Whistling Past The Graveyard by Susan Crandall

I received a copy of  Whistling Past The Graveyard by Susan Crandall in May 2013 from Netgalley to review:

Nine year old Starla's Dad works away on an oil rig and her Mother left her when she was young to try and become a famous singer in Nashville so she lives with her paternal grandmother in Mississippi. One day after she has one of her 'red rages' she fears she'll be sent to reform school and decides to run away to live with her Mother. She soon meets and accepts a lift from Eula, a black woman who has a young white baby with her and so begins a journey for them across America. However, as Starla is white and this is set during the summer of 1963 when racial segregation was still normal this isn't as straight forward as it could be.
The story is told through the eyes of feisty Starla and I found her voice and thoughts believable. I also loved Eula and Miss Cyrena and was rooting for them all the way through the book. It's a well written story, is easy to read and gave me a good insight into what it must have been like to be black and living during those times.