Betsy Brown

Betsy Brown was a great young adult novel. I really enjoyed the spin it took on the integration of education in America. I have never read anything taking an adolescents perspective on the situation. It definitely kept my interest. I felt bad for Betsy when her friends’ parents wouldn’t let her play in the house, and when they called her vulgar names. I can not imagine what that must feel like, especially from adults. The fear I felt when reading the night before school part, was overwhelming. The things she thought would happen to her and her family members were horrible to think of. Then she faced her fears and eventually made friends in her school. Yet her cousin did not have the same welcoming in his school. In my opinion, young children can be accepting of differences while older children have a harder time excepting change. Her poor cousin was jumped and beaten very badly for now reason other then that he was African American. At least in this situation, the children had family and friends to turn too. The adults in the Brown family were very supportive and helped them stay strong. Not every child had those luxuries. Reading about the integration of education from this perspective was very interesting, I truly felt for every child in the Brown family.