NewSouth author Ted Dunagan enjoyed a visit with students from Darlington Middle School for the school’s second annual author visit day on August 22. Students read Ted’s debut novel A Yellow Watermelon for their required summer reading. Set in 1948, the young adult novel A Yellow Watermelon explores poverty and racial segregation through the eyes of two young boys, one black and one white, who bond while working in the cotton fields and go on to free their town from a corrupt businessman.
Ted discussed the themes of his book with the students and talked about the writing process. After his presentation, Ted and the students enjoyed watermelon and moon pies, foods featured in the book.
“We selected A Yellow Watermelon because it is a new book by a new author,†said Ken Wempe, dean of students and English teacher. “Published this year, this coming-of-age story is both compelling and wonderfully written in a simple, subtle style. Dunagan used his novel as a jumping off point to discuss its themes and the writing process.â€
A Yellow Watermelon is available for order from NewSouth Books, Amazon.com or your favorite local or online book retailer.