Young Adult/Teen

168

The truths of life and death, the horrible brutality of racism, and the power that comes with the discovery of inner courage.

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Muscle and Blood is the story of two teenage boys--one white and one black--growing up in rural Western Kentucky during the turbulent late 1960s. Ben McEntire is the son of a prominent farmer; he is torn between his family's expectations for his artistic talents and his own longing to work the farm like his brothers. Ben is isolated and misunderstood until he meets Alex Jones. Alex is an impoverished black youth whose family is mistrusted and disliked by the whites in the community. Ben and Alex's friendship develops through an eruption of controversy and prejudice, a hatred that threatens to consume their families and, ultimately, their lives. Ben and Alex, however, have a bond which race and culture cannot break, a devotion that transcends the limits of bigotry. Through his relationship with Alex, Ben learns of the truths of life and death, the horrible brutality of racism, and the power that comes with the discovery of inner courage.