Joe Samuels, a young black man trying to escape being lynched for a rape he did not commit, and Mary Keane, a lonely young white woman fighting to exonerate Joe, embark on individual odysseys of self-discovery, in a story inspired by the 1921 burning of Greenwood, an affluent black section of Tulsa. Tour.

Magic City

Literature & Fiction

Rhodes, Jewell Parker

United States

Harpercollins

Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1921. A white woman and a black man are alone in an elevator. Suddenly, the woman screams, the man runs out, and the chase to capture and lynch him begins. 
When Joe, a young man trying to be the next Houdini, is accused of rape, he must perform his greatest escape by eluding a bloodthirsty lynch mob. And Mary, the motherless daughter of a farmer who tries to marry her off to the farmhand who viciously raped her, must find the courage to help exonerate the man she had accused with her panicked cry. Based on true events, Magic City is a portrait of an era, climaxing in the heroic but doomed stand that pitted the National Guard against a small band of black men determined to defend the town they had built into the "Negro Wall Street." 
Named by the Chicago Tribune as a Favorite Book of 1997

Magic City: A Novel

Harper-perennial

Bestselling and award-winning author Jewell Parker Rhodes reimagines the classic novel Treasure Island&nbsp;by Robert Louis Stevenson in this thrilling adventure set in modern-day Manhattan, in which three children must navigate the city's hidden history, dodge a threatening crew of skater kids, and decide who they can really trust in order to hunt down a long-buried treasure.&nbsp; Three kids. One dog. And the island of Manhattan, laid out in an old treasure map. Zane is itching for an adventure that will take him away from his family's boarding house in Rockaway, Queens. So when he is entrusted with a real treasure map, leading to a spot somewhere in Manhattan, Zane wastes no time in riding the ferry over to the city to start the search with his friends Kiko and Jack and his dog, Hip-Hop. Through strange coincidence, they meet a man who is eager to help them find the treasure: John, a sailor who knows all about the buried history of Black New Yorkers of centuries past--and the gold that is hidden somewhere in those stories. As a vicious rival skateboard crew follows them around the city, Zane and his friends begin to wonder who they can really trust. And soon it becomes clear that treasure hunting is a dangerous business... Jewell Parker Rhodes has written a version of Treasure Island like none you've never seen--one that takes the reader through little-known Black history, and under the city of Manhattan itself.&nbsp;

Treasure Island: Runaway Gold

Children's Books

Action & Adventure

Quill Tree Books

"A compelling page-turner that will keep readers hoping against hope that everything will somehow, magically, turn out for the best." — Atlanta Journal-Constitution 
With a new Afterword from the author reflecting on the 100th anniversary of one of the most heinous tragedies in American history—the 1921 burning of Greenwood, an affluent black section of Tulsa, Oklahoma, known as the "Negro Wall Street"—Jewell Parker Rhodes’ powerful and unforgettable novel of racism, vigilantism, and injustice, weaves history, mysticism, and murder into a harrowing tale of dreams and violence gone awry. 
Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1921. A white woman and a black man are alone in an elevator. Suddenly, the woman screams, the man flees, and the chase to capture and lynch him begins.\nWhen Joe Samuels, a young Black man with dreams of becoming the next Houdini, is accused of rape, he must perform his greatest escape by eluding a bloodthirsty mob. 
Meanwhile, Mary Keane, the white, motherless daughter of a farmer who wants to marry her off to the farmhand who viciously raped her, must find the courage to help exonerate the man she accused with her panicked cry. 
Magic City evokes one of the darkest chapters of twentieth century, Jim Crow America, painting an intimate portrait of the heroic but doomed stand that pitted the National Guard against a small band of black men determined to defend the prosperous town they had built.

New Orleans voodoo queen Marie Laveau runs from her bayou roots into the arms of a voodoo doctor who will teach her what Grandme+a7re would not.

Voodoo Dreams: A Novel of Marie Laveau

St Martins Pr

From Jewell Parker Rhodes, the author of Towers Falling and Ninth Ward (a Coretta Scott King Honor Book and a Today show Al's Book Club for Kids pick) comes a tale of a strong, spirited young girl who rises beyond her circumstances and inspires others to work toward a brighter future. Ten-year-old Sugar lives on the River Road sugar plantation along the banks of the Mississippi. Slavery is over, but laboring in the fields all day doesn't make her feel very free. Thankfully, Sugar has a knack for finding her own fun, especially when she joins forces with forbidden friend Billy, the white plantation owner's son. Sugar has always yearned to learn more about the world, and she sees her chance when Chinese workers are brought in to help harvest the cane. The older River Road folks feel threatened, but Sugar is fascinated. As she befriends young Beau and elder Master Liu, they introduce her to the traditions of their culture, and she, in turn, shares the ways of plantation life. Sugar soon realizes that she must be the one to bridge the cultural gap and bring the community together. Here is a story of unlikely friendships and how they can change our lives forever.

Sugar

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

From New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Jewell Parker Rhodes comes a heartbreaking and uplifting tale of survival in the face of Hurricane Katrina. Twelve-year-old Lanesha lives in a tight-knit community in New Orleans' Ninth Ward. She doesn't have a fancy house like her uptown family or lots of friends like the other kids on her street. But what she does have is Mama Ya-Ya, her fiercely loving caretaker, wise in the ways of the world and able to predict the future. So when Mama Ya-Ya's visions show a powerful hurricane--Katrina--fast approaching, it's up to Lanesha to call upon the hope and strength Mama Ya-Ya has given her to help them both survive the storm. From the New York Times bestselling author of Ghost Boys and Towers Falling, Ninth Ward is a deeply emotional story about transformation and a celebration of resilience, friendship, and family--as only love can define it.

Ninth Ward

Ninth Ward (Coretta Scott King Author Honor Title)

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Rhodes, Jewell Parker. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Rhodes, Jewell Parker

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Rhodes, Jewell Parker. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Magic City

Magic City: A Novel

Treasure Island: Runaway Gold

Treasure Island: Runaway Gold

Magic City: A Novel

Voodoo Dreams: A Novel of Marie Laveau

Sugar

Sugar

Ninth Ward

Ninth Ward (Coretta Scott King Author Honor Title)