Even though this was a YA novel, it was incredibly well written and very informative. This is one of those books that spurred me to research and learn more about the Tulsa Race Riots that I knew so little about. The fact that 8,000+ black people lost everything they owned to these fires, nearly 6,000 were forcefully detained for over a week, and around 300 were murdered, is just unfathomable. No white perpetrators were ever detained or even faced charges despite it being one of the deadliest race riots in our history. Just to put this into perspective, there were 35 deaths in the Hindenburg tragedy, which occurred 16 years later and was covered in great detail in history books. I am in no way minimizing that tragedy, but that not even one sentence was written on the Tulsa Race Riots even with 9 times the deaths is shocking to me.
What was most significant about this novel was experiencing the parallels between Rowan and Will, separated by over 100 years, but both needing to set aside their own privilege and inbred bigotry to end oppression in their own community. It sent a powerful message, indeed.
Read 10/18/23
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