When Lightning Comes by Duane Klaus

A mythical tree stands watch over rows of endless cotton. On the surface, the landscape looks dusty and commonplace. A slice taken from anywhere in Turnball, Texas reveals a town stymied in racism. But the upturned soil fails to tell the true story. For here, on this forgotten piece of earth, one of the greatest stories in the history of the American South is born. Willie Adams, a young white boy growing up in a time of segregation, is taking refuge in the branches of a gnarled cottonwood. Merciless winds whip across his skin as a flash in the atmosphere changes his world. Lightning strikes Willie, searing his skin with such intensity the boy is no longer recognizable. The accident leads to a painful recovery, but surprisingly the lightning does not take everything away from Willie Adams. It fact, it gives him something. Something miraculous that will not only enhance the boy's life, but help embolden the Civil Right's Movement at a time when heroes were forged. Willie's plight as a white boy turned black helps lead a small southern town out of a perpetual darkness, a dreadful ignorance which has plagued it for an eternity. When Lightning Comes is perfect for fans of Kathryn Stockett and Harper Lee. The story runs thick with love, family, and perseverance, while battling an underlying current of hate and fear.