Lemon City Book

Riginally founded by light-skinned ("high yellow, lemon" colored) former slaves, Lemon City, Virginia is cleaver backdrop for Brown's moralistic, social messages. The quirky self-contained and self-educated residents live by a set of 10 rules (upheld as stringently as the Ten Commandments) designed to protect and insolate their residents from the ills of the outside world and its awful sins. The rules are simple:

1. Never marry an outsider. If you do, the boll weevil will bite you back.
2. If you cannot be honest, you might as well be dead.
3. Airing your dirty laundry out in the street will smell up the neighborhood.
4. Do not let the Mojo lady know you got troubles. If you do, she'll give you more.
5. Cheating makes you lower than a dog scratching up a worm in the dirt.
6. What goes around will always come back around and hit you in the head.
7. Help those in need and never judge them by the holes in their socks.
8. Do business at home first, then with outsiders you can invite into your home, as a last resort.
9. Mind your business personally and professionally.
10. Support the community in every way possible and imaginable.

However, during the early 1970's, after generations of peace and prosperity, one of the town's youngest and most prominent residents, Faye Dunlap, acts on desires to become part of something bigger and attends college outside of Lemon City (much to the townsfolk dislike). She embraces the Black Power movement and marries an Outsider (breaking the #1 rule) as ticket out of Lemon City. This sets off a domino effect of events that upsets the delicate balance of Lemon City; every rule is broken with disastrous results. Faye's husband ends up dead and everyone in her immediate family is a suspect. Her hidden agenda is exposed and she must make some tough decisions.

This is a funny, witty, engaging tale about conformity, family love and values, and a sense of community and reciprocity. Brown sprinkles country wisdom and homespun love in the dialogue and evolution of the characters. Plenty of lessons learned can be garnered from this book.