Former Council for Wisconsin Writers board member, Jennifer Morales, reports that her book, Meet Me Halfway: Milwaukee Stories, has received recognition in two venues. First, it has been chosen as the inaugural title to represent Wisconsin in the Center for the Book Great Lakes Reads program. Below is the announcement. Meet Me Halfway also is receiving a Wisconsin Library Association Outstanding Achievement award.
Wisconsin
Meet Me Halfway: Milwaukee Stories by Jennifer Morales
When Johnquell, an African American teen, suffers a serious accident in the home of his white neighbor, Mrs. Czernicki, his community must find ways to bridge divisions between black and white, gay and straight, old and young. Set in one of the nation’s most highly segregated cities—Milwaukee, Wisconsin—Meet Me Halfway tells stories of connections in a community with a tumultuous and divided past. In nine stories told from diverse perspectives, Morales captures a Rust Belt city’s struggle to establish a common ground and a collective vision of the future. She gives life to multifaceted characters—white schoolteachers and senior citizens, Latino landlords, black and Puerto Rican teens, political activists, and Vietnam vets. As an activist mother in the thick of Milwaukee politics, Morales developed a keen ear and a tender heart for the kids who have inherited the city’s troubled racial legacy. With a critical eye on promises unfulfilled, Meet Me Halfway raises questions about the notion of a “postracial” society and, with humor and compassion, lifts up the day-to-day work needed to get there.
CWW salutes and congratulates Morales for these two excellent acclamations for her book.