Making Friends With Billy Wong

Azalea is not happy about being dropped off to care for Grandmother Clark. Paris Junction is nothing like her Texas hometown. And now she's been thrown together with, troubled Willis DeLoach, gossipy Melinda Bowman, and Billy Wong, a Chinese-American boy who has his own troubles. Billy's parents own the Lucky Foods grocery store, where days are long, and folks aren't always friendly. Inspired by the true stories of Chinese immigrants who came to the American south during the civil rights era, this poignant story reminds us all that home is where our hearts reside, and that friends can come to us in the most unexpected ways. This brilliantly nuanced novel is delivering a unique literary format. The story is told from two points of view: Billy Wong is rendered in clipped verse narratives that are interspersed with Azalea's emotionally expressive prose.

 

Augusta Scattergood is the author of Glory Be, a National Public Radio Backseat Book Club selection andThe Way to Stay in Destiny, an “Amazon Best” pick. A children’s book reviewer, her articles appear inThe Christian Science Monitor, and Delta Magazine. She lives in St. Petersburg, Florida, and Madison, New Jersey. Visit her at www.augustascattergood.com