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New Harvest/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
October 2013
On Sale: October 26, 2013
ISBN: 0988829088
EAN: 9780988829084
Paperback
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Fiction
It's 1968. The winds of change are descending on Fairmont
and engulfing the small South Carolina town in a tornadic
frenzy. The public schools are finally being completely
integrated. Mossy Springs High School is closing and its
black students are now attending formerly all-white Fairmont
High; the town is rife with racial tension. Several black
youths have been arrested for tossing firebombs at a handful
of stores. White citizens form a private academy for the
purpose of keeping their kids out of the integrated school
system. The Ku Klux Klan is growing. Reese Knighton arrives on the scene at precisely the right
time. The principal of Fairmont High School, Claude Lowell,
becomes superintendent of the school district. Lowell
chooses Preston Shipley, currently the football coach, to
replace him as principal and hires Knighton to coach the
team, thus forcing Knighton to find common ground with
Willie Spurgeon, the successful Mossy Springs coach who has
been passed over for a job he richly deserves. At The Intangibles center is the Hoskins family, their
relationships to those living within the town of Fairmont
giving rise to a memorable cast of characters. Tommy Hoskins
is a local businessman and farmer who is a supporter of the
team, on which his older son, Frankie, plays. Frankie s best
friend is Raymond Simpson, who lives in a shanty on the
Hoskins farm. Another of Frankie s friends, Ned Whitesides,
is a spoiled bigot. Clarence Click Clowney is the talented,
rebellious quarterback from Mossy Springs. Al Martin is the
staunch black tackle who becomes the glue that keeps the
integrated team together. Twins James and Joey Leverette are
the sons of professors at local Oconee College. Curly Mayhew
coaches rival Lexington Central. Laura Hedison is a white
cheerleader. Jorge Heredia is a tennis player at the college
who sells drugs on the side. Aubrey Roper is a college girl
who exerts a corruptive influence on Frankie Hoskins. The county sheriff, a turncoat within the team, Ned
Whitesides father, the loyal assistants, militants both
black and white, a doctor, a lawyer, local businessmen, and
others all add fuel to the fires of prejudice and fear of
the unknown that are raging in the town of Fairmont. This is a story of a high school football team that puts
aside its differences, never realizing that, outside its
bounds, the world is unraveling. It's a story about the
cultural changes, good and bad, that take place when two
societies shift and finally come together. Ultimately, The Intangibles is a story of triumph achieved
at considerable cost.
Comments
3 comments posted.
Re: The Intangibles
I am intrigued and I would love to read The Intangibles. High school times,
football, cheer leading , integration ....that was all part of my past. Thank
you for the opportunity to be a winner.
(Melanie Backus 9:13am December 14, 2013)
You put in quite an interesting cast of characters for your book, and I'm anxious to find out how they all come together in your story!! Growing up in Detroit, things were quite a bit different, so I would find this book a bit refreshing. Congratulations on your book, and your upcoming book as well. Have a wonderful Christmas, and all the best in the upcoming New Year!!
(Peggy Roberson 11:23am December 14, 2013)
Thank you for writing this story that aligns with many of your readers past. We all can relate on different levels. Congratulations on your latest book, please keep bringing these characters to life for us.
(C Culp 6:41am December 16, 2013)
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