Miss Hazel and the Rosa Parks League (Odell) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
This is an important story beautifully told. It is why we read novels. You will care about these characters — and emerge more aware and empathetic because of them.
Christine Brunkhorst - Minneapolis Star Tribune


Jonathan Odell can take his place in the distinguished pantheon of Southern authors.
Pat Conroy


(Review of 2004 The View from Delphia) Prejudice threatens to tear apart a small Mississippi town during the 1950s in Odell's first novel, a well-told but familiar and slow-moving story about a pair of families who find their lives altered by the bigotry of a small-minded sheriff.
Publishers Weekly


(Review of 2004 The View from Delphia) The View from Delphi shows just how racially divided the country was during the pre-Civil Rights era. For readers younger than 40, this can be a learning experience. From the story of Rosa Parks to the fact the blacks weren’t able to vote at the time, there’s a lot of history in this novel. Although Odell doesn’t bring the entire story to one big happy conclusion, he tells a story of human nature as it really is. And in doing so, he makes readers realize how much alike the races really are.
Southern Scribe


(Review of 2004 The View from Delphia) Fast-paced but thoughtful story of a friendship across the racial divide in 1950s Mississippi. Though he never lets whites off for their pervasive racism, African-American Odell is the rare writer on race who allows for a range of responses—and for the possibility of change. Among his finely drawn characters, both black and white, young—five-year-old Johnny is particularly memorable—and old, he introduces two whose lives are blighted by loss.
Kirkus Reviews