A review by j_rowley
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor

4.0

Good read. Well written. For fourth grade and up.

Story is of an African-American struggling to hold onto the land. Must fight racism and the sharecropper system, plus the Night Riders. The one African-American family that owns any land in their town in Mississippi struggles to help the neighbors and keep the young people on the right path. Several factors conspire against them. The prevailing attitudes toward African Americans. The cost of farming, paying a mortgage and taxes. Plus tempers on both sides.

Cassie and her brothers watch and help as her family tries to hold onto the land. Mom and Grandma hold things down at home. (Mom works as a teacher in the African-American school) Dad and Uncle work to pay taxes and mortgage. Man whose family used to own the land wants it back, plus he bankrolls most of commerce in area, including the store that gouges the poor African-Americans. Things come to a head after Cassie's father convinces other families to stop shopping in the store.

A story that gives hope.