Hemingway, Three Angels, and Me

Gr 6–10—It's 1953, and 12-year-old Jerry is visiting family in Arkansas. He is invited to listen to a guardian angels' meeting about Anna Kristina, a 16-year-old black girl pregnant by rape. The baby's father is a white man whose family is influential and racist, and the angels fear for the baby's safety. Jerry's first task is to enlist the help of Ernest Hemingway, who once wrote a piece about Anna Kristina's birth and is currently staying at a Little Rock hotel. Upon his return home to rural New York, Jerry acquires further help from various members of the community. Things come to a head at Christmastime, when Jerry, his uncle Don, and his friends Holbrook and Mary Crane embark on a rescue mission, flying to Little Rock and bringing Anna Kristina back with them. The pacing is inconsistent; although the story ends with a whirlwind adventure, nearly a third of the book is spent introducing the people and attitudes of Jerry's hometown. The scenes with the angels seem out of place given the otherwise realistic historical setting. Although the introductory author's note identifies this as a book for "the entertainment of the young," it is perhaps more enjoyable as a work of nostalgic fiction for readers who remember 1953, especially since many of the characters and events are taken directly from the author's own family.