Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Set in Mississippi at the height of the Depression, it is the story of one family's struggle to maintain their integrity, pride, and independence. It is a story of physical survival, but more important, it is a story of the survival of the human spirit. And, too, it is Cassie's story -- Cassie Logan, an independent girl raised by a family for whom independence is primary, a family determined not to relinquish their humanity simply because they are Black. Cassie has grown up protected, grown up strong, and so far grown up unaware that any white person could force her to be untrue to herself, could consider her inferior and treat her accordingly. It took the events of one turbulent year -- the year of the night riders and the burnings, the year a white girl humiliated Cassie in public simply because she was Black -- to show Cassie why the land meant so much, why having a place of their own where they answered to no one permitted the Logans the luxuries of pride and courage their sharecropper neighbors couldn't afford and their white neighbors couldn't allow. Richly characterized, powerfully told, Mildred Taylor's novel is unforgettable. The Logans' story is at times warm and humorous
Themes & atmosphere
What you might want to know about Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
Nine-year-old Cassie Logan and her brothers walk to school in 1933 Mississippi, dodging the white kids' bus. As night riders move on Black families nearby, the Logans hold tight to the land they own.
Yes. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry won the 1977 Newbery Medal. It is widely taught in middle and high school classrooms studying the Jim Crow South and racial injustice.
Yes. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry has been challenged in some American schools, primarily for racial slurs that the novel uses to depict the historical period. It remains a staple of middle-school history and literature curricula.
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry was written by Mildred D. Taylor, published in 1995 by Norma.
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry is 63 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry takes most readers under an hour to finish.
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry is a standalone novel by Mildred D. Taylor, not part of a series.
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.