Title: One Grey Night It Happened
Author: Michael Fields
Publisher: Xlibris
ISBN: 978-1984577368
Genre: Young Adult
Pages: 212
Reviewed by: Ella Vincent
Pacific Book Review
One Grey Night It Happened is a haunting book that deftly deals with heavy topics like racism, school shootings, and corruption. Michael Fields has written an excellent book that readers will love.
One Grey Night It Happened is set in the 1980’s and tells the story of Jeremiah Willis, a white young man from the rural mountains of Central Pennsylvania. Jeremiah befriends an African-American teen, Lucas Bradshaw. Lucas is involved in a school shooting, but is falsely accused of being the perpetrator by racist police officers. Once Jeremiah and Lucas team up to try to clear his name, their lives change in unimaginable ways. Jeremiah and Lucas are complex and compelling protagonists. Jeremiah is a troubled young man that is isolated from most of the world by his overprotective grandfather. He’s learning about the outside world and the ugliness of society from Lucas. He wants to live in a modern world with his friends, but also wants to preserve his simple way of life.
Lucas is a fascinating character in the novel. He’s fighting racist stereotypes against African-Americans in his mostly white school. He also wants to be friends with Jeremiah despite the racial tension in their rural town. Lucas could have been embittered by the racism he encounters from law enforcement officials. However, he overcomes the hatred he deals with in his loving friendship with Jeremiah.
The friendship between Lucas and Jeremiah is the centerpiece in this book. Both young men come from different worlds and racial backgrounds, but still find common ground. In a refreshing change from other young adult books, Jeremiah and Lucas don’t offer easy answers and glibly overcome the complex subject of race. While they of course can’t solve the problem of racism in the novel, they grapple with the complicated issue in their own way.
While One Grey Night It Happened deals with heavy subjects, the story also has light moments as well. Jeremiah and Lucas are still typical teenagers who want to impress young girls. Lucas focuses on sports and teases Jeremiah because he doesn’t know popular movies. Fields also deftly ties in song lyrics from the 1960’s into the story-line as well. Songs from folk artists like Pete Seeger about justice at the beginning of chapters accentuate the themes in the novel. Even the title of the book is clever reference to a Peter, Paul, and Mary song.
This book continues the alternative gritty and emotional themes that Michael Fields writes about often. One Grey Night It Happened is a compelling and unique novel that readers will not be able to put down.
