Meridian (PB) (2003)

From Alice Walker, author of the Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award-winner The Color Purple, comes Meridian, a classic novel of both feminism and the Civil Rights movement (Ms.).

Meridian Hill is a young woman at an Atlanta college attempting to find her place in the 1960s revolution for racial and social equality. She discovers the limits beyond which she will not go for the cause, but despite her decision not to follow the path of some of her peers, she makes significant sacrifices in order to further her beliefs.

Working in a campaign to register African American voters, Meridian cares broadly and deeply for the people she visits, and, while her coworkers quit and move to comfortable homes, she continues to work in the deep South despite a paralyzing illness. Meridian's nonviolent methods, though seemingly less radical than the methods of others, prove to be an effective means of furthering her beliefs.

A glowing affirmation of the possibility...of love and forgiveness -- between men and women, black and white. -- Baltimore Sun