Finding Langston by Lesa Cline-Ransome

Abstract

Reviewed by: Finding Langston by Lesa Cline-Ransome Elizabeth Bush Cline-Ransome, Lesa Finding Langston. Holiday House, 2018 [112p] Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-8234-3960-7 $16.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-8234-4110-5 $16.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 3-5 Chicago is not kind to Langston, whose father abruptly moved the two of them out of Alabama in 1946 soon after Mama died. Maybe there were more opportunities for an adult, but the junior high newcomer in Bronzeville finds the city crowded, noisy, dirty, friendless, and utterly devoid of Mama. Langston sees an upside to his new home, though, when he discovers the Hall Branch of the Chicago Public Library, a library that welcomes all residents and even celebrates Black authors in its collection and its programming. When Langston stumbles upon the work of Langston Hughes, he is promptly bitten by the poetry bug and touched by bluesy verses that reach into his heart and his migrant experience. The connection becomes more visceral still when Langston finds a ribboned bundle of letters secreted under his father’s bed that explain the connection between his and Hughes’ given names, and also allow him to understand his parents’ deep love and his father’s grief. This compact novel celebrates libraries and librarians but not at the expense of its real story; solid plotting, local detail, well-chosen poetry passages, and believable adolescent reaction to loss and forced relocation keep Langston’s tale grounded and [End Page 466] engaging. An author’s note offers additional information on the Chicago Black Renaissance and the George Cleveland Hall Branch Library. Copyright © 2018 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois