Across the Thin White Lines Author:Jim Green The year is 1948. Shortstack Johnson is a seventh grader in a small Southwestern town that is divided between whites on the north and Mexicans on the south. The schools are segregated. Struggling with this conflict of cultures, the twelve year old must decide between right and wrong in his own eyes, as he observes the attitudes of his friends an... more »d the adults around him. This major theme is interwoven into the exciting and fun things, the traumas and desperations, and the coming of age that Shortstack experiences.
Across the Thin White Lines is a humorous look at a serious subject through the eyes of this youngster. Its also a look at life, family, feelings, and choices in small town U. S. A. From the nightmares about the dreaded flume that all boys must challenge at thirteen to the overwhelming fear that the town police chief may discover his secret, from the encounter with the criminal hobos to the cross-town conflicts with the Mexicans, Shortstack and his friends make an indelible mark on their small community.« less