Book Review: "Lunch-Box Dream" by Tony Abbott

Review by: Tina Marriott, reference assistant and teen advisor

"Lunch-Box Dream" takes place during one week in the summer of 1959 and involves two families-- one white, one black-- and two troubled boys, Jacob and Bobby.

Bobby, who is white, is traveling south with his mother, grandmother, and older brother Ricky in his grandfather's old car. The family is going to a funeral, and south of Cleveland they stop to tour historic Civil War battlefields, President Lincoln's train and Indian grounds.

Jacob, who is black, is traveling north from Atlanta. He has a completely different life from Bobby. He is taking the bus from the city to the country where he will spend time with family members. An accident cuts short Bobby's and his family's trip, and they must return home on the bus, where they witness an incident that changes everything for the two boys. What Bobby's family doesn't know if the reason for Jacob's family's desperation to be on the bus.

Some of "Lunch-Box Dream" is based on actual accounts of Jim Crow laws in action, while other parts are fictional. It is a story of young boys, death and civil rights during the 1950s and 1960s. This book is an excellent story about segregation and racism in our country's history, and it will leave readers with a lot to think about when considering race relations.