Spite Fences

Maggie Pugh lives in a small town in Georgia. In the year 1960 she is thirteen years old. Her family is very poor, living in the bad section of town, far away from the rich folks in the section of town where they have huge houses and a club for boating. But, her mother always says, at least they are white and living in a white section of town. This summer some of the black people living in town start to assert themselves. They begin to challenge the laws that keep them separate from the white people. They go into the bathroom marked "white" at the local drugstore, rather than the one marked "colored." They ask to be served at the lunch counter, rather than having to pay and take their food elsewhere. Things are changing all around Maggie. Maggie begins this summer to look more closely at her own life. Her mother is abusive toward her but adores her seven-year-old sister Gardenia--a little girl so perfect and delicate she wins beauty pageants. Their father is out of work. Their next-door neighbors are cruel, and one of them specifically terrorizes Maggie. Maggie ends up getting a job what will change her whole way of thinking. She begins cleaning the house of a mysterious man, whom she doesn't see but who leaves her notes telling her the work she has done is splendid. But the first rule of the job is that Maggie is not to ask any questions. Why is this man so secretive? This book contains some great characters. Maggie is strong and insightful, Zeke is a quiet presence, George Hardy is intelligent and brings out confidence and reflective thinking in Maggie. Even the villains in the story--Virgil and Maggie's mother--really come to life and add to the story. This story, more than others, gave me a good picture of what the civil rights fight was really like in small towns in the South, on a day-to-day, personal level. It made the conflict much more vivid for me.

I had to read Spite Fences for school, and although the beginning was a bit slow, the pace quickly picked up and made me want to read more. Spite Fences is about a girl named Maggie who deals with many struggles of life in the 1960's. She deals with racism, unfair treatment from her parents and rude neighbors. I would definately recommend this book.

Spite Fences Trudy Krisher When you first read this book about Spite Fences you will know this book is a really good book and you will not want to put it down. This book is about the different between colors and blacks. Or the different about two neighbors. This book is about how Maggie really like to what she wants. She has a camera that she got from a good friend. Her family lives next door to these people that they can't stand at all. They can't clean they house; they have garbage all over the lawn. Maggie lives in a neighborhood were the people are poor. She lives in the neighborhood of whites and her best friend lives in the neighborhood where the blacks live. So, I hope you read this book because I found out its really good. I think that this book is for a reader who likes the peace in this world. If you are also a person who likes to read about a strong person.

I absolutely LOVE this book. Krisher does a wonderful job of creating the character, Maggie, and the hardships of the South in the 1960's. I would recommend this book to anyone, especially issue-oriented young people.

I was looking for some pleasure reading late one night at the grocery store when I picked up this book. Rarely have I encountered characters like Maggie and George Hardy. I not only wanted to know what happens next, I wanted to know their entire life stories. Maggie is an independent spirit being smothered by a small close-minded Southern town and an abusive mother. She is struggling with finding an identity that isn't prescribed for her. Maggie challenges her town's definitions of racial roles at a time when the Civil Rights movement is finding its way into small town Georgia. She is an example of the definition of courage. It doesn't mean the absence of fear, it means not letting your fears stop you from following your heart and soul.This book is best suited for mature middle school and high school readers, but adults will enjoy it at a much deeper level.