The Baptism

Starred review from February 5, 2007
Moses (The Legend of Buddy Bush
) crafts a poignant and memorable voice in that of 12-year-old narrator Leon Curry, through his humorous observations about family, race and paternity in the tiny North Carolina community of Occoneechee Neck in Jackson. During the week leading up to his baptism, Leon feels ambivalent about whether he can or really wants to surrender lying and sinning for salvation—especially as his twin brother, Luke, is "Mr. Goody Two-Shoes most of the time," and, a year past being "saved," his big brother, whom the twins call Joe Nasty, remains "just as mean as a rattlesnake." Plus, Leon says, "I am going to miss sinning some kind of bad. Sinning is the main reason I get out of bed in the morning." But he tries for his Mama's sake, despite missing his dad ("a good man with bad luck," killed by "white trash" Mr. Pollard, who owed Leon's father 15 dollars). and resenting his lazy, dishonest stepfather ("Ma is so smart about everything but Filthy Frank," he says). He defines the immutable rule of the town as "you can't mess with these fine white folks and get away with it," and their white landlord won't acknowledge that he and Leon's mother share the same father. Readers will utterly believe Leon's precociousness and likely savor his gentle gaffes, such as describing his gossipy cousin as "nothing but an ease dropper." Ultimately, during this combustible week, various tensions bubbling below the surface of the Southern niceties erupt and, although Leon's family almost loses everything, the power of love and family ties proves truly transformational. Ages 12-up.

Moses won acclaim for her first children's book, THE LEGEND OF BUDDY BUSH, based on her childhood in rural North Carolina and a hero who narrowly escapes lynching. Next, in 1940, we find Buddy's 12-year-old twin cousins on the verge of baptism in racially charged Occoneechee Neck, North Carolina. There's a week to go until the ceremony, a step that is especially important to their strict, religious mother. Brother Luke, known as "Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes," will be fine at being good, but narrator Leon is having a hard time getting through even the next week without sinning. This is a perfect book for audio--it's dialect-rich and protagonist-strong. Muhammad Cunningham's spunky, saucy reading shines and carries listeners along, augmenting the print version. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine