Reviews with content warning for Slavery - Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

A beautiful book, about a warm and caring family in 1930s South USA. The story is about the Logan family living through racial injustice, it's full of harsh moments and truths, but also laughter, care, and remembering the past.

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nytephoenyx's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry is as memorable a book in 2021 as it was in 1997 and as impressionable as I’m sure it was at its time of release – in 1976. Not many books age so well with time, but Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry remains an important book to read about the Jim Crow era.

First, the story. This novel addresses basic human rights and how they were (are?) constantly denied to Black people. The Logans are a strong family, and in any other world they’d be well-situated. They own their own land and on top of that Cassie’s father works or the railroad and her mother teaches at the local Black school. They are still only barely just getting by. They have to go into a different town to be able to buy home goods and basic necessities from a kinder proprietor. They are constantly under threat by their white neighbors who would want their land and their lives. Everyday, the Logans and the other Black families have to fight for their dignity… and most the time, at threat of their lives, they can’t even have that.

Every step in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry shares another story of oppression. There is joy woven around the stories. There are good people (Black and white) but there are also bad people (mostly white, but I’m not entirely discounting TJ). It’s not a lecture on racism, it’s a window into how life was. And, at that, I presume it’s a pretty generous window and that for so many, things were much, much worse.

Cassie’s story remains a staple because of all of these things, but on a technical level, Mildred D. Taylor’s writing makes a middle grade book both accessible and necessary for all ages. I was taught Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry in middle school and twenty-two years later, I’m glad to have picked it up again because it still rings true. It’s a good reminder of privilege and debt.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry is an excellent book. It pulls your emotional heartstrings! Also, even though it’s the fourth book in the Logans’ story, it can easily be read as a standalone. I’m very glad I was taught this book in my little backwater central school, and I desperately hope it continues to be taught in schools today.

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iris_garden's review against another edition

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emotional tense fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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dytiscusfriend's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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livmm's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

silver_valkyrie_reads's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring slow-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book had a slow start for me, but I knew it was difficult in all the right ways and I needed to keep going, even it was on and off between other books. The last part of the book really picked up for me (partly because I was finally in a better mental space to appreciate the story) and by the end I finally understood why so many people report loving this book so much! Made me cry!

Highly recommended for everyone, even young readers, as long as they're able to handle the references to violence and intense racism.

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