Jericho Walls

By Kristi Collier

Book Overview

Set in 1957, Jericho Walls is an unforgettable and inspiring novel about the power of friendship for a young girl growing up amid racism.

"I woke early that first Sunday in Jericho. The sun was barely a stain in the sky, but the air was hot and clammy. My nightgown stuck to my skin. I padded to the bathroom and splashed my face with cold water. My stomach clenched in a queasy ball . . . I'd keep myself out of trouble in Jericho, I promised myself. I'd do all the right things and make lots of good friends and no one would care a whit about my being a preacher's daughter."

Jo Clawson isn't the boy her father wanted, and she's not the "young lady" her neighbors expect of the preacher's daughter, either. But even though Jo doesn't always meet the expectations of the people around her, she still longs to fit in. When she and her family leave their northern home for the small southern town of Jericho, Alabama, Jo might finally stop picking fights and settle in right.

But when Jo befriends a young black boy, she discovers that "fitting in" is about a lot more than proper manners or a smart outfit. Suddenly she's faced with a new set of questions that call up her own values. Maybe some fights are worth picking, after all.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0805081844
• ISBN13: 9780805081848
• Release Date: March 2007
• Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.3" x 7.6"
• Age Range: 9 to 14 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 9

Customer Reviews

Jericho Walls

Jericho Walls is definitely a book of friendship. It is a rare friendship though, because it is in the 1950's and deals with an 11-year-old white girl named Jo Clawson and a 12-year-old black boy named Lucas Jefferson. Jo is the preacher's daughter so she already has a lot to live up to in her new town of Jericho, South Carolina. However, she also has to make new friends which adds more to worry about. Before she moved to Jericho she had never seen a black person in her life. That all changes when her mother hires a black woman named Abeline to clean and cook for her family three days a week. Jo's parents raised her to treat everyone equal so she soon develops a friendship with Miss Abeline, and eventually a secret friendship with her son, Lucas. She spends long days by the river with him and eventually she finds a friend out of him that she never thought she could have. They go on little adventures together inspired by the ones they read about in books, but soon find themselves on a much bigger and real adventure when their friendship is revealed and the whole town starts talking. They both have to deal with the racist comments of the town, because no one is ready for the change into integration. Throughout all this though, the two stand strong, unlike the walls in Jericho that separate the people and eventually starts to fall down. I thought this was a good book that held many life lessons. It teaches people to not care what other people think, but to follow your heart. It also teaches you not to judge people, because then you can be deceived. It shows everyone how it was like back then and how if you believed in something, you should fight for it, even if you are just a kid. This book was also easy to read and shows a true reality, even though it is fiction. Lauren B

Wonderful! Reveiw by a 12 year old

This is a wonderful book! It tells the story of a young girl who is a preachers daughter and faces always moving from place to place, therefore never having any friends. When Jo moves to Jericho, she finds a new friendship in an unexpected person. She must face the racism in her town and help her friend overcome it and other challenges. This is a wonderful book, for all ages!

Good book for 1950's Civil Rights movement

This book challenges the reader to see life in a 1950's southern town where boundaries, both physical and cultural, divided a town. People, black and white, who recognized the problem and wanted to be an instrument of change had to have tremendous amounts of courage to see it through. This is an excellent book for students to see what challenges have been overcome, and what challenges are yet to be conquered.