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Rose Lee Carter #1
Midnight without a Moon
It’s Mississippi in the summer of 1955, and Rose Lee Carter can’t wait to move north. But for now, she’s living with her sharecropper grandparents on a white man’s cotton plantation.
Then, one town over, an African American boy, Emmett Till, is killed for allegedly whistling at a white woman. When Till’s murderers are unjustly acquitted, Rose realizes that the South needs a change . . . and that she should be part of the movement.
Linda Jackson’s moving debut seamlessly blends a fictional portrait of an African American family and factual events from a famous trial that provoked change in race relations in the United States.
325 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 3, 2017
94 people are currently reading
4311 people want to read
About the author
Linda Williams Jackson
4 books135 followersBorn and raised in the Mississippi Delta in the teeny-tiny town of Rosedale , Linda Williams Jackson likes to spin stories about everyday people in small-town settings. Though she has lived in a few other states (Alabama, Missouri, and Kansas), Linda currently makes her home in a not-so-small city in Mississippi with her husband and three children.
While a degree in Math and Computer Science from the University of Alabama allowed her to enjoy careers in Information Technology, Linda now prefers manipulating words rather than numbers and symbols.
While a degree in Math and Computer Science from the University of Alabama allowed her to enjoy careers in Information Technology, Linda now prefers manipulating words rather than numbers and symbols.
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July 6, 2022So, I finally decided to rate my own book. Here is why I gave it 5 stars:
1. It's a book that I have wanted to write for over 15 years. I heard so many endearing stories about my grandfather that I wanted to write a book about my family's life in the Mississippi Delta. I only knew my grandfather "Papa" for a few short years. He died when I was six. But I can still remember vividly standing at his knee and chatting with him. I was a very shy child and rarely talked to anyone. I chatted with Papa because he was blind. And since he couldn't see me, I didn't fear that he would judge me. I talked to him so much that he lovingly called me "Motor Mouth."
2. Though Mississippi has had her dark days, my state has always felt special to me, especially the Delta. Oh, how I love that place. Judge me if you will, but so be it. The land is beautiful, in my opinion, and so are the people. (Most of them at least.)
3. I didn't know much about the Civil Rights Movement when I was growing up, even though I lived in a place that was steeped in its history. I didn't learn about Emmett Till until I was near adulthood, which is pretty shameful considering this all happened only a few towns over from my hometown and only a few years prior to my own coming-of-age years. But what really sparked my interest in centering a fictional story of my family's history around this historical event was a statement made by my mother about 10 years ago. She mentioned that she thought she knew someone who was involved in the murder. (For the record, there were MANY people--white and black--involved in that murder, not just two white men.) My mother's "remembering" of Emmett Till sealed the deal. I knew that I had to set my story in 1955.
4. The Mississippi Arts Commission gave me a very nice grant to write this book. This inspired me to finish it even when the writing got tough and I wanted to quit.
5. I queried this book for four months and got only 1 request to read the full manuscript. During my fifth month of querying (after I rewrote the query), I received 6 requests to read the manuscript. In the end, 2 agents offered to represent me, and 3 editors offered to buy the manuscript. One of those editors also wanted to buy a sequel, which became A Sky Full of Stars (forthcoming 1/2/2018).
For these five reasons, I give Midnight Without a Moon five stars. Thanks for reading my review.
Much love,
Linda Williams Jackson ^__^
1. It's a book that I have wanted to write for over 15 years. I heard so many endearing stories about my grandfather that I wanted to write a book about my family's life in the Mississippi Delta. I only knew my grandfather "Papa" for a few short years. He died when I was six. But I can still remember vividly standing at his knee and chatting with him. I was a very shy child and rarely talked to anyone. I chatted with Papa because he was blind. And since he couldn't see me, I didn't fear that he would judge me. I talked to him so much that he lovingly called me "Motor Mouth."
2. Though Mississippi has had her dark days, my state has always felt special to me, especially the Delta. Oh, how I love that place. Judge me if you will, but so be it. The land is beautiful, in my opinion, and so are the people. (Most of them at least.)
