Louise "Lou" has recently moved to Kansas from Oklahoma and Texas, and she is adjusting to some changes. Lou knows she is lucky to be the girl friend of the popular Cam Ryan, but her decision to break up with him via email comes as a result of learning his true feelings about Native Americans. Lou is proud of her heritage and her place in the Muscogee Nation.
When the director the school musical version of The Wizard of Oz decides to create a cast featuring actors of varying racial and ethnic backgrounds, Lou's younger brother Hughie is cast as the Tin Man. A group of parents organizes a protest group that threatens to tear the community apart. Several families and individuals, including Lou and her family, recent threatening messages telling them to go back where they came from.
Lou, her best friend Shelby, and her new friend Joey use the school online newspaper The Hive to defend the Oz production and point out the threats aimed at cast members and others. The resulting tensions could end Lou's budding romance with Joey and cost a teacher her job as advisor of the school paper.
Author Cynthia Leitich Smith gives readers a unique view of diversity by revealing Lou's Native American ancestry including a look at the native language of the Muscogee Nation. (See included glossary.) HEARTS UNBROKEN also exposes L. Frank Baum, the author of The Wizard of Oz, as an outspoken racist in favor of genocide. Smith's newest novel definitely illustrates the need for diverse books.
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