2019 First Novelist Award from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association
An âurgent and heartrending novel about an America on the brinkâ (Matt Gallagher, author of Youngblood), They Come in All Colors follows a biracial teenage boy who finds his new life in the big city disrupted by childhood memories of the summer when racial tensions in his hometown reached a tipping point.
Itâs 1968 when fourteen-year-old Huey Fairchild begins high school at Claremont Prep, one of New York Cityâs most prestigious boysâ schools. His mother had uprooted her family from their small hometown of Akersburg, Georgia, leaving behind Hueyâs white father and the racial unrest that ran deeper than the Chattahoochee River.
But for our sharp-tongued protagonist, forgetting the past is easier said than done. At Claremont, where the only other nonwhite person is the janitor, Huey quickly realizes that racism can lurk beneath even the nicest school uniform. After a momentary slip of his temper, Huey finds himself on academic probation and facing legal charges. With his promising school career in limbo, he begins to reflect on his memories of growing up in Akersburg during the Civil Rights Movementâand the chilling moments leading up to his and his motherâs flight north.
With Hueyâs head-shaking antics fueling this coming-of-age narrative, the novel triumphs as a tender and honest exploration of race, identity, family, and homeland, and a work that is âemotionally acuteâŠeye-opening and rewarding for a wide range of readersâ (Library Journal, starred review).