Who knew? Years before Nancy Drew ever cracked a case, Zora Neale Hurston was solving mysteries in early 20th-century Eatonville, Florida. At least that’s the way writers Victoria Bond and T.R. Simon have imagined it in their engaging new novel for middle-graders, Zora and Me, narrated by Zora’s best friend, Carrie Brown.
The summer before fourth grade, Zora, Carrie and their pal Teddy set out to solve the murder of a wandering minstrel/turpentine worker named Ivory. Was he killed by the mythical, shape-shifting gator-man who prowls the swamp and who Zora claims to have seen standing on Mr. Pindar’s porch, his big ol’ gator snout perched on a man’s shoulders? Or is human evil responsible for the death that’s upsetting both the blacks and whites in segregated Central Florida? How does Zora’s penchant for storytelling fit into the mix?
Carrie has always counted on Zora telling stories to make sense of the big events in their lives, But now, Zora tells her, “Every time I try to explain to myself what probably happened, what really happened outgrows my imagination.”
Zora and Me is fiction, but with the blessings of the Zora Neale Hurston Estate, Bond and Simon have created a spunky, curious heroine who could well have grown up to be the celebrated writer, anthropologist and folklorist. They’ve done their homework, borrowing the local color of Hurston’s childhood — Joe Clarke’s storefront, the Blue Sink, the Loving Pine, Lake Maitland — to paint a vibrant story, much like one Zora might have told.
Zora was always an unreliable narrator when it came to details of her real life, not one to let facts necessarily get in the way of a good story. I expect she’s smiling with approval of Zora and Me.
Open Book: I wrote numerous stories about Zora Neale Hurston, her life and works, during my years at the Orlando Sentinel, and interviewed scholars, biographers, family members and fans. I highly recommend Valerie Boyd’s 2003 biography, Wrapped in Rainbows, for further reading. I borrowed a copy of Zora and Me (Candlewick Press) from the Orange County Library.
On a Clear Day I Can Read Forever 
I love Hurston (how could we not, living where we do?) and I thought this book was precious. But I probably never would have read it had it not been an OKRA pick. So glad I did.