Crow

Gr 5–8—Moses, an 11-year-old African American boy, is hoping for a fun summer in Wilmington, North Carolina. The year is 1898 and Moses has started to become aware of the tension in his family and in his community. Boo-Nanny, they boy's beloved grandmother and a former slave, is often at odds with his father, a reporter for the only black-owned newspaper in the South and a city alderman. Boo-Nanny shares stories about her past with Moses and he teaches her how to read. But things are changing in their progressive town and others don't seem to like it. Wright's historical fiction novel (Random, 2012), told as a first-person narrative through Moses's eyes, depicts the race riots where the local government was overthrown as well. J.D. Jackson narrates in a leveled tone that sometimes is too flat, and he doesn't give the other characters distinctive voices. Although the story is slow moving, it's a good choice for middle school history classes because it will make students aware of a little-known event.—Katie Llera, Bound Brook High School, NJ