Guardian

November 3, 2008
A sense of foreboding permeates the first half of this powerful novel, which opens with an allusion to a lynching: in the Deep South, says an unidentified narrator, the oldest trees “do not speak because they are ashamed.” Lester (Pharaoh's Daughter
) begins the action proper in the summer of 1946, homing in on Ansel Anderson, being trained to take over his father's business at the age of 14—old enough, his father, Bert, thinks, “to understand what it meant to be white” and for shop assistant Willie, whom Ansel treats like a brother, “to understand what it meant to be a nigger.” After Willie's father is falsely accused of raping and murdering the preacher's daughter—by the man demonstrably guilty—the townsmen clamor for a hanging. Ansel demands that Bert back up Willie's testimony; Bert silences him and makes him help get the rope from the family store, then watch the lynching. Focusing on the repercussions of white guilt, the author's understated, haunting prose is as compelling as it is dark; if the characterizations tend toward the extreme, the story nonetheless leaves a deep impression. Ages 14–up.

November 1, 2008
Gr 7-10-With segregation still ruling the rural South in 1946, the friendship between Ansel Anderson, who is white, and Willie Benton, who is black, faces many obstacles. After the town eccentric offers the boys an opportunity to leave their homes and pursue their dreams, the 14-year-olds consider their options. However, when Ansel's father helps a mob lynch Willie's father for the murder of a white girl, the teens must pursue their destinies separately. After many years, Ansel stops by his hometown and encounters Zeph Davis, the actual killer. Lester's unconventional opening momentarily confuses readers, but they are soon drawn into the narrative. "Trees remember]. But some trees do not speak]because they are ashamed." Poignant and powerful phrasing overshadows spare character development and helps satisfy readers' desire to explore the deeper motivations for some behaviors. The understated violence, coupled with reflections on lynching, heightens the horror. Back matter includes an author's note that explains the genesis of the story, an appendix with lynching statistics broken down by state, and a bibliography of lynching-related titles. Detailing the death of a friendship and the drive to succeed, Lester's compelling tale is an excellent purchase for most libraries."Chris Shoemaker, New York Public Library"

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2008
Respected writer and civil rights activist Julius Lester imagines the lynching of a black man falsely accused of the attempted rape and subsequent murder of a white teenager in a small Southern town in 1946. The act of lynching is, of course, inarguably, unambiguously evil, and Lester brings great visceral and dramatic power to his depiction of the event. However, he may not have given himself enough space in this short novel for a completely satisfactory examination of the more complex moral crisis that confronts a white shopkeeper and his 14-year-old sonthe books protagonistwho know the truth but fail to speak out to prevent the injustice. Similarly, too many other characters are presented as being either inarguably good or unambiguouslyalmost melodramaticallybad for complete plausibility. Despite these arguable shortcomings, this remains a courageous and thought-provoking novel. Appended material provides important additional information about lynching, and the evolution of the book and Lesters decision to write from the point of view of the white teenager are examined in an authors note.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2009
In a small southern town in 1946, white fourteen-year-old Ansel Anderson is on the cusp of manhood. Tragedy strikes when Mary Susan, the girl he likes, is brutally murdered. An innocent man is lynched for it, and Ansel cannot--or does not--do anything to prevent it. The writing is lyrical, the subject is dark, and the ethical dilemmas will keep readers riveted.

(Copyright 2009 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

November 1, 2008
Lester, who has given us searing portraits of slavery in recent works (The Old African (rev. 9/05); Day of Tears, rev. 7/05; Time's Memory), turns to a different chapter of history -- lynching in the Jim Crow South -- with equally devastating effect. In a small town during the summer of 1946, white fourteen-year-old Ansel Anderson is on the cusp of manhood and facing difficulties. His easy friendship with Willie, an African American boy, is beset by scorn and peril; his bigoted father expects him to follow in his footsteps and run the local store; and Mary Susan, the girl he likes, seems to prefer the company of an older, richer boy who is also a sadistic bully. Tragedy strikes in the form of Mary Susan's brutal murder; an innocent man is lynched for it; and Ansel cannot -- or does not -- do anything to prevent it. His mother and her friend help Ansel find a new life up North, but he is forever wracked by guilt. "How do I atone for the sins of that time, of that place? I atone by forcing myself to remember the cruelties committed in the name of my race." The writing is lyrical, the subject is dark, and the ethical dilemmas will keep readers riveted. A small novel with a big punch.

(Copyright 2008 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)