Jacksonville Public Library

Your plantation prom is not okay, Kelly McWilliams

eng

no index present

Ages 12 & up, Little, Brown and Company

fiction

Your plantation prom is not okay

1340906591

Kelly McWilliams

"Harriet Douglass lives with her historian father on an old plantation in Louisiana, which they've transformed into one of the South's few enslaved people's museums. It was always her mother's dream to fight racism with education, but since she died, Harriet and her father struggle on alone, running tours that help keep the memory of the past alive. So it feels like a slap in the face when an actress and her influencer daughter buy the plantation next door, with plans to turn it into an event venue and host the antebellum-themed wedding of two Hollywood stars. Harriet won't rest until the neighboring plantation is well and truly canceled. But surprise, surprise: Layla Hartwell, the California influencer, isn't so bad after all? She swears she's ready to start using her social media platform for good . . . just hold her green juice. Things are finally looking up . . . but when her school announces that prom will be held on the plantation, too, Harriet's just about had it with this whole racist timeline! Overwhelmed by grief and anger, it's fair to say she snaps. Can Harriet and Layla use the power of social media (hello, clock app!) to cancel the celebrity wedding? Will Harriet accept that she's falling in love with her childhood best friend, suddenly returned after years away?And through it all, can Layla and Harriet build a bridge between them? This sharp-witted novel tackles heavy topics with humor and heart. And no -- that plantation prom (and wedding) is really not okay!" --Book jacket

adolescent