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“The difference between a dreamer and a visionary is that a dreamer has his eyes closed and a visionary has his eyes open.

~Martin Luther King, Jr., August 28, 1963

If you haven’t already, I would recommend reading my post titled Book Review #13: “No Ordinary Sound: A Melody Classic” before diving into this review.

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Melody’s story continues just as the New Year of 1964 is rung in.

Along the way, she tries to answer her pastor’s “Challenge to Change” as a 10-year-old would. She decides on fixing up the neighborhood playground. With the help of her friends, family, and community, Melody learns many lessons throughout the winter, spring, and summer.

While Melody learns about leadership and community involvement in Detroit, the story also follows the oldest sister, Yvonne, in the South, plus a family trip to Birmingham, Alabama. The rich history of the year 1964 is interwoven – The passage of the Civil Rights Act, Freedom Summer, and the disappearance of  civil rights workers James Chaney,  Andrew Goodman, and Michael “Mickey” Schwerner.

It was a good mix of tragedy and triumph in the book. Like the first volume, once I started reading, I couldn’t stop!

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I originally wasn’t planning on buying, or reading, the third volume. The BeForever series has the two classic volumes, and the third is designed to be a “choose-your-own-adventure” style read.

However, after reading the “sneak peek” at the end of volume 2, I’m definitely interested! It sounds like a great adventure – No pun intended.

Plus, one of the characters is named “Ms. Stricker,” which I think is awesome!

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I’ll leave you with one other quote that struck me.

“As far as I am concerned, freedom summer never really ended.”

~Victoria Gray Adams

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4 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