Official Review: Growin' Up White by Dwight Ritter
Posted: 07 Feb 2021, 20:19
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Growin' Up White" by Dwight Ritter.]
Growin’ Up White is a fictional book written by Dwight Witter. It follows the life of young Richard ‘Ricky’ Stoner, the son of a pianist and a doctor, as he navigates a racially divided Indianapolis in the 1950s and the 1960s.
Ricky Stoner lives with his parents and two brothers, Andy and Spike. His mother, a pianist, devotes more of her time to stroking the keys of the grand piano than she does on motherhood. His father, a doctor, is often busy with tending to patients, coloured and white alike. When Georgey, a coloured lady who grew up with his father, comes to their house to work as a maid, Andy and Ricky are initially wary of the fat, overly affectionate woman. Over time, they warm up to her, seeing her as a part of their family. Ricky eventually ventures into Georgey’s abode on the other side of town, a place where he’s not too welcome. Seen as an outcast for his whiter-than-white skin, it takes a whole lot of bravery to attempt to bridge the race gap. His efforts pay off, earning him the grudging acceptance and respect of the black community. Soon, Ricky must make a choice about which side of Indianapolis he really calls home, facing the nastier side of humanity when he eventually does. With a splendid blend of daring, diverse characters and a superb plot, this book guarantees a satisfyingly touching read.
I loved the depth to Growin’ Up White. What I liked the most was that this book was taken from a childlike perspective. We get to see Ricky’s maturation and his slow realization of the difficulties people of a different race face. My favourite parts involved Ricky and Arkie, his best friend, and their antics, especially when it came on to their comebacks and retorts. One such scene has Ricky butchering the names of the books of the Bible, namely Generous, Licorice, and Deutoronomus.
I believe that Growin’ Up White did a marvellous job of portraying the tense racial atmosphere of the mid-twentieth century. The disparity between the white and black populations was illustrated in varying ways, be it their music, housing, attitudes, or foods. Some profanity was used, though only sparingly. Trigger elements were present, including rape, the use of slurs, and other types of discriminatory actions, so readers should be made aware of these before reading.
The only part of this book I disliked had to do with the writing quality. This book had numerous errors littered throughout it, mostly in the form of punctuation mistakes. It should be noted that Ritter employed creative license with respect to character dialogue, so this was not counted in the cataloguing of errors. Apart from this, there were several inconsistencies with the naming of the characters. One example is that Georgey’s son’s name is established as Leon in the first third of the book. Later, in a story she tells Ricky, it becomes Sam. I assume this book was not professionally edited.
I rate Growin’ Up White 3 out of 4 stars. This book was a wonderful read which I greatly enjoyed. The number of errors counts as the only shortcoming, so I think a deduction of one star is fair. I would recommend this book to people who like reading coming-of-age stories rife with racial tension. I do not think people who prefer light, fluff fiction would enjoy this book.
******
Growin' Up White
View: on Bookshelves
Growin’ Up White is a fictional book written by Dwight Witter. It follows the life of young Richard ‘Ricky’ Stoner, the son of a pianist and a doctor, as he navigates a racially divided Indianapolis in the 1950s and the 1960s.
Ricky Stoner lives with his parents and two brothers, Andy and Spike. His mother, a pianist, devotes more of her time to stroking the keys of the grand piano than she does on motherhood. His father, a doctor, is often busy with tending to patients, coloured and white alike. When Georgey, a coloured lady who grew up with his father, comes to their house to work as a maid, Andy and Ricky are initially wary of the fat, overly affectionate woman. Over time, they warm up to her, seeing her as a part of their family. Ricky eventually ventures into Georgey’s abode on the other side of town, a place where he’s not too welcome. Seen as an outcast for his whiter-than-white skin, it takes a whole lot of bravery to attempt to bridge the race gap. His efforts pay off, earning him the grudging acceptance and respect of the black community. Soon, Ricky must make a choice about which side of Indianapolis he really calls home, facing the nastier side of humanity when he eventually does. With a splendid blend of daring, diverse characters and a superb plot, this book guarantees a satisfyingly touching read.
I loved the depth to Growin’ Up White. What I liked the most was that this book was taken from a childlike perspective. We get to see Ricky’s maturation and his slow realization of the difficulties people of a different race face. My favourite parts involved Ricky and Arkie, his best friend, and their antics, especially when it came on to their comebacks and retorts. One such scene has Ricky butchering the names of the books of the Bible, namely Generous, Licorice, and Deutoronomus.
I believe that Growin’ Up White did a marvellous job of portraying the tense racial atmosphere of the mid-twentieth century. The disparity between the white and black populations was illustrated in varying ways, be it their music, housing, attitudes, or foods. Some profanity was used, though only sparingly. Trigger elements were present, including rape, the use of slurs, and other types of discriminatory actions, so readers should be made aware of these before reading.
The only part of this book I disliked had to do with the writing quality. This book had numerous errors littered throughout it, mostly in the form of punctuation mistakes. It should be noted that Ritter employed creative license with respect to character dialogue, so this was not counted in the cataloguing of errors. Apart from this, there were several inconsistencies with the naming of the characters. One example is that Georgey’s son’s name is established as Leon in the first third of the book. Later, in a story she tells Ricky, it becomes Sam. I assume this book was not professionally edited.
I rate Growin’ Up White 3 out of 4 stars. This book was a wonderful read which I greatly enjoyed. The number of errors counts as the only shortcoming, so I think a deduction of one star is fair. I would recommend this book to people who like reading coming-of-age stories rife with racial tension. I do not think people who prefer light, fluff fiction would enjoy this book.
******
Growin' Up White
View: on Bookshelves