For Lamb - Lesa Cline-Ransome - ★★★★.¼

AUTHOR: Lesa Cline-Ransome

GENRE: YA Historical Drama.

RATING: 4.25 Stars.

In a Nutshell: Slow but hardhitting. This is one YA book that will work wonderfully even beyond its target age group. Good for literary fiction lovers who like character-oriented fiction.

Story Synopsis:

Late 1930s. Jackson, Mississippi. Lamb is a young studious girl who is protected at every step by her mother Marion and brother Simeon. Marion is a hardworking seamstress while Simeon is a clever boy who has earned a college scholarship on his own merit. All three of them however have their major flaws. Lamb is naïve, Marion is dominating, and Simeon is impulsive.

When Lamb allows a white girl to offer her friendship, their lives will change in an irreparable manner.

The story is written in the first person perspective of various characters.

Note: Don’t read the blurb if you don’t like spoilers. It reveals almost the entire story!

Where the book worked for me:

😍 Have you ever experienced a book that leaves you frustrated and furious and devastated and hopeful at the same time? This book subtly churns all possible intense emotions without going over the top.

😍 While there is a lot of brutality in the book, there is nothing much on page. The author creates impact without sensationalising her writing, allowing the events to speak for themselves while also catering to its target reading segment.

😍 The personalities of the individual characters are written in a very nuanced style. Not once will you question why someone behaves a certain way.

😍 I loved the strong bond between the central trio—Lamb, Simeon, and Marion. It was heartwarming and realistic.

😍 The ending is spellbinding and shocking, while being somewhat bittersweet. There are some things settled, and some things left for us to guess. But it does perfect justice to the story.

😍 Tackling white supremacy and black lynching in a YA book isn’t an easy task, but the author goes just as dark as required. Her focussed approach makes this a good enough read even for adults.

😍 The author’s note left me stunned. The data she provides are shocking. That said, I admire her reason for choosing the names of the Black characters in this book.

Where the book could have worked better for me:

😐 There were too many first person perspectives. While they were written well, it became a bit tedious to keep switching across character voices, especially in the final quarter when the jumps happen more frequently. The first person helps us to know the characters’ inner thoughts especially in times of crisis. So this point has a positive side too. But maybe some of the minor character perspectives could have been written in third person.

😐 It was too slow. (Character-oriented books are always relatively slower, but this was even slower than usual.)

😐 The setting is somewhat underdeveloped, though I am unsure if this is because it was a YA novel. I would have loved some more insights into the town and the time period.

😐 Unlike what the blurb suggests, the LGBTQ angle is barely present in the story.

I wish publishers learnt to keep some things secret in the blurb. This book’s blurb leaves nothing for us to discover. I am not allowing this to affect my rating as this isn’t a flaw of the book. But it still needs to be mentioned: leave a little for us to find out!

Despite the (mostly minor) flaws, this is a book that will not leave me easily. The characters, especially, Marion, are the main reason to pick up this impactful novel. There are some brutal scenes off the page, but as the topic covers Black lynching, I guess you should be prepared. It is not an easy read by far.

Strongly recommended to those wanting to read a powerful but slow-paced YA novel. This is one author whose books will now definitely be on my radar.

My thanks to Holiday House and NetGalley for the DRC of “For Lamb”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

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A Note not connected directly to the book: (No offence intended.)

These incidents of lynching are no doubt a horrid part of US history. I am sure many white US citizens feel sad or possibly even ashamed of this part of their ancestors’ lives. But we all know that US history isn’t just about lynching, and there are good sides to and good citizens in the country too. I will certainly not take this single book and generalise it to the whole US, saying something like, ‘My opinion of the US has drastically dipped after reading this book.”

Could I please request you all to extend the same courtesy to India (and to the other countries you know nothing about) when you review? I recently read a review (for a fictional novel set in India) by a US reviewer, who wrote and I quote, “In fact, my regard for Indian society dropped several notches after reading this book.” It is one of the most judgemental and ignorant comments I have ever read, and I didn’t expect this from an experienced reviewer. It has been bugging me ever since, and I am glad I found an opportunity to get it off my chest. India isn’t perfect, but can you name any country that is? As Jesus said, “Let who is without sin cast the first stone.”