Thirteen-year-old Maggie Pugh has lived in Kinship, Georgia, all her life. In all that time almost nothing has changed.

If you are poor, you live on the west side of town. If you are rich, you live on the hill in the north end of town. If you are white you use one bathroom, if you are colored you use another.

All that starts to change in the summer of 1960. Maggie witnesses a horrific crime, and must decide whose side she stands on. Will Maggie remain silent, and not shame her family, or will she stand up for justice?

"The courage and vision of the 1960s South...are posted on Spite Fences for all to see. It is a masterful, sobering display." -- Booklist

"Characters emerge as complex individuals, not pawns of a political agenda; Maggie's final triumph is a tribute to all who have suffered for justice." -- Publishers Weekly

"A book of this caliber comes along only rarely." -- Family Life

Honor Book selection -- Parents' Choice

Best Book for Young Adults selection -- American Library Association (ALA)

Best Young Adult Novel award -- International Literacy Association

New York Public Library Award