Author: Varian Johnson
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books Copyright: 2018
"I don't care how many courses you take or how many books you read. You'll never understand what it means to be a Negro. You'll never face the discrimination they see everyday. You'll never struggle the way they do."
Synopsis:
The Parker Inheritance is a page-turning mystery set in the small southern town of Lambert, South Carolina. The main character, Candice, has to move to Lambert with her mother for the summer after her parents' recent divorce. She dreads the boring summer ahead, until she finds a mysterious letter in her deceased grandmother's attic. The letter reveals that there is a puzzle to be solved in order to discover a hidden fortune in the small town. The letter also alludes to a town tragedy that deserves justice through solving the puzzle. Candice befriends her bookish neighbor, Brandon, from across the street and the two go to great lengths to solve the puzzle and find the fortune. The book shifts between the present with Candice to the past as we learn about the characters that deserve justice during the time of the Jim Crow Laws in the 1950s. Through this nail-biting mystery, the author provides a significant history lesson for the readers.
Themes:
Varian Johnson was able to incorporate several themes into The Parker Inheritance. Johnson addresses racial injustice, bullying, love/friendship, and sexuality. Readers develop empathy towards the characters in both time periods as Johnson tells their authentic and captivating stories.
Racial issues during the Jim Crow era are discussed as Johnson has the reader go back in time to learn about the Washington family and the injustice that is associated with their town. The Washington's are an African American family of three in the town of Lambert. The father, Big Dub (Enoch), is the tennis coach at Perkins High School (the school for the African Americans in the 1950s). His intelligent and kind daughter, Siobhan, also attends school at Perkins. While racial tensions are already running high through the town, Big Dub decides to challenge the all-white tennis team from the other school to a match. While the game was private, the team from Perkins wins fair and square, even though the other team doesn't see it this way. After the game, Big Dub is jumped by three white men along with a member of the team, Reggie. The Washington family knows they have to leave town and move to Maryland because it will no longer be safe for them in Lambert. Reggie, who is in love with Siobhan, also has to move out of town to Mississippi. Another Coach from Perkins helps Reggie find a new home and tells him that he has to leave his past behind. Reggie ends up changing his name and pretending to be white in order to succeed in life. Johnson uses powerful language to develop empathy towards these characters as they have to leave everything behind after they were beaten because of the color of their skin.
"Coach Douglas also schooled Reggie on how to pass as white...How to sit calmly at the front of a bus, or walk into a restaurant that was for whites only. How to look white people boldly in the eye and see them as peers, not the enemy. And when necessary, how to put down and further degrade his own people in order to protect his new identity."
Along with racial issues, Johnson also addresses sexuality in The Parker Inheritance. Through their friendship, Candice learns more about Brandon. She learns that he has a best friend, Quincy, who is out of town for the summer. She discovers that Quincy went to stay with his grandparents for the summer after coming out as gay to his family and friends. While his loved ones are fully accepting of his sexuality, the bullies at school think other wise. Quincy starts to get ridiculed by the boys at school, along with Brandon. Candice wonders if Brandon is also gay, but Johnson lets the reader decide if he is or not. Along with Quincy, Candice also discovers that her father is gay. Her parents are recently divorced, and Candice finds out that her father is now dating a man named Daniel. While Candice was shocked, she was fully in support of her father's happiness. Through telling these stories, Johnson inspires the reader to be like Candice when she learns of her father's sexuality. Johnson also inspires us to take a stand when someone is being bullied based on their sexual preferences.
"He had to hide his real self. She had been at her father's office enough to hear some of the crude jokes. How did it feel to listen to things like that everyday, knowing the people you worked with thought horrible things about who you really are?"
About the Author:
Varian Johnson was born in a small southern town called Florence, South Carolina. His hometown is much like the town of Lambert in The Parker Inheritance. Johnson is an #ownvoice insider as he is part of the African-American community and has experienced several of the same injustices as the characters in the novel. For instance, when Brandon was younger, he was stopped at an airport with his identical twin brother to be searched for drugs. Johnson and his twin had not been doing anything wrong, but they were stopped because of the color of their skin. This situation is similar to the situation that Candice and Brandon have to endure when a principal stops them based on the color of their skin.
