SUMMER OF HAINT BLUE

In 1960 Louisiana, a White teenage boy grapples for the first time with segregation in this YA historical novel.

Growing up near the small town of Cotton Landing, Justin Joseph Couvillion lives with his mother, Ella Mae, and his Cajun grandfather, Osma Couvillion, a farmer. Justin isn’t sure why he and his mother go by her maiden name, and Ella Mae is vague on the subject, saying only that his father was killed in World War II before he was born. At the age of 15, the boy hasn’t thought much about politics or civil rights, being much more interested in girls, football, and his future as a farmer. Justin’s mother believes that segregation is wrong, but Grandpa Oz maintains that “it’s just better that we live separate,” according to the Bible and common sense, even though “there are a lot of good, hardworking colored men and women who earn respect.” Somewhat paradoxically given his belief in separation, Grandpa’s closest neighbors are Black men whom he respects: farmer Rev. Green and retired lawyer Samson Xavier. Justin wants to be just like his grandfather—a Couvillion living on Couvillion land who is proud of his Cajun heritage—but several new people and events in his life lead him to question his grandfather’s logic. These include meeting the fiery Ali, Rev. Green’s niece from New Orleans; reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; and observing the community reaction when someone sets fire to Rev. Green’s church. Justin also becomes aware of racial complexities, including how light-skinned Black people look down on ones with darker skin. Visiting New Orleans, where his mother wants them to move, Justin learns some surprising news about his father and a family heritage that makes him reconsider even further his beliefs about separating the races.

Martinez, whose previous YA novel, Cajun Chameleon (2018), similarly centered on ’60s segregation issues in Louisiana, does a good job of capturing the state’s various subcultures, not just Black and White, but also rural and urban. He takes the story beyond what could be a mere morality play to show the complexities of race and class prejudice, as when lighter-skinned Black citizens look down on darker ones as outsiders or when a Black maid for a rich White family sneers at Justin’s background. That said, the tale has some problematic elements, such as telling the segregation story from a privileged White point of view and Justin’s playing the savior role for Black and/or disabled characters. Grandpa Oz’s clashing beliefs and the revelations about Justin’s background had the potential to be the novel’s most compelling episodes, but instead, the book skips ahead 10 years, by which time Grandpa has somehow reconciled himself to integration. The tale’s discussion of social issues can seem anachronistic, such as the term alternative lifestyle for gay sexuality. Justin also has a dream that curiously anticipates significant plot elements in a 1969 Star Trek episode.

An often thoughtful but flawed take on historical racism.