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

4.0

Very well-written book, told from the perspective of a nine year old Cassie Logan. She is a young African-American girl raised in Mississippi during the Depression. Her family is unique in that they own their own land in a sea of share-croppers. The book does a great job of conveying the culturally ingrained racism and culture of fear and intimidation, rampant in this time and place. Mrs. Taylor writes so tastefully and convincingly, ensuring no stereotypes are upheld for either blacks or whites, that despite it's difficult nature it is more than appropriate for younger ages. My only small complaint was that this was one of those books that seemed to hasten to a quick end. I appreciated the fact that a series of events had unfolded and some sort of culmination was pending but it just felt rushed after the beautiful development of the rest of the book. If I could give it 4.5 stars then I would. Recommend this book for anyone--it is part of the cultural lexicon of the United States.