Center for Teaching & Learning

Marlee is known merely as the mute math whiz at the end of the summer of 1958 in Little Rock, Arkansas. She hates to talk to people outside her family, and counts prime numbers in her head when she gets nervous. As the fight for integration rages through the town, Marlee’s own world starts to crumble when the high schools are shut down and Judy, her older sister and best friend, is sent away for school. Marlee is left with the company of her school’s queen bee, Sally, and her parents, who just don’t seem to understand her. Little does she know that when she meets Liz, the new girl in her grade with a “lovely tan,” her life will change forever.
Liz is everything Marlee isn’t. She’s outgoing, but, more importantly, she’s understanding, welcoming, and stands up for herself. As Liz is accepted in the middle school, a friendship blooms, and things start to look up in Marlee’s life. For once someone her age really understands her. But when Liz leaves school suddenly, Marlee figures out that Liz was passing for white. Marlee needs to make a decision. Will she do what is right or what is easy? She decides to do what’s right, and she continues her friendship with Liz secretly. Soon she discovers the true dangers that accompany her decision and that both their families are at risk.
I loved how Levine incorporated Marlee’s personal growth into the plot development. As the book unfolds, Marlee is forced out of her comfort zone and compelled. to do the right thing. The first-person perspective adds metaphor to the story, because Marlee has nervous tics that show her emotions. As I read this book, I realized how segregation affected everyone: Marlee’s neighbors, friends, and even family turn against each other in the fight for the integration in schools. The book fills with suspense when the wrong people find out that Marlee is still associated with Liz’s family. I couldn’t put it down. It fascinated me how people could actually get killed because of how they looked, and I admired Marlee for standing up for what she believes in. She learns to accept people for who they are and not their differences.
Everyone who reads this story will get lost as they are transported back into 1958, where no one was safe being themselves. They will travel with Marlee through her adventures. The Lions of Little Rock is a captivating book that will change everyone’s views on the civil rights movement forever.
 
Sydney
Puffin, 320 pages