Johnson has written several award-winning books including The Great Green Heist, A Red Polka Dot in a World Full of Plaid, and My Life is a Rhombus. However, The Parker Inheritance has received several starred reviews and was named a 2019 Coretta Scott King Honor Book and a 2018 Boston Globe-Horn Award Honor Book.
Please enjoy this Scholastic podcast interview with Varian Johnson:
Instructional Potential:
There are several key points in this novel that can be used in the classroom for discussions, lessons, and activities. In the article titled Culturally Diverse Literature, the author discusses the "dangers of a single story". As educators, we must bring in a diverse classroom set that discusses various cultural, religious, and sexual differences among individuals. "As we are thoughtful in selecting literature we add to the curriculum, we also must be thoughtful in considering students and their communities" (Boyd, Causey, & Galda, 2018). As I reflect back on my personal elementary and secondary education, I often remember reading books that reflected my own culture. I find it difficult remembering texts that discussed other cultures and religions apart from mine. The few times that I was presented with a multicultural text, I became engaged and interested to build my knowledge on a culture different from mine. As an educator, I hope to incorporate an abundance of multicultural books in order to prevent the "dangers of a single story". Every student should have the opportunity to see themselves reflected in a book. However, we must not put one culture above another by only featuring those texts in our classroom.
"If children never see themselves in books, they receive the subtle messages that they are not important enough to appear in books and that books are not for them. Conversely, if children see only themselves in the books they read, they come to the conclusion that those who are different from them are not worthy of appearing in books." (Boyd, Causey, & Galda, 2018)
The Parker Inheritance provides an opportunity for educators to discuss racial injustices and issues in relation to the Civil Rights Movement and the Jim Crow Laws. This is an excellent source to use while learning about this significant time in our history.
This novel would be a good source to use when creating an anti-bullying campaign in the classroom. Brandon is bullied by Milo and other students as they call him names and cause him physical harm. Students should be able to discuss how this is unacceptable, how to prevent this behavior, and how to "take-action" in overcoming the issue.
Educators can facilitate discussion about love and friendship in relation to Brandon and Candice.
What does it mean to be a good friend?
What are the best ways to make a new friend?
What does friendship mean to you?
How are Candice and Brandon an example of friendship?
Do you think Candice and Brandon will continue to be long-distance friends?
The Parker Inheritance provides a great opportunity for students to write a Persona Poem. The students can choose from various characters in either time period to write their poem about. Students will develop empathy towards their character as they evaluate their experiences, feelings, actions, and thoughts.
Connected Texts:
"Teaching with connected texts has immense benefits" (Ciecierski, 2017). As educators, we should promote intertextuality in order to build higher comprehension in our students. Our students learning will be enhanced, their knowledge of the content will evolve, their learning will become real and relevant, and they will have a greater enthusiasm for learning (Ciecierski, 2017). The Parker Inheritance provides an excellent opportunity to promote intertextuality in the classroom. The novel discusses several historical and present issues that need other texts to assist in comprehension.
The Westing Game is an important text to read prior to The Parker Inheritance. This novel is incorporated into the puzzle that Candice and Brandon have to solve in order to find the treasure.
"While there are many works that inspired this book, I would be remiss if I didn't specifically highlight The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. Thank you, Mrs. Raskin--your novel captivated me as a child, then again as an adult." -Varian Johnson
This poem by Langston Hughes is so important to read and discuss with students as they read The Parker Inheritance. Siobhan reads this poem to Reggie as he struggles with the discrimination he faces everyday.
"Before you go, tell me that poem again that you like so much," he said still holding on to her. "The Langston Hughes one." She squeezed him tighter, wishing she could make this moment last forever. Then she began to recite: I, Too, Sing America."
A link to more connected texts with The Parker Inheritance:
Resources
Boyd, F. B., Causey, L. L., & Galda, L. (2015). Culturally Diverse Literature: Enriching Variety in an Era of Common Core State Standards. The Reading Teacher, 68(5), 378-387.
Johnson, V. (2018). The Parker Inheritance. Scholastic.
Ciecierski, L. M. (n.d.). What the Common Core State Standards Do Not Tell You About Connecting Texts. The Reading Teacher, 71(3), 285–294.