CORETTA SCOTT KING AWARD WINNER • The sweeping saga of the Mississippi Logan family comes to a compelling conclusion—made famous in Newbery Medal-winning Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry—as Cassie, now a young woman, witnesses turn-of-the-century historical events such as the Civil Rights Movement.
“Offers insights into seismic social movements and systematic oppression in the grim realities of racism faced by the family.”—Publishers Weekly
“Gives readers an up-close and personal view of key events of the civil rights movement.”—Kirkus Reviews
Change is coming and Cassie Logan will be part of it. Cassie—first met as a feisty eight-year-old—is a young woman now, searching for her place in the world, a journey that takes her from the Logan family home in Toledo to California and Colorado, then on to law school in Boston, and ultimately, home to Mississippi to be part of the voter registration drive of the 1960s.
She is witness to the now-historic events of the century: the Great Migration north, the relentless racism of postwar America, the rise of the Civil Rights Movement, and the often violent confrontations that brought about change. Readers who grew up with Cassie Logan, as well as those just discovering the Logans, will be both inspired and satisfied by her story.
On sale: January 5, 2021
Age: 14 and up
Grade: Grade 9 & Up
Page count: 496 Pages
ISBN: 9780425288085
Reading level: Lexile: HL800L
Mildred D. Taylor is the author of nine novels including
The Road to Memphis,
Let the Circle Be Unbroken,
The Land, and
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. Her books have won numerous awards, among them a Newbery Medal (for
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry), four Coretta Scott King Awards, and a
Boston Globe—Horn Book Award. Her book
The Land was awarded the
L.A. Times Book Prize and the PEN Award for Children’s Literature. In 2003, Ms. Taylor was named the First Laureate of the NSK Neustadt Prize for Children’s Literature.
Mildred Taylor was born in Jackson, Mississippi, and grew up in Toledo, Ohio. After graduating from the University of Toledo, she served in the Peace Corps in Ethiopia for two years and then spent the next year traveling throughout the United States, working and recruiting for the Peace Corps. At the University of Colorado’s School of Journalism, she helped created a Black Studies program and taught in the program for two years. Ms. Taylor has worked as a proofreader-editor and as program coordinator for an international house and a community free school. She now devotes her time to her family, writing, and what she terms “the family ranch” in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.
"Taylor deftly sketches the strong characters of this tight-knit, though increasingly far-flung, family, and offers insights into seismic social movements and systematic oppression in the grim realities of racism faced by the family."
—Publishers Weekly"Taylor is unsparing in her depiction of the years of segregation and of the Black experience of white racism, bigotry, and injustice . . . this never-didactic book is irresistibly readable, while the richly realized, highly empathic characters are unforgettable. Taylor's remarkable novel is, in sum, that rare exception: an absolutely indespensible book."
—Booklist"Taylor (
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry) has captivated legions of readers with award-winning masterful tales of the Logan family for over 40 years . . . Readers will fall in love with the Logans, whether for the first time or again, with this important conclusion to a literary era."
—School Library Journal
"This story also gives readers an up-close and personal view of key events of the civil rights movement. In this Logan swan song, Taylor is at her best. Surely the crown jewel of the Logan family Saga."
—Kirkus Reviews
