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A review by jecoats
Finding Langston by Lesa Cline-Ransome
5.0
I saw this book sitting on the shelf of one of my co-teachers bookshelves at Mather High School. The name “Langston” caught my eye as I had recently taught the poetry of Langston Hughes to my freshmen students during my student teaching. The book has won the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction (2019) and was nominated for the Coretta Scott King Book Award (2019).
In the book, young Langston is a middle school boy living in Chicago in the late 1940s. He and his father have recently moved north from Alabama after the tragic passing of Langston’s mother. Langston feels out of place and lonely in the city, finding little solace in the mostly wordless dinners he shares with his father. One day, while trying to avoid a trio of boys that bully him, Langston discovers the George Cleveland Hall Library, and is drawn to a book of poetry by Langston Hughes. He discovers a connection of sorts to his home and his mother through the words he reads. However, he keeps his discovery of the library and his affinity for poetry a secret from his father. After Langston’s grandmother dies and his father returns to Alabama to take care of her affairs, Langston discovers more black poets and visits the library more frequently, losing himself in their stories. As the book ends, Langston has not only found himself; he has also found a place to call home in the cold, unfamiliar surroundings of Chicago.
Finding Langston is short, coming in at just 104 pages. However, Lesa Cline-Ransome’s writing is tidy and concise, packed full of information and a lot of raw emotion. The story is told from Langston’s point of view, and we learn much about him, watching him grow from a timid child to a young man who finds his voice in the poetry of black poets. The title has two meanings - Langston finding the poetry of Langston Hughes and Langston finding himself throughout the narrative.
The story is set against the backdrop of a Chicago that is in its industrial prime. Everything feels devoid of life and vibrancy, save for the library and the books Langston finds. Although the setting feels distant, I think author Lesa Cline-Ransome does this intentionally to demonstrate how practical yet impersonal major metropolitan areas were in this era. Chicago doesn’t feel like an epicenter of culture - it feels like a machine constantly grinding away. Seen this way, the book certainly meets the requirement from Children’s Books in Children’s Hands that historical fiction should “bring the setting to life” without “[overwhelming] the story” (p. 275).
I personally thought this book was an incredibly authentic portrayal of life in the 1940s. From the stoic father, to the self-hating bullies, and even the shy but poetic minded protagonist, each character behaves in ways that are believable for the time period (p. 275). The dialogue is strong, and each character has a unique voice without sounding like a caricature.
Finding Langston could act like a mirror - to a point. I only say this because I’m not sure how easy it would be for students to see themselves reflected in a character whose circumstances feel archaic to their own. That said, I think it is important that BIPOC students have access to stories that contain characters that resemble them and that reflect the authentic lived experiences of those characters, even if those experiences are from 80 years in the past. Books like Finding Langston can be used to demonstrate similarities between young people of the past and the youth today, and help our current students realize they are not alone in their experiences. A book like Finding Langston could certainly be used to establish a sense of empathy and belonging in any classroom.
In the book, young Langston is a middle school boy living in Chicago in the late 1940s. He and his father have recently moved north from Alabama after the tragic passing of Langston’s mother. Langston feels out of place and lonely in the city, finding little solace in the mostly wordless dinners he shares with his father. One day, while trying to avoid a trio of boys that bully him, Langston discovers the George Cleveland Hall Library, and is drawn to a book of poetry by Langston Hughes. He discovers a connection of sorts to his home and his mother through the words he reads. However, he keeps his discovery of the library and his affinity for poetry a secret from his father. After Langston’s grandmother dies and his father returns to Alabama to take care of her affairs, Langston discovers more black poets and visits the library more frequently, losing himself in their stories. As the book ends, Langston has not only found himself; he has also found a place to call home in the cold, unfamiliar surroundings of Chicago.
Finding Langston is short, coming in at just 104 pages. However, Lesa Cline-Ransome’s writing is tidy and concise, packed full of information and a lot of raw emotion. The story is told from Langston’s point of view, and we learn much about him, watching him grow from a timid child to a young man who finds his voice in the poetry of black poets. The title has two meanings - Langston finding the poetry of Langston Hughes and Langston finding himself throughout the narrative.
The story is set against the backdrop of a Chicago that is in its industrial prime. Everything feels devoid of life and vibrancy, save for the library and the books Langston finds. Although the setting feels distant, I think author Lesa Cline-Ransome does this intentionally to demonstrate how practical yet impersonal major metropolitan areas were in this era. Chicago doesn’t feel like an epicenter of culture - it feels like a machine constantly grinding away. Seen this way, the book certainly meets the requirement from Children’s Books in Children’s Hands that historical fiction should “bring the setting to life” without “[overwhelming] the story” (p. 275).
I personally thought this book was an incredibly authentic portrayal of life in the 1940s. From the stoic father, to the self-hating bullies, and even the shy but poetic minded protagonist, each character behaves in ways that are believable for the time period (p. 275). The dialogue is strong, and each character has a unique voice without sounding like a caricature.
Finding Langston could act like a mirror - to a point. I only say this because I’m not sure how easy it would be for students to see themselves reflected in a character whose circumstances feel archaic to their own. That said, I think it is important that BIPOC students have access to stories that contain characters that resemble them and that reflect the authentic lived experiences of those characters, even if those experiences are from 80 years in the past. Books like Finding Langston can be used to demonstrate similarities between young people of the past and the youth today, and help our current students realize they are not alone in their experiences. A book like Finding Langston could certainly be used to establish a sense of empathy and belonging in any classroom.