Leaving Lymon

About Leaving Lymon

A companion novel to Finding Langston, recipient of a Coretta Scott King Writing Honor and winner of the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction.

Behind every bad boy is a story worth hearing and at least one chance for redemption. It’s 1946 and Lymon, uprooted from his life in the Deep South and moved up North, needs that chance.

Lymon’s father is, for the time being, at Parchman Farm–the Mississippi State Penitentiary–and his mother, whom he doesn’t remember all that much, has moved North. Fortunately, Lymon is being raised by his loving grandparents. Together, Lymon and his grandpops share a love of music, spending late summer nights playing the guitar.

But Lymon’s world as he knows it is about to dissolve. He will be sent on a journey to two Northern cities far from the country life he loves–and the version of himself he knows. In this companion novel to the Coretta Scott King Honor wining Finding Langston, readers will see a new side of the bully Lymon in this story of an angry boy whose raw talent, resilience, and devotion to music help point him in a new direction.

A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year
A Junior Library Guild Selection!
Named a Best Multicultural Children’s Book by the Center for the Study of Multicultural Children’s Literature
A Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year!
A Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books Blue Ribbon Book



Praise for Finding Langston, a Coretta Scott King Honor Book and winner of the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction

“There aren’t any explosions in this spare story. Nor is there a happy ending. Instead, Langston discovers something more enduring: solace.”–The New York Times

* “this crisply paced book is full of historical details of the Great Migration and the role a historic branch library played in preserving African American literary culture.”–The Horn Book, Starred Review

* “This is a story that will stay with readers long after they’ve finished it.”–School Library Journal, Starred Review

* “The impact on the reader could not be more powerful. A memorable debut novel.”–Booklist, Starred Review

* “A fascinating work of historical fiction . . . Cline-Ransome at her best.”–Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

* “Finding Langston is about cultural heritage and personal growth and, at its heart, about finding home wherever you land.”–Shelf Awareness, Starred Review