Suddenly the room was scorched with light. I heard a sound like the wind sucking up a chimney. I turned around and through the window I saw a blazing cross ten or twelve feet tall stuck in the middle of my small yard. It lit up the whole street. Lined up behind the cross and stretching down the street was a line of white-robed Klansmen. I could feel the heat from the burning cross through the open window. I remembered the rally that I had attended with Mr. Blanton. This was a lot more terrifying. This time there was a target for the intimidation. Me. In his first novel, the highly regarded southern author Bill Thompson has spun a riveting tale of honor, courage, first love and justice set against the authentic historical backdrop of the emerging lumber industry of North Carolina in the early days of the 20th century. Celia Whitfield’s Boy is a gripping story that lingers in the heart and soul of the reader.