These were terrible, turbulent and quite shameful times in human history. Thanks to the fight of campaigners a law was passed that said black students had as much right to be in white schools as the white students. Segregation has had it's stronghold across the USA, separate schools, bathrooms, transport, the lot. Something they're both determined ignore.īecause its one thing to stand up to an unjust world – but another to be terrified of what’s in your own heart. And Sarah and Linda start to feel something they've never felt before. But as a school project forces them to spend time together, the less their differences seem to matter. Sarah and Linda have every reason to despise each other. This is one of those books that should be in EVERY high school curriculum, up there with books like To Kill a Mockingbird.Īnd it's Sarah Dunbar's first day of school, as one of the first black students at the previously all-white Jefferson High.Īnd certainly not the students – especially Linda Hairston, daughter of the town’s most ardent segregationist. This powerful and emotive novel created a whirlpool of emotion in me, it stunned me, angered me, moved me and made me think and feel on a whole new level. Lies We Tell Ourselves is one of these books. Every now and then a book comes along that is important, not just a book that is enjoyable, but significant and thought provoking. This book is still relevant sadly in 2023 ** ** I’ve just re-read this incredible book as part of my journey of reading more about the painful differences in history and today of how black and white people are not equal. This is one of those absolutely must read books. (basically, Sarah remarks A LOT that she doesn't matter and only The Movement TM does to her parents.) like the author, i'm a lesbian, so i can just imagine how *I* would feel if a straight person observed an intra-community disagreement, and then wrote a book where they had a lesbian character spout off the straight author's interpretation of it.

there's zero reason for Sarah to fall in love with Linda, other than the fact that apparently debate gets her hot and bothered and there'd be plenty of that in their relationship.Īdditionally, i'm uncomfortable with a white author using a black character's voice to assign motivations for desegregation or other black politics to black people. in order to make that relationship work then, for the reader, you've gotta be really good and make there be really strong reasons. she may draw the line at physically assaulting the black students, but that doesn't make her any less racist. this book happily marches into the 'oppressed and oppressor fall in love' trope. and ruth, the little sister, is a fantastic character who has her own pov chapter at the very end and i loved that. first off, the author did a lot of research, as she notes in the end, so props for that.

Lies we tell ourselves by robin talley