The Color of Lies

by Donna Meredith

Forty-year-old widow Molly Culpepper believes her hometown is a place of harmony and white picket fences--until a colleague chalks a racial slur on the blackboard during Barack Obama's presidential campaign. In the uproar that follows, a citizens’ group files a lawsuit alleging discrimination against the high school where Molly teaches. To address the lawsuit’s concerns over academic weaknesses, Molly joins forces with a black minister to plan curriculum improvements and a fundraiser for equipment upgrades. The town’s racial divide becomes personal when Molly clashes with a new black student, J.D. Marshall. His rough language and lack of control disrupt Molly’s classroom, but she is determined to find a way to reach him. Gradually, both Molly and J.D. discover their families have a tangled history involving violence, charity, and misunderstanding. The serious themes of the novel are lightened by Molly's witty voice and the dark humor that stems from the effects of the Great Recession. In addition to problems at work, Molly struggles to raise two boys on her own, to keep her alcoholic father out of trouble, and to find time for romance.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Education

294 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2011

About the author

Donna Meredith's books feature strong women, haloes slightly tarnished.

The Editor of Southern Literary Review, she is the author of six award-winning novels, "Margaret: The Rose of Goodwood," "Buried Seeds," "Fraccidental Death," "Wet Work," “The Glass Madonna” and “The Color of Lies” that are popular with book clubs, as well as the nonfiction book “Magic in the Mountains: Kelsey Murphy, Robert Bomkamp, and the West Virginia Cameo Glass Revolution.”

She’s worn many hats for the Tallahassee Writers Association, including president, vice president, conference chair, newsletter editor, webmaster, and chair of the Seven Hills Review literary contest.

She became a full-time writer after a teaching career in public high schools in West Virginia and Georgia, where she taught English, Newspaper Journalism, and TV Production.

She earned a Bachelor’s in Education with a double major in English and Journalism from Fairmont State College, a Master’s in Journalism from West Virginia University, and an Education Specialist’s degree in English from Nova University. She also studied creative writing at Florida State and served as a newsletter editor for the Florida State Attorney General’s Office. She resides in Tallahassee with her husband John.

Reviews

[Jami · Rating 3 out of 5]

Given that I worked in civil rights for the majority of my career, I was looking forward to this book. While it raised some thought provoking points regarding racism, I just didn’t love the book. I liked it but couldn’t totally engage with the characters. I think the extraneous plot lines took away from the main plot and that more could have been done with the racial aspect. Unfortunately while this book was written in the wake of President Obama’s election, the issues are just as prevalent today, 10 years later.

[John Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually had to read this novel for a course on Diversity in Education.

While, I was not sure what to make of it at first, I quickly found myself drawn into the book.

For any teachers out there, Meredith does a really great job showing what it is like to teach in the current era. From budget cuts due to the recession and general slashing of public education funding, to the still current racial undertones.

The underlying racial problems in this small town, come to the forefront of the main character, Molly Culpepper, life in a big way.

This novel also does a wonderful job of exploring the difficulty in teaching someone you don't understand and in fact teaching someone who just plan doesn't like you. Maybe even hates you.

The characters are all very well fleshed out, and although this type of novel is not my normal cup of tea, I found I devoured it in about a days time.

[Nanci · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is well written and thought-provoking. It is a slice of life with interesting characters and up-to-date situations. I particularly enjoyed how the teacher "culpeppered" her high school honors students with sentences featuring vocabulary words that stretch us all.

The overt story is racism and its subtleties. The underlying story is lies. Do we tell white lies to protect others from unnecessary pain? Or do we tell black lies intended to deceive and conceal? Or do we tell lies of other colors? Are we deceiving ourselves by our lies?

This is a story about the uncertainty and anxiety of life and the volatility we currently live in. It offers hope.

[Jedidiah Boggs · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the book was entertaining enough, it just felt uninspired. It is a fine slice of life, but I can't imagine recommending it to anyone who is not a middle-aged white teacher who doesn't recognize racism. The audience is just too narrow.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

required reading for a class on race and gender issues. Slow beginning but it's got charm. From 30% on I was into the characters and genuinely cared about what happened to them. recommended for other teachers.

[Littleowl · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 stars.

[Angela Kraus]

You know how every once in awhile you read a book that you wish you could share with the world? This is one of those. What a wise WV born woman. I want to put this book in every teacher's mailbox, on every politician's desk, in every library listing, in every hotel nightstand drawer, in every parent's hands...as someone who taught in "the South," I assure you this book has the ability to keep you laughing even as you painfully grow in understanding of our human endeavor to come together to a place of peace, love, and forgiveness. Gratitude, Donna Meredith!!