Crossing Blood

This little volume by Nanci Kincaid, the fourth book of hers that I have read, kind of made me squeamish, as I envisioned the budding romance between Lucy and her black neighbor, Skippy. Because I just knew Lucy was "walking on eggshells" in her life in 1960's Florida.First of all, Nanci Kincaid does know the South. She has lived it and it shows in her books, especially this coming of age story of Lucy Conyers and her family.And Nanci Kincaid understands the life of a child of divorce, or really abandonment. Lucy's life, that of the stepdaughter of a noble Southern man, Walter, a man who has clear cut prejudices and no softening on the issues, is a story of the way things were for Southeners of the time of the Civil Rights struggle. But most important in this little novel of love across racial boundaries is the simple fact that the folks of the South did not always participate in the BIG picture that the TV histories show. The era of marches and murders and bombings and sit-ins doesn't quite reach Lucy and her family. But the line between black and whites is there, even though Lucy's family has a good life in their simple home at the end of California Street, just on the line of immediate next-door-neighbors who are the forbidden black lowlifes of the town. Of course, such a statement is an oversimplification of the relationship of Lucy's family with Melvina and Old Alfonso Williams and their children. For in the real world of those times, white and black performed a social dance that made things appear like they could not really care for one another or enter into one another's lives, but in truth, they were very much meshed together. Yet the line was there. Lucy's beautiful mom, a clearly non-prejudiced white woman, is rescued and loved by Walter. And she owes him the loyalty of a woman who doesn't cross the racial line, although she does, by writing a letter to the editor of the local newspaper defending civil rights. Lucy knows that Skippy is forbidden to her, but she can't help her heart. And it is that forbidden relationship that eventually whirls the world of California Street into tragedy. This is a beautiful little story, one that even Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the noted black writer who is married to a white woman, says that black readers can enjoy.I am not black, but I believe this story could have happened. And it reminds me of the tone one finds in "The Secret Life of Bees". Nanci Kincaid is an author I do recommend.

i absolutely love this book. my mom knows the author and she said that nancy grew up on that line dividing the two sections. myfriends and i all adore it!!

Nancy Kincaid draws you into her novel with vivid passages and dialogue that will have you laughing out loud. Her main character Lucy embodies all emotions of the 60's south with an understanding wise beyond her years. It takes you from her mothers' idealistic naiveté to her stepfathers' racial undercurrents and her forbidden crush on Skippy the colored boy from next door.This novel touches on important social issues without being preachy, yet managing to entertain you all the way. Crossing Blood is important reading and if I were a high school teacher it would be required reading.

This book is an ideal "read" for the person who loves Southern tales that inspire, reminisce, and entertain. The characters are colorful and realistic, to be sure, but for me the best part of Crossing Blood is the beautiful and unique way that Nanci Kincaid tells her story. As an English teacher who reads all the time, I can confidently place this novel in the top ten of my all-time favorites.

Ms. Kincaid writes a beautiful, sensitive story about coming of age in the deep south in the 60's. She explores race relations and family relations in a way that is both insightful and entertaining. I am surprised some one hasn't snapped up this story for a movie!