New YA novel explores race, identity in Jim Crow South

Published: Thursday, February 17, 2022 - 12:36pm
Updated: Monday, October 10, 2022 - 1:52pm
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Bill Mullen
Kelly McWilliams.

Biracial fraternal twins separated early in life are brought back together as teenagers in the Jim Crow South. But these sisters have had very different experiences because of their skin color.

Magnolia is white-presenting and lives on a southern plantation, while Charlie presents as Black and is a civil rights organizer in Harlem.

That’s the premise of a new young adult novel by author Kelly McWilliams, called, "Mirror Girls." McWilliams is the daughter of writer and Arizona State University professor Jewel Parker Rhodes.

The Show spoke with her and asked how she went about trying to write about this time specifically, living and discovering oneself in the Jim Crow South.

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