Crossing the Line

For readers of The Lions of Little Rock and P. S. Be Eleven, an award-winning middle grade novel inspired by the true events leading up to the 1919 Chicago race riots.Some people think theres a line, and if everybody stays on their side of the line, then well all get along just fine. Thats what Billys da told him, back before he joined up in the Great War. Da said that sometimes, to do whats right, you gotta cross that line. Course, that was before the war ended and Billys da came home with shell shock. Now its up to Billy to be man of the house, to take care of his ma and sisters and work at the docks when he can. He aint no coward, and he dont complain, not even when money troubles mean he has to change schools. Its hard times for all the Irishmaybe even for all of Chicago. And it gets harder when Billy becomes friends with Foster, a black boy who loves baseball and whose daddy went to war, too. What seems like just horsing around to thembuilding a raft, spending time in their secret hideout by the creekstirs up trouble when the rest of the city gets wind of it. Soon, the boys friendship has triggered a series of events that will change both their lives forever. And with racial tensions in the city coming to a head, Billy must decide once and for all what it means to be courageous, to be a friend, and to truly cross the line.