Down Sand Mountain, Steve Watkins
Down Sand Mountain, Steve Watkins
List: $35.99 | Sale: $25.20
Club: $17.99

Down Sand Mountain

Author: Steve Watkins

Narrator: Dan John Miller

Unabridged: 7 hr 14 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/22/2011

Synopsis

It’s the fall of 1966, and twelve-year-old Dewey Turner is determined to start the school year right. No more being the butt of every joke. He’ll be cool—a Lone Wolf like his older brother, Wayne. But an accident with shoe polish dashes these hopes—and earns Dewey his worst nickname yet. He finds an unlikely friend in Darla Turkel, the only person at Sand Mountain High who is more of an outcast than he is. Through their friendship, Dewey comes to learn a whole lot about his small town, and about the world outside it, too: things about racism and segregation, secrets, and standing up for what’s right.“There is neither too much nostalgia nor message, and readers will be haunted by the drama of harsh secrets close to home.” —Booklist (starred review)“Watkins pulls off an incredible feat in this novel capturing the racial prejudices and Vietnam War tensions of the era.” —Voice of Youth Advocates

About Steve Watkins

Steve Watkins is the author of Great Falls, Juvie, and What Comes After. He teaches journalism, creative writing, and Vietnam War literature at the University of Mary Washington in Virginia and he works as an advocate for abused and neglected children.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Walt

I don't think Dewey Turner and his friend, Darla, ever make it together down Sand Mountain. You'll have to read the book --- or, perhaps, you already have --- and tell me if they do. My recollection is leaning toward one conclusion about that issue --- it's been a while since I finished it, but you......more

Goodreads review by Adele

I found this book a little unusual in that I didn't particularly like the main character, but I did really sympathize with him. The book deals with some pretty heavy issues from the perspective of the twelve-year-old protagonist, and the reactions and thoughts seemed to me age-appropriate and believ......more

Goodreads review by Jennifer

Reviewed by Grandma Bev for TeensReadToo.com It's 1966 and there is still a lot of racial tension and discrimination in this small Florida town. The Vietnam war is in high gear, and Dewey Turner has many personal issues to deal with. Dewey desperately wants to be the "Shoeshine Boy" in next year's mi......more

Goodreads review by Int'l librarian

The sights this book inspires are so pure and strong that, in one sense, nothing else matters. Dewey Turner is socially awkward, often scared, and naïve – even for a 7th grader. But most of all he’s sincere. The setting is a struggling town in 1960s Florida, a wasteland built on the phosphate indust......more

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