K. L. Going

Gabriel King is afraid of everything: spiders, the rope swing over the lake, andmost of all, going to fifth grade. Frita Wilson, his best friend, decides Gabriel needs some liberating from his fears, so they make a list and plan to tackle each one. But one of the reasons Frita is so determined to help Gabe is that she needs his help too. Hollowell, Georgia in 1976 isn't exactly the most integrated place, and Frita's the only black student in school in a town with an active Ku Klux Klan.

The Liberation of Gabriel King

Kelly L. Going

In Georgia during the summer of 1976, Gabriel, a white boy who is being bullied, and Frita, an African American girl who is facing prejudice, decide to overcome their many fears together as they enter fifth grade.

Nadine 

#civil rights #fear #anxiety
Quick read set in the 70's. Loved the aspect of facing fear and anxiety, which is why I purchased it. The friendship between and white and black student however was a bit of a stretch of the imagination and perhaps a bit of wishful thinking on the part of the author. But loved the fact that it had a strong female protagonist and depicted the possibilities of friendship across racial lines - but as "historical fiction" it would require a bit too much suspension of belief, pity it wasn't set in another time frame as that may have run truer.

The Liberation of Gabriel King

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