It's been awhile since I read this but remember that I enjoyed it a great deal. It is set in the South and is a story of 2 women, one black, one white, who share a friendship despite the turmoil of violence and racism in their community.
From the back of the book: "This powerful tale, rich with the cadences of the South, is a dazzling debut novel that has been compared to the works of Alice Walker and Toni Morrison. At its heart is the story of Cass and Allie, two young women, one white, one black, sharing a friendship amid the divisive and violent racism of rural 1913 Texas. But when a murder turns the town of Copper Crown into an inferno of lunching and riots, Cass and AAlie make a startling decision -- to strike out on their own in search of a life where a person's heart, not race, is what counts. Lane von Herzen draws upon actual occurences and family history to spin this moving, courageous tale of racial hatred and the redemptive power of love."
