It's 1932 in Bumblebee, North Carolina; everything is segregated, the KKK is active, and black men are strongly discouraged from registering to vote - Jim Crow is in full effect. (The scene where Stella's father and two other men go to register to vote would be a swift and effective replacement for the relevant section in many U.S. History textbooks.) Stella deals with the usual struggles of a girl her age, such as schoolwork and chores, but she also deals with entrenched racism that threatens her family and friends. Her community comes together to offer support, such as when the Spencer family's house is torched by the KKK (Mr. Spencer was one of the men who registered to vote, along with Stella's father), or when Stella's friend Tony is beaten up by two white men in the town square. Throughout, Stella works out her thoughts and feelings in writing, both for school assignments and in her journal, and later, in her very own newspaper, Stella's Star-Sentinel. Near the end of the book, she saves the life of Paulette, daughter of Dr. Packard, who refused to treat Stella's mother for a snakebite. The girls come to understand each other a little better, and Paulette isn't the only good white person in the novel - but the bad ones are truly awful.
Hope this helps :))
