Let the Circle Be Unbroken

I was blessed with a wide variety of literature in my growing-up years, and one of the books that always stood out to me was Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. Mom read that book and its sequel, Let the Circle Be Unbroken, aloud to us when I was probably 10 or 11, and they’ve always stood out in my memory as testaments to the love of family and the strength of many black families over the years as they’ve courageously stood together through racism and poor treatment.

I loved seeing Cassie a bit more grown-up in this story. She’s starting to understand her world a bit better—both the beautiful, good side, and the ugly, dangerous side—and as she matures, her perspectives on family and friendships slowly shift, as well. There’s still show more an innocence about her that’s lovely to see, but I loved seeing her world grow through studying the Constitution with an older lady or learning to accept her half-white cousin.

Taylor does an incredible job bringing us into the setting and Cassie’s world. T.J.’s story broke my heart all over again; getting to see what the court system was like for black people in this area in the 1930s was difficult to take in. Then there are other things like the union people were trying to start up to get fairer prices for everyone; Mo, who just wanted to help his family get ahead for once; and even a small instance like cousin Bud and the way the white boys had the power to cause a grown man to strip down to almost nothing to humiliate him. There was so much injustice that it’s almost hard to take it in.

At the same time, despite the fears and threats and very real dangers, Cassie’s family loved each other, supported each other through some very tough times, and did their best to help their neighbors and support them (I loved the story about the cow!), even to the point of putting themselves in danger. This isn’t an easy read, but it’s definitely hope-filled, and I loved that.

If you love historical fiction with realistic characters, strong family values, and well-researched, feel-like-you’re-there history with a thread of adventure and a gripping plot, I’d highly recommend you check out Let the Circle Be Unbroken. Better yet, start with Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry; this one definitely builds on it, but both are excellent. show less

"Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry," was about as close to a perfect novel as you can get, so the next book in the Logan Family series had big shoes to fill. "Let teh Circle Be Unbroken" isn't quite up to par with its predecessor, but it's pretty darn close.
The first portion of the book is in effect, a conclusion to the earlier book. It picks up right where the other left off, and as the Logan family gets on with their lives, we are told the rest of T.J.'s story as well.
After that, Stacey, the oldest of the children, is determined to get a job that pays money, so he can help out with the taxes on the family farm. When his parents forbid it, he runs away to go cut sugarcane in Louisiana. The family is distraught, and goes to great lengths to show more try to find their missing son. At the end, several separate plot lines begin to intertwine.
Most of the characters we met in earlier books are back, along with a few new ones. And this book is once again narrated in first person by the indomitable Cassie Loagan. show less

Cassie and her brothers are sent reeling by a shockingly racist trial - the culmination of events from the first book in the series, Roar of Thunder Hear My Cry. In addition, Cassie's growing up, so she learns a lot about inter-race relations and the often humiliating effects. This is a heart-rending (though sometimes slow-moving) children's historical fiction. The story deals with complex issues and is character-driven, so even though the reading level is approximately 5th-7th grade, this is not a book for reluctant readers unless they have a particular interest in race relations. It's a book for children who love to read - and to absorb ideas. It's definitely a good addition to the Roll of Thunder Series, and I find myself curious to show more follow the family's saga to the end.

For more of my reviews: http://rachelreadingnthinking.blogspot.com/ show less

Sequel to Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, another installment in the saga of the Logan family, set in 1930s Mississippi.

It's difficult to summarize the plot on this one -- Taylor's plots are many-armed and rambly. Is this book about TJ's trial? About the suspicious man who showed up in town? About the union? About *spoiler spoilering*? And the subplots -- the foreboding about Suzella, Wordell, Uncle Hammer -- would they get resolved? It wasn't until I was near the end of the book that I was able to guess which plotline Taylor considered the major one, and thus which plotlines might get wrapped up, and which wouldn't.

(For those who want the count: one did get wrapped up. Most didn't. This isn't much different than the plot wrap-up count on show more the previous book.)

However, neither this book nor Roll of Thunder is about wrapping up plotlines: these are installments in the continuing lives of the Logan family. As such, they're quite satisfying. I'm fine with waiting until Book 4 to find out what happens with *spoiler*, *spoiler*, and *spoiler*. And if Taylor doesn't tell me in Book 4, she'll get around to it eventually -- and in the meanwhile, I'll be enjoying my time with the Logan family. show less

Terry Downie (Books for Keeps No. 26, May 1984)
This book was so painful that I don't want to read it again' was one of my pupils' comments on Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, the novel which precedes this. Both are set in the American South during the Depression and are about a Black family and the community in which they live. The Logans own their land and struggle to keep it in the face of harsh poverty and oppression. In Let the Circle, the central character, Cassie, is now eleven and still painfully learning what it means to be Black. The book is painfully illuminating. Warmth and strength and intelligence shine through the bitter injustice. I think, despite his comment, that the pupil I quoted will want to read the sequel. Both books show more deserve a wide audience. Category: Older Readers. . ...., Puffin Plus, D1.95. Ages 15 to adult. (CLCD)
Awards: Jane Addams Children's Book Award 1982 show less

An intense, more sober sequel to Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. Has some more mature references, making it better for an older audience, but it is a good story and a good perspective of the struggles of Black Americans in years past.

I'd forgotten how intense this book is. It's amazing (in a very bad, sad way) how many of the injustices depicted in the book remain oh-so-true today.