A Southern Review of MAGNOLIA: A WILTING FLOWER by a Southern Reviewer of Southern Scribe Reviews

Review that points out how this Southern memoir could be used with young reader groups for working on social issues, as well as to help young people deal with life's problems.

Magnolia: A Wilting Flower
by Barbara J. Robinson
Publish America, 2002
Paperback, $19.95 (201 pages)
ISBN: 1-59129-430-4    
Magnolia: A Wilting Flower is a memoir done in creative non-fiction and aimed for young readers; thus it stands apart from the usual memoir. The collection of short stories set in Ponchatoula, Louisiana follow the young life of Magnolia. The changing South of the 1950s and 1960s is experienced through the young girls eyes.

Magnolia could be an interesting book for young reader book groups, because it covers a number of social issues: the death of a parent; interracial friendships; security at home; homeless men; poverty; education; single mothers; and simply growing up.

Barbara J. Robinson is a middle-grade teacher and the author of middle-grade novels. She is a member of the Florida Writers Association and a member of the Southeastern Louisiana Writing Project. Robinson is a past nominee of the Disney American Teacher Award.

Joyce Dixon
Southern Scribe Reviews

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