Annies Story My Parents and Other Strangers

Annie's Story is the story of a seventeen-year-old girl growing up in a small town in California. The book begins in the summer of 1990 when Annie Maitlin decides to make a change in her life. She is tired of the life she is living in a small town that is stuck in the fifties. She wants something to happen her last year of high school, something different, something that will make her life just a little more important before she leaves.What happens is more than Annie could have imagined. She makes choices that lead her down a very different path from the one she has lived most of her life as obedient daughter and popular cheerleader. She meets and falls in love with a Jewish boy. And she quickly learns what life is like for others.Her friends and her town, as well as her own parents, reveal their narrow mindedness, prejudices, and fears. White supremacy and Neo-Nazism find a home in her small town. What begins as supposedly harmless childish pranks and petty jealousies escalates to violence. Annie sees some harsh realities and faces racism as well as her own prejudices. She makes sacrifices and stands up for what she believes is right. Along the way she discovers her true gifts and wisdom.Annie's Story is the story of love and courage and growing up enough to face the truth. And to speak it.