The year is 1973 and Daniel Musgrove's cantankerous dad has been transferred again. This time, his parents are hauling him and an older brother and a younger sister from Indiana to the Deep South -- Mississippi. The family gets off to a rocky start as they happen upon a fiery wreck on the highway, only to discover it's their moving van filled with all their possessions. Of course, dad was too cheap to take out insurance for the move.
That's how life goes for young Daniel as he arrives in Mississippi. He moves from one mini-saga to another throughout the book. His only friend and sidekick, Tim Cousins, shares many of these experiences from taking homely twins Dianne and Debbie to the prom, getting caught up in a hit-and-run accident and starring in a Baptist musical named Christ! Daniel also befriends Arnita, a beautiful black girl who's been crowned prom queen and is the victim of the hit-and-run. Arnita suffers a head injury and now thinks she's a white girl named Linda.
As I was reading this novel, I could almost hear the narrator of The Christmas Story reciting this story to the reader. The book has the same matter-of-fact, descriptive tone to the writing that's very honest, funny, nostalgic and comforting at the same time. Childress truly has a gift for capturing the sights, smells and sounds of the 70s in hilarious detail. ONE MISSISSIPPI is a fast- paced blast from the past capturing high school absurdities, family strife and general teenage angst in 70s techno-color style. For any kid who grew up in the 70s, this book is a fantastic, zany trip down memory lane.
When Daniel Musgrove's family moves to a small Mississippi
town at the beginning of his junior year, he faces all the
pain and thrills of adolescence, with extra helpings of
hormones and humiliation. But then he meets Tim, a fellow
outsider, and the two become fast friends. You only need
one best friend, Daniel reasons, to make it through high
school alive.
Together, they negotiate the triumphs and tribulations of
junior year: going to the prom in sky blue tuxes β it's
1973, after all β playing in an original Baptist musical
entitled "Christ!," and an unforgettable encounter with
their secret heroes, Sonny and Cher.
But when the first-ever black prom queen of Minor High
School is hit by a car and emerges from her coma believing
she's white, Daniel and Tim find themselves caught up in a
shocking chain of events that leads to a shattering climax.
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