Out of Darkness

When Naomi Vargas leaves her grandparents in San Antonio and moves to town with her twin siblings' estranged white stepfather Henry, she attends the white New London high school, and falls in love with Wash Fuller, an Afro-American boy. Their interracial relationship comes to a tragic end against the backdrop of the1937 New London School explosion in East Texas that killed 295 students and staff. The novel honestly portrays 1930s racism in the US and explores love, family, cultural identity, community, and racism. Useful for literature circles, journal writing, creative non-fiction writing, and cultural studies. Social considerations are noted.