Josephine (Kimani Tru)
Grade 7 Up–Set during the Civil War, this teen romance tells the story of love found in the most unlikely of places. Seventeen-year-old Jo Best is a free black living with her family in Michigan. She's beautiful, smart, and ambitious. She's also a trained hairdresser who plies her trade in her own shop. The town she lives in has its share of characters, not the least of which is her best friend, Trudy, who has her head turned by a lothario with surprising consequences. Although the story is historically accurate and informative, the Civil War is merely a backdrop to a tale about young love and its possibilities. A quick, fun read.–Carol Jones Collins, Hanover Park High School, East Hanover, NJCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.