BOOKS

Hiding in the Light is a young adult, action-adventure, coming of age story about the effects of bullying and the measures one takes to be accepted. Set in the South in the late 1960’s, it’s the journey of Joseph Graham’s efforts to find himself and accept himself while facing the injustices of adversaries. They mock his differences: His looks, his speech, and his thoughts are different from the other boys. This brings unwanted attention from the neighborhood bullies.

The bullies and the affluent within his community all draw lines in the sand, and Joseph is pushed to the middle. He searches for a way to escape his life of lack. But poverty, anger, and abuse offer no open doors. So, he struggles to stand and fight the slings and arrows of his haters until his moral compass is shattered. Joseph becomes a pawn in the street game of thuggery. Trying hard to prove himself and fit in, he takes on the persona of his alter ego.

When we left Joseph “Jay Gee” Graham, he had overcome his bullies with the help of his family, his crew, and his mentor; Mr. Thompson. He went on to become the only underclassman on his basketball team and won the heart of his beloved Lanesha. He had begun to accept himself and his difference. However, at the end of the school year, it was announced: Due to the law to desegregate all public schools, West Side High would be closed. All the kids on the West Side of the railroad tracks must attend school on the East Side.

Integrated Schools had come to Reservoir City.

Knowing at the white school the odds will be stacked against him to make the basketball team, his ticket out of that cesspool of a town and fulfill his promise to his Mama is looking more uncertain than ever. With his brother and confidant Lavelle off at war, his best friend Benny Lee in Juvie, and no word from Lanesha; he’s alone, isolated, wondering if all the marching and protest was worth it. Amidst all the confusion, Jay Gee is finally told the family secret concerning him which complicates matters even more.

Faced with a crisis in their home, neighborhood, adolescence, and now integrated school, Jay Gee and the crew must choose between the culture-stripping new school environment or join Reservoir City’s New Underworld growing around them and tracing the steps of their daily walk Over the Tracks

The Storm raged. Nothing was clear anymore. The turbulence inside its fury distorted my panes. My world was blurred, different, as I looked out. Nothing was the same. It challenged others trying to look in. The commotion demanded I sound the alarm. But sadness, loneliness, and anger made me keep it to myself. So I soldiered on, hoping someone would save me from the wicked winds and dark forces. Eight months earlier, I was in control. My world danced to my beat. I owned my space. But nothing could have prepared me for this gut-wrenching pain. So much guild, sadness, and anger piled together. The weight was insurmountable. I was told to eat my Wheaties and soldier on. But how do you do that, faced with a life-altering event like this? So, I did as I was taught. I kept my head up and pressed on. I moved forward as best as I could until the road I was traveling became too warped and twisted. I let Darkness in. Now, I needed to find a way back to the Light.