It is also the story of an ever-changing city. Southland explores the fragile understandings and sometimes painful misunderstandings that occur across the lines of race and culture. In the process, Jackie unearths the long-held secrets of her family’s history - and her own. Along with James Lanier, a cousin of one of the victims, she tries to piece together the story of the boys’ deaths. While trying to fulfill a request from his will, Jackie discovers that four black teenagers were killed in the store during the Watts Riots of 1965 - and that the murders were never solved or reported. Frank was a veteran of World War II who, many years before, had owned a store in the Crenshaw District, one of the first racially mixed neighborhoods in the city and now the heart of L.A.’s black community. A young Japanese-American woman, Jackie Ishida, is in her last semester of law school when her grandfather, Frank Sakai, dies unexpectedly. In Southland, her award-winning second novel, Nina Revoyr brings us a compelling story of race, love, murder, and history against the backdrop of Los Angeles. Numerous Campus Reads and Community Reads Selections Libération (France) “50 Books for the Summer-2007” Winner of the ALA’s Stonewall Honor Award Winner of the Ferro-Grumley Literary Award

One of LAist’s “20 Novels That Dared To Define A Different LA”

Southland nina revoyr sparknotes