The Rock and the River is a young adult historical fiction novel by Kekla Magoon, published January 6, 2009 by Aladdin. It is Magoon's debut novel.
Summary The Rock and the River is a novel about the civil rights movement following fictional character Sam Childs. He is the son of a Civil Rights Activist named Roland Childs who is actively involved with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Sam is thirteen years old and still figuring out who he is. His older brother, and best friend, Stick, starts to drift away, then Sam finds something that will change the rest of his life. This book is a work of historical fiction. Some events (like the Civil Rights Movement) are real, but the characters aren't.
Reviews The book received starred reviews from Booklist, as well as a positive review from Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books and Kirkus.
In their review, Kirkus wrote, "Magoon is unflinching in her depictions of police brutality and racism" and "offers readers a perspective that is rarely explored, showing that racial prejudices were not confined to the South and that the Civil Rights Movement was a truly national struggle."
The audiobook, narrated by Dion Graham, received a positive review from Booklist. +Awards and accolades for The Rock and the RiverYearAwardResultRef.2010John Steptoe New Talent AwardWinnerNAACP Image Award in Outstanding Literary Work - Youth/TeensNomineeAssociation for Library Service to Children's Notable Children's Books for Older ReadersSelectionYALSA's Best Books for Young AdultsSelection2011Audie Award for Young Adult TitleWinnerYALSA's Amazing Audiobooks for Young AdultsTop 102012Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book AwardNomineeBooklist Editors' Choice: Books for YouthSelection
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