Kathleen Karr (Children's Literature)
Crowe uses fiction to retell the story of the Emmett Till murder of 1955, which sparked the Civil Rights Movement. The Mississippi Delta is seen through the eyes of Hiram Hillburn--at first idyllically as a young boy, then more realistically when he returns to visit his beloved grandfather during his sixteenth summer. Crowe's approach works surprisingly well. Hiram develops as a character through his relationships with the southerners around him--his grandparents, the family's black cook, his friends. The neighboring Remington brothers--though only secondary characters--nearly overwhelm the rest as a fascinating cross of Welty/Faulkner. With Hiram's involvement in the trial and its depressing, if certain, conclusion, he finally comes of age. This is a thoughtful story that rises above a mere retelling of one episode in the South's racist past. 2002, Phyllis Fogelman Books, $17.99. Ages 10 to 14.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 2002 (Vol. 70, No. 7))
Historical fiction examines the famous case of Emmett Till, whose murder was one of the triggers of the civil-rights movement. Hiram Hillburn knows R.C. Rydell is evil. He watches R.C. mutilate a catfish, but does nothing to stop him. "I didn't want to end up like that fish," he says. He watches R.C. throw stones at a neighbor's house and humiliate 14-year-old Emmett Till, an African-American visitor from Chicago, and still he does nothing. Hiram says, "When things are scary or dangerous, it's hard to see clear what to do." When Till is brutally murdered, Hiram is sure R.C. is involved. Hiram, a white teenager who has come back to the Mississippi town where his father grew up, is the narrator and the perspective of the white outsider and the layers of his moral reflection make this an excellent examination of a difficult topic. When the case comes to trial, Hiram knows he must face his own trial: can he stand up to evil and do the right thing? He knows Mr. Paul, the local storeowner, is right: "Figure out what's right and what's wrong, and make yourself do the right thing. Do that and no matter what happens, no matter what people say, you'll have no regrets." This is a complicated thing to do, as Hiram must summon inner strength and come to terms with who he is-the son of an English professor who hates everything about the South and the grandson of a farmer who loves everything about it. Teen readers will find themselves caught up in Hiram's very real struggle to do the right thing. 2002, Fogelman/Putnam, $17.99. Category: Fiction. Ages 13 up. © 2002 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Claire Rosser (KLIATT Review, May 2002 (Vol. 36, No. 3))
A 14-year-old boy named Emmett Till from Chicago, visiting his relatives in the Mississippi Delta in 1955, was accused of speaking disrespectfully to a white woman. He was kidnapped and murdered. Most people in town knew who the murderers were but at the trial, those arrested were acquitted by a "jury of their peers"--e.g., white men. Chris Crowe uses the facts of this historical event, which outraged many people across the nation and was a factor in the success of the Civil Rights Movement, to tell a fictional story narrated by a white boy awakened to the truth of racial hatred. Hiram is this narrator. He is having trouble with his father who is having trouble with his father, Hiram's grandfather. Hiram was left with his grandparents during the war and later, when his father was getting graduate degrees to enable him to take the family away from the South. The memory of his time in the small Southern town with his grandparents is dear to him and he can't understand why his father wants to get as far away from the South as he can--taking a job in Arizona. Hiram is away for some years until the grandfather suffers a stroke and Hiram asks to return for the summer to help out. This is the summer of Emmett Till's murder. Crowe tells convincingly how Hiram loves the South and later how appalled he is at the worst of the tradition there of Jim Crow and segregation and hatred. An 18-year-old bully, once a kind of childhood friend of Hiram's, torments Emmett Till in Hiram's presence, which horrifies Hiram and prepares him for his outrage at Emmett's eventual murder. Black characters such as Ruthanne, who is the grandfather's indispensable housekeeper, are portrayed as kind and wise. Some white characters, such as the bully's sister Naomi, are certainly against the violence and cover-up. But Hiram learns that his grandfather has been a leader in local political affairs that have condemned any efforts at fair treatment of its black citizens--he sees clearly that his grandfather is a racist, a bigot, who will even condone violence to stop integration. He learns that his father had a reason to put distance between his family and the Southern traditions, especially those espoused by his grandfather. This is a sad lesson, and the grandfather is a feeble, aging man, but Hiram understands a lot more about the world after this summer. It is a powerful story and YAs who want to understand recent American history will choose to read it. Category: Hardcover Fiction. KLIATT Codes: JS--Recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2002, Penguin Putnam, 231p., $17.99. Ages 12 to 18.

