* "This lyrical novel powerfully records waves of change and offers insightful glimpses into the hearts of victims, their freinds and their enemies." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

* "Remarkable and powerful... a thoughtful look at people and their capacity for love and hate." --School Library Journal, starred review

* "What Copland created with music, and Hopper created with paint, Hesse deftly and unerringly creates with words." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review