Get the weekend started by joining a local author at the Library of Virginia for a book talk, casual conversation, and book signing. Presented by the partnership between the Virginia Shop and James River Writers, the Book Break series offers the opportunity to connect book lovers to new titles and local authors. Reading the book beforehand is encouraged, but never required—just bring your curiosity and a desire to meet new people.

Robin Farmer will join us for Book Break to discuss her new novel, Malcolm and Me. After clashing with her Catholic school teacher over Thomas Jefferson’s enslavement of people, thirteen-year-old Roberta Forest questions religion and adult hypocrisy at school, home, within her Philadelphia parish, and nationwide as the Watergate scandal unfolds. Young, gifted, Black, and Catholic, Roberta is unsure about the Catholic part. As she fixates on winning an essay contest to solve all her problems, setbacks teach the aspiring writer that solutions, like truth, can be complex. Gradually, Roberta learns to change course, embraces the power of forgiveness, and becomes a budding social justice activist with the help of the best teacher she never had: Malcolm X. Capturing the explosive and elusive nature of truth, Malcolm and Me is a gritty and graceful coming-of-age tale about truth, race, family, and faith.

Join us at our March Book Break to learn more about Farmer and her novel, Malcom and Me. For more information, please call the Virginia Shop at 804.692.3524 or email shop@thevirginiashop.org.

This is a free event. Registration is optional. Please register here if you would like to receive a reminder email about this event.