Sissi Carroll (The ALAN Review, Spring/Summer 2002 (Vol. 29, No. 3))
My dad hates hate." With this compelling opening line, Chris Crowe draws readers into his first novel for adolescents. It is the story of 16-year-old Hiram Hillburn, who lives with his family in Arizona, but who longs to visit Greenwood, Mississippi, and the grandfather who helped raise him. And it is also the story of the disappearance, torture, and murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till, a Black teen who was visiting Greenwood, Mississippi, from his Chicago home during the summer of 1955. When Hiram convinces his parents to let him spend the summer in Greenwood, he finally beings to understand why his father had to leave; he begins to appreciate his father's stance against injustice and prejudice. The lessons require that he learn about the ugly side of his own grandfather's past, and the man's part in the murder of Hiram's young Black friend, Emmett Till. Crowe never lets the story line lag for the sake of adding historical details. Instead, he expertly infuses fact with human feeling. He shows us how desperately Hiram wants to help when he sees Emmett Till tortured by White kids, who gut a fish and hold let the blood drip all over Emmett, a scene that foreshadows the torture and murder that a group of White men later commit. Crowe helps us feel the humidity and heat of the Mississippi courtroom when the men responsible for Emmett's death are found innocent. And he teaches us the power of a teen's strength, hope, understanding, and love, even in the face of the prejudice and hatred of adults around him. The book is reminiscent of Mildred Taylor's Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry in Crowe's powerful treatment of a serious subject and his graceful, careful use of language. Category: Historical Fiction; Racial Discrimination and Civil Rights. YA--Young Adult. 2002, Phyllis Fogelman Books, , . Ages young adult.

Kate McDowell (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, April 2002 (Vol. 55, No. 8))
Though raised mostly in the north, Hiram has always enjoyed spending his summers at his grandpa’s farm just outside a small town in the Mississippi delta; now that he’s sixteen, however, he begins to see the effects of southern segregation and the hallmarks of racism more clearly. Meanwhile, there’s another northern kid visiting relatives in the area; Emmett Till is a young black man from Chicago, and his straightforward ways are seen as insubordination in this rigidly Old South environment. The novel blends factual history about young Emmett and his murder with the experiences of fictional Hiram, who slowly comes to realize that his grandfather’s White Citizens Council meetings may be more sinister than they initially seemed and begins to understand why his father has essentially disowned Hiram’s grandfather. Although the novel starts somewhat slowly, once the main action begins, the story is gripping right to its final depiction of the flimsy trial where Emmett’s likely murderers are acquitted. History teachers will approve of the focus on pivotal civil-rights events, and readers will appreciate the insights the author offers into the minds of people who fought to banish Jim Crow laws as well those who sought to perpetuate a system of hatred. (Reviewed from galleys) Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2002, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2002, Fogelman, 240p, $17.99. Grades 7-10.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Fall 2002)
Hiram, who spent his early years in the Mississippi delta, returns at age sixteen to visit his widowed grandfather. After a local boy makes threats against a black teenager, Hiram informs the authorities. When Emmett Till is kidnapped and murdered, Hiram is subpoenaed. Documenting a shameful event in American history, the solid novel also thoughtfully charts the protagonist’s evolving emotional growth. Category: Older Fiction. 2002, Fogelman, 231pp, $17.99. Ages 12 to 14. Rating: 3: Recommended, satisfactory in style, content, and/or illustration.

Jenny Ingram (VOYA, April 2002 (Vol. 25, No. 1))
Hiram Hillburn was reared by his grandparents in Greenwood, Mississippi, until he turned nine, when he reluctantly joined his parents in Arizona. His father and grandfather have disagreed for many years over southern life, and Hiram has sided with his grandfather until his return to Greenwood for a visit in 1955, the summer before he turns sixteen. Immediately upon his arrival, he meets Emmett Till, a black teen visiting from Chicago who soon after is murdered. Segregation and the blatantly fixed ensuing trial of the men accused of Emmett's murder disturb Hiram. He must come to terms with his grandfather, who harbors a dark secret. Emmett and several other characters in the book are historical figures. By combining real events with their impact upon a single fictional character, Crowe makes the issues in this novel hard hitting and personal. The characters are complex, and the only thing resolved at the end of the story is Hiram's relationship with his father. Independent thinkers will appreciate the thought-provoking ambiguity of this book and will be encouraged when Hiram's father tells him, "kids can't always trust everything their elders do." Parents and teachers will appreciate Hiram's integrity. This strong, challenging book will be useful in classrooms and in both school and public libraries. VOYA CODES: 4Q 3P M J (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Will appeal with pushing; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 2002, Phyllis Fogelman Books/Penguin Putnam, 240p, $17.99. Ages 11 to 15.

Kristen Moreland, Teen Reviewer (VOYA, April 2002 (Vol. 25, No. 1))
This novel held my interest because of all the emotional events in the story. Crowe did a good job of expressing the deep emotions felt by the characters. The way the author wrote out the southern accents of many characters made the story more believable. I think this book conveyed a strong message about life in the South during the 1950s. It would probably appeal most to teens interested in that era. VOYA CODES: 4Q 3P M J (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Will appeal with pushing; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 2002, Phyllis Fogelman Books/Penguin Putnam, 240p, $17.99. Ages 11 to 15.