3. I didn't know much about the Civil Rights Movement when I was growing up, even though I lived in a place that was steeped in its history. I didn't learn about Emmett Till until I was near adulthood, which is pretty shameful considering this all happened only a few towns over from my hometown and only a few years prior to my own coming-of-age years. But what really sparked my interest in centering a fictional story of my family's history around this historical event was a statement made by my mother about 10 years ago. She mentioned that she thought she knew someone who was involved in the murder. (For the record, there were MANY people--white and black--involved in that murder, not just two white men.) My mother's "remembering" of Emmett Till sealed the deal. I knew that I had to set my story in 1955.
4. The Mississippi Arts Commission gave me a very nice grant to write this book. This inspired me to finish it even when the writing got tough and I wanted to quit.
5. I queried this book for four months and got only 1 request to read the full manuscript. During my fifth month of querying (after I rewrote the query), I received 6 requests to read the manuscript. In the end, 2 agents offered to represent me, and 3 editors offered to buy the manuscript. One of those editors also wanted to buy a sequel, which became A Sky Full of Stars (forthcoming 1/2/2018).
For these five reasons, I give Midnight Without a Moon five stars. Thanks for reading my review.
Much love,
Linda Williams Jackson ^__^
May 2, 2016
I rarely read a book twice, and hardly ever three times. But every once in a while, a book comes along that makes me re-think everything. A book that brings a new perspective to life, to history, to what I thought I knew about the past.
MIDNIGHT WITHOUT A MOON has done that for me. As a critique partner for Linda Jackson, I’d read this manuscript twice before it went to print. And tonight I finished reading it for a third time as an ARC. I have cherished it Every. Single. Time.
This novel is:
gripping, witty, horrifying, funny, poignant, beautiful, and brilliant.
Set in 1955 in the Mississippi Delta, 13-year-old Rose Lee Carter faces injustice, cruelty, racism, and hardship in the Jim Crow South—framed through the lens of friendship, loyalty, family bonds, and religion. Rose Lee’s determination enables her to not only endure but to transcend and find her purpose.
MIDNIGHT WITHOUT A MOON paints a dynamic picture of a lifestyle I know in my head but have never experienced. Yet, I was able to live it through Rose Lee Carter. And I’m a better person for it. I highly recommend this book for older middle schoolers, high schoolers, and adults.
MIDNIGHT WITHOUT A MOON has done that for me. As a critique partner for Linda Jackson, I’d read this manuscript twice before it went to print. And tonight I finished reading it for a third time as an ARC. I have cherished it Every. Single. Time.
This novel is:
gripping, witty, horrifying, funny, poignant, beautiful, and brilliant.
Set in 1955 in the Mississippi Delta, 13-year-old Rose Lee Carter faces injustice, cruelty, racism, and hardship in the Jim Crow South—framed through the lens of friendship, loyalty, family bonds, and religion. Rose Lee’s determination enables her to not only endure but to transcend and find her purpose.
MIDNIGHT WITHOUT A MOON paints a dynamic picture of a lifestyle I know in my head but have never experienced. Yet, I was able to live it through Rose Lee Carter. And I’m a better person for it. I highly recommend this book for older middle schoolers, high schoolers, and adults.
May 31, 2016
What fascinates me about historical fiction is what I learn from it. So frequently, I learn something about our history that was not taught to me in school. I find I am constantly learning how naive I am.
This story brings us to the mid-1950s in rural Mississippi. Freedom Summer is almost a decade away. Jim Crow laws are in effect and being staunchly upheld. Yet, many African Americans were living in what I felt like more were slavery times. Outhouses were still being used. There was a strong feeling for many African Americans that it was better to be quiet than to be heard.
What a great book to use to compare with how things are now. What hasn't changed?
The strongest part of the book isn't the great dialogue that will occur as a result, but Jackson's dialogue. Her voice was spot-on and rich.
This story brings us to the mid-1950s in rural Mississippi. Freedom Summer is almost a decade away. Jim Crow laws are in effect and being staunchly upheld. Yet, many African Americans were living in what I felt like more were slavery times. Outhouses were still being used. There was a strong feeling for many African Americans that it was better to be quiet than to be heard.
What a great book to use to compare with how things are now. What hasn't changed?
The strongest part of the book isn't the great dialogue that will occur as a result, but Jackson's dialogue. Her voice was spot-on and rich.
