Southern Fried Lies — Susan Cozart Snowden

Told in the clear, strong voice of Sarah Claiborne, a precocious teenager who reads Kafka and Camus, Southern Fried Lies is the story of a well-to-do Atlanta family in crisis. To Atlanta society, the Claibornes appear picture-perfect: Edward, a successful architect; Catherine, active in the church and community; four model children. But life at “Tara” is not what it seems. Catherine's sole focus has always been her oldest son, Ben; it is as if her other offspring and husband are invisible. When Ben suddenly moves away and refuses to communicate with his mother, Sarah becomes the target of Catherine's wrath. As she struggles with the usual teenage challenges, she's also the victim of unrelenting abuse from her mother. Her father is too busy―and emotionally unable―to help, and when Catherine's behavior threatens the safety of all her children, Sarah takes on the task of “fixing” her. Sarah's sole ally is Etha Mae, the Claibornes' black maid, who makes sure the family is on the prayer chain at Ebenezer Baptist Church. The novel is set against the backdrop of the social unrest roiling in the South in the early 1960s: sit-ins at Atlanta lunch counters, Ku Klux Klansmen marching in the streets. Sarah is in the eye of the storm raging in the Claiborne household, but she is affected by these historical events as well.