SLJ calls Lesa Cline-Ransome’s IDA B. WELLS AND THE UNTOLD TRUTH OF A COUNTRY “an inspiring read about a woman who stood her ground and gave a voice to the voiceless” in starred review

★ Ida B. Wells and the Untold Truth of a Country by Lesa Cline-Ransome.
 304p. ­Holiday House. Jan. 2027. Tr $19.99. ISBN 9780823456239. Gr 6 Up.

“Ida B. Wells was a transformative journalist and activist who exposed the brutality of the lynchings inflicted on Black Americans in the years following the Civil War. Her lifelong fight for equality and justice makes her story one every American should know. The book is thoughtfully organized to maintain readers’ attention while still going into great detail about her life. It follows her journey from being born into enslavement and continues through the loss of both parents to Yellow Fever, her role in raising her younger siblings, and, ultimately, to her activism for justice and equality for Black Americans and her groundbreaking editorials against lynching. The chapters are short with lots of pictures and captions adding details. Interspersed are sections dedicated to background information about the time, including ones about Lincoln, Reconstruction, the unfulfilled promises to Black Americans, the rise of Black newspapers, and a brief history of where the term and practice of lynching came from. Wells’s strong personality and convictions shine through, and readers will find this to be an inspiring read about a woman who stood her ground and gave a voice to the voiceless. The final chapter is a memoriam of names of the Black victims lynched between 1817 and 1997. The back matter includes an author’s note, a timeline, a selected bibliography, source notes, resources, picture credits, and an index.

VERDICT: A solid purchase for middle school and high school biography collections for its thorough and poignant details about the life of an incredibly formidable historical figure.”

—School Library Journal, starred review