Review: Crow by Barbara Wright

Crow by Barbara Wright.

Random House Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: January 2012
List Price: $16.99
ISBN-13: 9780375869280

Review: Imagine being treated unfairly every day; out casted and ostracized all because of the color of your skin. Well, that was the reality for many black people. This story takes place in 1898 in Wilmington, North Carolina, prior to Martin Luther King Junior's I have a dream speech. Equal rights were on the forefront and were being met with much opposition by the whites. Crow, by Barbara Wright goes into the depths of the times of discrimination of blacks. This is a story about the prejudice moments told from a prospective that is often overlooked… that of a child. The main character is Moses, who grows up in a family who are all Christians, except his father. Moses' father is a political leader for African Americans and is very stern in terms of Moses' education. More characters include Boo Nanny, the grandma, Moses' mother, and his friend, Louis, the only rich African American boy. Throughout the story, Moses is constantly finding himself being judged because of his race. Will he and his family overcome this unfair treatment and stand up for their rights, or will they suffer and continue to be treated unlike the U.S. Constitution clearly states.

Crow is an amazing book full of timeless messages for a discriminating society. Readers will learn valuable lessons from Moses, the 12 year old boy who looked discrimination in the face and overcame it. He acquires several leadership skills from his bold and outspoken father, who is not afraid to have Moses accompany him on his voyages for freedom. Unfortunately, these voyages for freedom often times escalate from protests to riots. The Wilmington riots were intensely violent and many black people lost their lives in an attempt to ensure equality for them and their posterity. It was as a result of one of these riots that something tragic happened; something so tragic that it forever scars Moses and forces him to grow up faster than any twelve year old boy should ever have to. Reading this novel was a truly enlightening experience and the events that took place in it will stay engraved in my brain. It is by far one of the best period books I've read and I strongly recommend picking this book up today. Well, what are you waiting for? ... GO!

Review written by Kaleb (6th grade student).

We would like to thank Random House for providing a copy of Crow for this review.

Have you read Crow? How would you rate it?