Title: Loving vs. Virginia: A Documentary Novel of the Landmark Civil Rights CaseAuthor: Patricia Hruby Powell
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Published Date: January 31st 2017 by
Genre: YA, History, Poetry
Page Count:260
Format: Kindle
My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★★
Goodreads Summary:
From acclaimed author Patricia Hruby Powell comes the story of a landmark civil rights case, told in spare and gorgeous verse. In 1955, in Caroline County, Virginia, amidst segregation and prejudice, injustice and cruelty, two teenagers fell in love. Their life together broke the law, but their determination would change it. Richard and Mildred Loving were at the heart of a Supreme Court case that legalized marriage between races, and a story of the devoted couple who faced discrimination, fought it, and won.
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My Review:
"The freedom to marry has long been recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men."
Told in verse this book, shows the true story of Richard and Mildred Loving a mixed race couple in the 50's.
Going into this book I really didn't know much about anything about this couple/case besides the fact that they went against not only the government, but how most people at the time believed things should still be. The bravery that these two had to continue to fight for what they and so many others deserved is just amazing to me and I am so grateful for them. They had to fight for something that should have been able for anyone to do together no matter the color of their skin.
As for the couple themselves though, at first I did struggle to like Richard. I felt like at times he took advantage of the age difference that he and Mildred had, that had her being slightly naive when it came to certain things. Also I didn't like that he didn't stick around to help Mildred out when consequences happened for something they both participated in. When he came back though and had changed his ways enough that made it possible for them to be a family, I started to be okay with him though. Especially when he was working in Virginia even though they were having to live in Washington, it showed me that he was dedicated to providing for his family and making it work between him and Mildred despite all of the roadblocks they had ahead of them.
Mildred has to be one of the strongest people I have ever read about. Not only did she try to make the best out of what was happening around her, she also kept fighting for what she wanted despite Richard getting tired of the fight and just wanting to give up at one point.
As for how accurate this novel is in comparison to what actually happened to Mildred and Richard, I honestly have no idea. But I do hope to read more about them in the future to continue to learn about this point in history.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.
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