The Land (Logans #1) by Mildred D. Taylor

★★★★★

A worthy prequel to Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, The Land is an equally important and just as engrossing must-read book.

Taking place soon after the Civil War, The Land presents the reality of post-Civil War racism and white supremacy. This book is middle grade, though it does have some mature ideas along the lines of how the main character's married white father took his black mother to be "his colored woman". 

Mildred D. Taylor has an unparalled talent for both storytelling and character creation. Each richly-developed character offered a complex perspective to the story. There's Paul-Edward, the main character, whose black mama was owned by his white daddy before the Civil War, and who struggled greatly in his coming-of-age years to understand his own identity and his place in society. There's Hammond, George, and Robert, Paul-Edward's white half-brothers, who themselves needed to make decisions about being white while still staying loyal to family, regardless of race. There's Paul-Edward's white father, who does his best to raise and treat all his children equally while still maintaining a "respectable" place in a racist society, and also while having to teach Paul-Edward the reality of his place and position as a person of color. And there's Mitchell, the black boy whose family lives and works on Paul-Edward's father's land, who is at first resentful of Paul-Edward's half-whiteness, but then eventually comes to understand Paul-Edward. It is clear that every character in this book has their own story, and we are only seeing them as their lives intersect with Paul-Edward's.

Paul-Edward and Mitchell form a life-long bond of brotherhood, a friendship that defines trust and loyalty in the deepest meanings of those words.

Along the way, Paul-Edward deals with fair-minded white people who treat him respectfully and give us readers faith that those who lived in this time period had reason to hope for a better future. Of course, Paul-Edward also deals with his share of mean and double-crossing white supremacists. All the while, he works earnestly and tirelessly and keeps his eyes on the prize, which is the land he intends to buy, so that he may finally have something of his own.

Fans of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry may appreciate, as I did, seeing a good-hearted young Wade Jamison, who grows up to be an ally to the Logan family and the black community.