February 7, 2017
This book is AMAZING! Jackson pulls readers into the world of the Mississippi Delta from the first page and doesn't let go until the very end. While the book centers on Rose Lee and her family, readers will glean a lot of Mississippi Civil Rights history along the way. Emmett Till, his murder, and the subsequent trial are key to the story, but George Lee, T.R.M. Howard, and Medgar Evers also come into play. MWAM explores the opposition the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi faced, not only from whites, but from blacks, too. Rose Lee is smart, sassy, and searching for answers. Who is she? Who does she want to become? What does she want to fight for? As readers follow her story and root for her going back to school and against her mean cousin Queen, they will come to love Rose Lee just as we did. Highly recommended.
July 23, 2017
I received a free ARC of this 2017 middle grade book. My first thoughts after reading MIDNIGHT WITHOUT A MOON—What prizes can I nominate this book for? When's the movie coming out? I've had the opportunity to read a lot of ARCs this past year but none of them affected me the way this did. I loved the meaning behind the title (no spoilers because it was such a beautiful moment when Jackson first mentions it.)
Set in 1950s Mississippi, the story of 13-year-old Rose Lee Carter is so vivid it is like stepping into a time machine. Rose's introspection set against the backdrop of Jim Crow south, gives us both the "big picture" of racism and the individual experience. The pitch-perfect voice of Rose makes the reader feel the sweat and hard life of a sharecropper family. Jackson crafts a web of emotionally complicated relationships within that family.
This book is published as a "middle grade" book. This is great because it will make it more available to young people, unfortunately it may mean adults might not read it and they should. The story made me think of many things; of collard greens and yams, of what family really means, of how recent slavery really still is. You can feel history pulsing behind Rose. People alive in Rose's 1950s are still with us today and they had relatives who were either, like some of the characters in this book, born slaves, or born to freed slaves. It's all not as long ago as we would like to think.
Jackson has an incredible ability to transliterate accents without losing readability. This invokes the importance of language variation, and the role dialect plays in our understanding of subcultures, both our own and of others.
For years my understanding of history was pinned to books I read as a child; Little Women, All of a Kind Family, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Anne Frank... MIDNIGHT WITHOUT A MOON has the skilled writing and special something that could make it too a classic that sticks in our minds while we go about the business of growing up. I'm so glad this book will be available to everyone in 2017.
Set in 1950s Mississippi, the story of 13-year-old Rose Lee Carter is so vivid it is like stepping into a time machine. Rose's introspection set against the backdrop of Jim Crow south, gives us both the "big picture" of racism and the individual experience. The pitch-perfect voice of Rose makes the reader feel the sweat and hard life of a sharecropper family. Jackson crafts a web of emotionally complicated relationships within that family.
This book is published as a "middle grade" book. This is great because it will make it more available to young people, unfortunately it may mean adults might not read it and they should. The story made me think of many things; of collard greens and yams, of what family really means, of how recent slavery really still is. You can feel history pulsing behind Rose. People alive in Rose's 1950s are still with us today and they had relatives who were either, like some of the characters in this book, born slaves, or born to freed slaves. It's all not as long ago as we would like to think.
Jackson has an incredible ability to transliterate accents without losing readability. This invokes the importance of language variation, and the role dialect plays in our understanding of subcultures, both our own and of others.
For years my understanding of history was pinned to books I read as a child; Little Women, All of a Kind Family, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Anne Frank... MIDNIGHT WITHOUT A MOON has the skilled writing and special something that could make it too a classic that sticks in our minds while we go about the business of growing up. I'm so glad this book will be available to everyone in 2017.
May 31, 2017
3.5 stars on the blog.
If this book had been as vibrant in the first half as it was in the back half I would have wanted to give it six stars, but the first 45% was dull, dry, and draggy. I always worry about a book meant for MG and younger age YA readers taking so long to become fully engaging because it will get dropped like a hot potato, and never finished. In the case of this book, that would be a shame.
The author gives an authentic depiction of what it was like growing up, of color, in the American South during the early days of the Civil Rights Movement, when voting as a black citizen could get you killed. It is an extremely important story to share. Rosa is a strong female character. If you liked Roll Of Thunder Hear My Cry, you will most certainly like this book.
