I got this book through Book Crossing one of the truly wonderful online resources for finding and reading good books at a price you just can't beat...free!
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry was written by Mildred D. Taylor. I wondered why I hadn't ever read it before and then realized I was about 22 when it was published. I was at that age where I would be much too "adult" to read a young adult's book. Well, now I have no problem with it and have found that these books can be every bit as compelling as any other. That is the case with this book.
Cassie Logan, a 9 year old girl growing up in the Depression era of Missippi, is the narrator. In a way, she reminded me a lot of Scout Finch, from To Kill A Mockingbird. The difference is that Cassie is black and Scout is white. Scout observes racism and bigotry and doesn't understand it. Cassie lives it. Cassie is a very spirited girl from a close knit family with some deep rooted values. I like the strong figures she has in her parents and grandmother.
Cassie recounts the events of one year, 1933. Through her eyes, I saw the ugliness of bigotry. There was a bus driver who delighted in scaring the black kids off the road as they walked to school. The bus was segregated and Cassie & her brothers weren't allowed to ride it. Black families suffered horrible injustices and they had no recourse to make things right.
It was almost like reading Anne Frank's diary, except that this story is fiction. Still, these things really happened and they are shameful. It's definitely an excellent read.
Posted by Cassie at September 26, 2005 07:57 PM | TrackBack