Taylor, Mildred D. 1976. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. New York, NY: The Dial Press. ISBN: 0-8037-7473-7.
Slavery may have ended by the 1930's, but the mindset had not. However, tell that to Cassie Logan - a spunky, independent girl whose mother is a teacher and whose father works for the railroad in order pay the taxes on their land. In the span of one year, Cassie figures out exactly how unjust the world can be. In a tangled web of events, Cassie is publicly humiliated by the airs of a white girl her own age, her mother is fired because a white man wants their land, and the night riders torture whomever they please. When her mother takes Cassie and her brothers to visit one of the victims, the reality begins to set in. With parents modeling honor and courage throughout the story, Cassie and her siblings are able to follow in their footsteps and try to help a black boy accused of murdering a white man in a terrifying climax. Well-told, the reader and Cassie learn of life's atrocities together, bit by bit, in manageable occurances. Never over-whelming, Taylor discreetly reveals the life of an oppressed people in a gripping and deeply truthful tale.
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