I think I read this in elementary school, but I didn't remember it well enough, so I thought I'd read it again. It took me a while to get into it, but once I did I loved it. I especially appreciated the way Cassie's mom explains racism to her, by going all the way back to how people justified slavery and how even now that slavery is illegal some people still hold on to racist beliefs because they have little else to hold on to.

On a completely different note, it always staggers me a little when I read these historical novels and notice how disciplined kids used to be. Why did that stop? ( )

I remember Mom reading this story aloud when I was a youngster. It was gripping, well-written, and made me aware of racism in a way I’d had little experience with before. Since becoming an adult, I’ve wanted to read it again—to see if my initial impressions of the book were accurate. And oh, they were!

This is a portrait of a loving family working together to bring justice and hope to their community, despite the injustice and fear surrounding them. As an adult, I picked up on things I doubt I would have noticed when I was younger—things like the cohesiveness of the family portrayed here (that’s often lacking in stories these days!), the way the parents loved their children and actively tried to protect them, their courage in the face of insurmountable odds, the way the night raiders’ deeds were described just enough that you knew that they were evil and a little of what they were capable of, but it wasn’t “in your face” or nearly as much on-page as it could have been…all things I greatly appreciated. These characters aren’t perfect—several times, different ones take matters into their own hands as they battle injustice. But overall, they were brave and loyal, and the family worked together to do what they could to bring justice and freedom to those around them.

I loved this book just as much as (or maybe even more than!) the first time I read it. It’s a stunning portrait of human nature, the battles many people have fought over the years, the resilience of the human spirit, and the hope that one day, wrongs will be righted and good will prevail. This is a landmark in American literature, and if you haven’t read it before, you ought to take the time to read it now. It’s a good book! ( )

Why is the land so important to Cassie's family? It takes the events of one turbulent year--the year of the night riders and the burnings, the year a white girl humiliates Cassie in public simply because she's black--to show Cassie that having a place of their own is the Logan family's lifeblood. It is the land that gives the Logans their courage and pride--no matter how others may degrade them, the Logans possess something no one can take away.

This was utterly on message every sentence of every paragraph. I found it utterly uninteresting. ( )

As an adult, I’m trying to expose myself more to works that dive deep into racism, discrimination, culture, injustices, etc. Along the way, I greatly regret that some books were not exposed to me when I was younger. This has earned its place on that list of books and a place in my heart forever. ( )