Aldene "Al" Chambles grew up during the 1940s in the segregated South. His experience as a gifted child struggling to understand the world in the face of prejudice, superstition, and fear is poignantly depicted in his powerful novel "Climbing the Colored Side."

The story takes place in the African American community of High Hope, established by former tenant farmers and sharecroppers seeking control over their lives. It's a difficult life, but when young Dean Johnson begins asking questions that no one knows the answers to, new tensions arise.

This book explores a dimension of the...