Ruby

This rather joyless novel received a mixed reception when first published in 1976. It's very much an issue novel and one of the issues is lesbianism, here between two black girls, Daphne, revolution-minded, cool, sophisticated, old beyond her years, and Ruby, lonely, abused by her bullish father and despised by her classmates - 'What am I to do? I am like a desolate island in a stormy sea.' Their relationship gives Ruby confidence but at a price and one does wonder at the end whether she will ever have the courage to break away and fight for her rights - it is to be hoped that she does. This completes a set begun with The Friends and Edith Jackson. It's definitely for older and experienced readers with plenty of staying power.