The Girl on the Outside

Based on the 1957 Little Rock school integration, two teenage girls—one white, one black—are swept up in the fear and prejudice of their divided southern town

It’s Sophia Stuart’s last year at Chatham High—only now the pretty, popular high school senior will be sharing classes with nine black students. The Stuart family has differing views. Her dad and older sister’s husband believe everything should stay segregated. Her brother, Burt, who lost an arm in the Korean War, thinks blacks should have the same rights as everyone else. And her boyfriend, Arnold, just took her to a black church because he likes the minister and the gospel music!

Fifteen-year-old Eva Collins rides in the back of the bus and goes to a separate church. But she’s finally about to achieve one of her dreams: attending Mossville’s first desegregated school. But the governor has just issued a restraining order delaying integration. With the town divided, the National Guard is called in to maintain order. When the final decision is made, an explosion of violence and an act of heroism will transform Eva and Sophia’s lives forever.