Cline-Ransome, Lesa. Being Clem. Fiction. Finding Langston Series; bk. 3. Holiday, 08/2021. 256pp. $17.99. 978-0-8234-4604-9. OUTSTANDING. GRADES 5-7.
African American Clem used to be the boy who made his family laugh. But after his father’s death in the Port Chicago disaster in California, Clem is struggling. His world is dominated by his older sisters, a mother he feels responsible for cheering up, and a schoolyard bully he has become an accomplice to. But Clem is smart and sweet and determined to find a way to honor his hero father’s name. Fully realized characters and a detailed setting in 1940s Chicago weave together in a resonant story about a boy who has been slammed by fate yet navigates his way through school and fraught friendships to find unexpected ways to live up to the legacy of a father he barely remembers. While this is the third and final book in Cline-Ransome’s trilogy, it stands alone. Both Langston (Finding Langston, 2018) and Lymon (Leaving Lymon, 2020) appear as important characters, but no knowledge of the two previous books is necessary. This book contains California-specific content.
