To LIBERATE is to be free from a state or situation that limits freedom.
The Liberation of Gabriel King is a beautiful story about the power of friendship and the ability of two children who face their fears in order to become liberated during a time of social, racial, economic, and political turmoil. The story provides a wonderful backdrop for teachers and parents to discuss historical issues that have relevancy today.
This is NOT simply a story of courage.
This is a quest toward becoming fearless!
Jimmy Carter, 39th President and former Georgian peanut farmer, comes to play a significant role in K.L. Going’s historical story about Gabriel King and his best friend Frita Wilson as they spend summer in small town Georgia between fourth and fifth grade. The plan is for each of them to become liberated from a very specific list of fears. Gabe is terrified of spiders and is bullied ruthlessly. But Frita, by far, has the biggest obstacle to overcome—racism and the KKK of the late 70s.
Setting the stage—a word from our Pages teacher and resident historian, Miss Lori:
“Protagonists Gabriel and Frita are children living in a small town in Georgia. It is 1978. America is in a bad place. The country had just been through Watergate. It is the end of the Vietnam War. Jimmy Carter is president. The economy is down the drain. Both Gabriel and Frita’s fathers respected fellow Georgian, Jimmy Carter, because he publicly refused to join the White Citizen’s Council in his town. His business was consequently boycotted. David Duke, in 1974, was named the Grand Wizard of the newly formed KKK.”
Note regarding the derogatory word utilized in the context of this story:
The implications of the KKK’s hateful views are exposed contextually through the delivery of a derogatory word spoken by a hateful antagonist. The author’s intention here is to sensitively expose middle-school readers to the extremely demeaning power of this single word. In the context of the story, Frita has just gotten into a fight with Duke and Frankie, a fight which is broken up by Gabriel’s dad. Duke’s racist father scolds his son, “You got beat up by a n***** girl (page 15)?” The whole interaction is observed by white adults, but the only person who confronts Duke’s dad is Gabriel’s father. Later in the story, Frita tells Gabriel about her and Terence’s (her brother) horrible experience with the KKK burning a cross on their front yard. The presentation of the trauma caused to Frita is handled deftly by the author to bring the reader alongside the liberation Frita desires and to cheer her on.
By encouraging students to ask questions in class and encouraging parents to continue difficult conversations at home, we equip our students with the ability to process feelings as they navigate the harsh realities of racism. Kirkus Review reminds us: “Readers will enjoy following the sometimes-tempestuous friendship of Gabriel and Frita, and they’ll be completely absorbed in watching the friends and their community come together to stand up against the evil within.” The stated purpose of this publications is to support the curation of library collections with both books of literary merit and inclusive content.
“My best friend, Frita Wilson, once told me that some people were born chicken.”
“Ain’t nothing gonna make them brave,” she’d said. “But others, they just need a little liberatin’, that’s all.” Least that’s how Frita told it.”
We hope that readers will continue to be inspired by this powerful story to go forth liberated beginning with this wonderful sneak peak from Penguin Random House.