Mississippi Trial, 1955
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4.2 • 177 Ratings
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
ALA BEST BOOK FOR YOUNG ADULTS • Based on the true story of a tragic murder that helped spark the Civil Rights movement.
“Gripping.”—BCCB
“Will get readers thinking.”—Publishers Weekly
A brutal murder rocks a sleepy southern community.
At first, Hiram is excited to be visiting his favorite grandfather in Greenwood, Mississippi. But before long Hiram begins to feel that the small town is not the place he remembers from his childhood. Then he crosses paths with Emmett Till, a black teenager from Chicago who is also visiting for the summer, and Hiram sees firsthand how the local whites mistreat blacks who refuse to “know their place.”
When Emmett’s body is found floating in a river, Hiram is determined to find out who could do such a thing. But what will it cost him to know?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Basing his promising debut novel on historical events, Crowe adopts the point of view of a white teenager confronting racism in the 1950s South. Hiram Hillburn has resented his civil-rights minded father ever since the age of nine, when his parents moved him from his adored grandfather's home in Greenwood, Miss., to the more liberal climate of an Arizona college town. Now that he is 16, Hiram has finally been permitted to visit Grampa Hillburn again. Crowe takes a bit too much time before arriving at the central action: the lynching of Emmett Till, a black teenager from Chicago who reputedly made "ugly remarks" to a white woman, and the nationally publicized trial, in which the murderers were acquitted. However, the author takes a nuanced approach to ethical dilemmas and his plotting seems lifelike. Events force Hiram to question his willingness to stand up for his beliefs and to reevaluate his understanding of the animosity between his grandfather and father. The characterizations are sketched with care, from the white lawyers who mock the black witnesses they cross-examine, to R.C., the bully whom Hiram suspects of participating in the crime, to R.C.'s sister, whom Hiram likes. If the conclusion feels a little hasty, Crowe's otherwise measured treatment will get readers thinking Ages 12-up.
Customer Reviews
👌
This book is really good. It explains from both point of views. The ones who are against slavery/ segregation and the ones who are for slavery/ segregation. It's an amazing book and it's has some interesting scenes that keep you thinking for a while.
Great
Best book ever romantic suspenseful exiting disgusting and all in 17 chapters
Eh.
It's storyline was pretty good, but the actual book was a little boring.