Split the Sky (coretta Scott King Author Honor Title) by Marie Arnold

Split the Sky (coretta Scott King Author Honor Title)

Marie Arnold

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers · Hardcover · September 9, 2025

A Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book!

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Who it’s for
Visions turn justice, sacrifice, and personal choice into an uneasy, absorbing read.
Genres
Activism & Social Justice, African American YA, Prejudice & Racism for Teens
Published
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, September 9, 2025

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About this book

A Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book! In this haunting story about family, legacy, and sacrifice, a young Black girl living in a Texas sundown town must find the courage to stand up for what’s right even when it means facing impossible choices—perfect for fans of Dear Martin and The Hate U Give. Fifteen-year-old Lala Russell is doing a bad job at being a Black girl.

Continue reading

She has social justice fatigue, and she doesn't want to join the Black Alliance Club at her school (even though she agrees with them). A gifted cellist, she’s focused on leaving her small town and accomplishing her goals and dreams. But Lala has also inherited another gift, her grandmother Sadie's gift of foresight. She has visions of the future—and they always come true. In Davey, the Texas sundown town she lives in, there is growing tension, as a Black organization attempts to diversify the nearly all-white part of town. Amidst violent protests, Lala has a vision. In it, a Black teenage boy is shot in the chest by a white homeowner. Now Lala has a mission: find the boy and save him. But Grandma Sadie has a vision too. After the boy's murder, a wave of protests breaks out. And the outrage over the casual and frequent slaying of unarmed Black children will result in unprecedented change. Change that won’t happen if the vision is altered. Lala is faced with an existential question—can she allow herself to sacrifice one life to, in turn, save many? And if so, whose life will she choose?

Visions and Choices

Visions turn justice, sacrifice, and personal choice into an uneasy, absorbing read.

Come here for

  • A supernatural thread woven through questions of racial justice
  • Tension between personal dreams and public struggle

Expect

  • A gifted cellist facing an impossible moral choice
  • A haunting story with no easy answers

Where it sits

Prejudice & Racism for Teens72%
African American YA54%
Activism & Social Justice51%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • African American YA
  • Music Stories for Teens
  • Prejudice & Racism for Teens
  • Violence & Trauma
Show all 5 publisher categories
  • Activism & Social Justice
Authors
Marie Arnold
Publisher
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published
September 9, 2025
Format
Hardcover
Reading lane
African American YA