Leaving Lymon

By: Lesa Cline-Ransome

Narrated by: Dion Graham

Behind every bad boy is a story worth hearing and at least one chance for redemption. It's 1946, and Lymon, uprooted from his life in the Deep South and moved up North, needs that chance.

Lymon's father is, for the time being, at Parchman Farm - the Mississippi State Penitentiary - and his mother, whom he doesn't remember all that much, has moved North. Fortunately, Lymon is being raised by his loving grandparents. Together, Lymon and his grandpops share a love of music, spending late summer nights playing the guitar.

But Lymon's world as he knows it is about to dissolve. He will be sent on a journey to two Northern cities far from the country life he loves - and the version of himself he knows.

In this companion novel to the Coretta Scott King Honor-winning Finding Langston, listeners will see a new side of the bully Lymon in this story of an angry boy whose raw talent, resilience, and devotion to music help point him in a new direction.

©2020 Lesa Cline-Ransome (P)2020 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Critic reviews

"Dion Graham narrated the author's companion book, Finding Langston. Now he delivers the story of a minor character from that work, Lymon, the boy who bullied Langston. Graham's soft tones tell of Lymon's early years in 1940s Mississippi.... Stark contrast comes with Graham's portrayal of Lymon's life with his estranged mother, stepbrothers, and abusive stepfather. One keenly feels Lymon's transformation into a bully. By the end, though, Graham's calm tones give listeners hope that love and music will heal Lymon. Lesa Cline-Ransome reads an author's note that gives context to the story." (AudioFile Magazine)