As Fast As Words Could Fly

Review
By School Librarian's Workshop

Fourteen-year old Mason turns the passionate words of his father, a Civil Rights worker in the 1960s, into powerful letters. For his skill, the group buys him a typewriter and he diligently practices on it. In the fall, his father announces that Mason and his older brothers will be going to a formerly all-white high school. He gets a job typing cards in the school library, but is fired until a meeting with the Board of Education has him reinstated. As the best typist, he represents the school in a county competition and breaks the record with his speed. Based on the life of the author’s father, the story brings to life the turbulent time and the courage young African Americans displayed.