It’s Vermont, 1924 and the Ku Klux Klan comes to a small town in Vermont and recruits. Written in verse and told in the voices of different people in the town, Witness tells the story of how the Klan affected a small Vermont town; an aimless 18 yr. old Melvin joins the KKK to feel he is a part of something bigger than himself; 12 yr. old Leonora Sutter, the only African American girl in town, watches as life slowly gets more frightening; Sara Chickering who cares for and loves 6 yr. old Ester Hirsch, a motherless Jewish girl, and has no use for the Klan at all. As the KKK begins to assert more power over the town, things begin to get dangerous for Esther and Leanora. After the Sutters are threatened and someone shoots at Mr. Hirsch, many people in the town come out against the Klan. This is a quiet story with a very positive message. I enjoyed it and found the telling of the tale from the points of view of different townsfolk to be very effective.
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