I was approved for an eARC, via Edelweiss, in return for an honest review.
If this book had been as vibrant in the first half as it was in the back half I would have wanted to give it six stars, but the first 45% was dull, dry, and draggy. I always worry about a book meant for MG and younger age YA readers taking so long to become fully engaging because it will get dropped like a hot potato, and never finished. In the case of this book, that would be a shame.
The author gives an authentic depiction of what it was like growing up, of color, in the American South during the early days of the Civil Rights Movement, when voting as a black citizen could get you killed. It is an extremely important story to share. Rosa is a strong female character. If you liked Roll Of Thunder Hear My Cry, you will most certainly like this book.
I was approved for an eARC, via Edelweiss, in return for an honest review.
May 12, 2016
Holy smokes! This was one heck of a read... characters you could laugh with, cry with, and get downright furious with. And the ending... so full of hope and promise. Outstanding!
June 29, 2016
I was lucky to read an ARC of MIDNIGHT WITHOUT A MOON.
After reading the synopsis, I knew this was a book for me--middle grade historical fiction is my favorite. This book delivered from the first page. Beautiful writing, a story that is important, characters who are relatable, in particular thirteen-year-old Rosa.
Huge recommendation. I can't wait to put this book into many hands.
After reading the synopsis, I knew this was a book for me--middle grade historical fiction is my favorite. This book delivered from the first page. Beautiful writing, a story that is important, characters who are relatable, in particular thirteen-year-old Rosa.
Huge recommendation. I can't wait to put this book into many hands.
January 30, 2025
Finally decided to dnf this one, I'm sorry.
DNF at 100/265 (38%)
DNF at 100/265 (38%)
May 31, 2019
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
What a random find in the middle grade/young adult section of Half Price Books. I'm glad that the title and spine of the book intrigued me enough that I picked it up and ended up taking it home with me that day.
Summary
Rose Lee Carter, a 13-year-old African-American girl, dreams of life beyond the Mississippi cotton fields during the summer of 1955. Her world is rocked when a 14-year-old African-American boy, Emmett Till, is killed for allegedly whistling at a white woman.
This is truly a powerful story. It is written about a time in America's history where racism and injustice was a huge part of everyday life, especially in the South. While I am glad that this book reminded me how prominent of an issue injustice was, and still is, it made this book hard to read for 85% of the story. Especially the parts where Ma Pearl refused to believe Aunt Belle and Monty about the way life could be better and that she didn't have to live below Ms. Robinson to have a happy and successful life. It hurts me to realize that while that specific incident is fiction, there are many true stories that are most likely very similar.
This is my first time reading a book where I am not the intended audience (even though anyone should be able to read any book) and I think this book would have been informative to the middle grade "intended" audience, while in my case it just riled me about injustice rather than letting me enjoy the story.
However there were also some things that bothered me about this book besides racial injustice. First was the lack of recognition for Rose from just about anyone besides Hallelujah. It's like she didn't exist to almost anyone and that really bothered me. Second, Ma Pearl. In general as a character, I really really REALLY disliked her. As I previously mentioned, just her negative outlook on life and on all of the people in her life and her general disrespect towards everyone is terrible. She is another reason why I couldn't enjoy this book because I was constantly mad at her and her actions. Third, the ending.
All of my issues might again be that I am not the intended audience for this book and I accept that. However, I still wanted to share my opinions because I still think they are valid to the book as a whole.
Pre-Review
This was book was good but it also hurt my heart. Injustice is terrible and it chills me to the core to know that some people still believe that all people aren't equal; men, women, black, white, transgender, bisexual, gay, anyone. A person is a person. Sorry to get all real but sometimes it's necessary and this book reminded me of how terrible it used to be (this book is set in 1955).
Full Review to come on both Goodreads & my blog, https://jademelody.wixsite.com/melodious
What a random find in the middle grade/young adult section of Half Price Books. I'm glad that the title and spine of the book intrigued me enough that I picked it up and ended up taking it home with me that day.
Summary
Rose Lee Carter, a 13-year-old African-American girl, dreams of life beyond the Mississippi cotton fields during the summer of 1955. Her world is rocked when a 14-year-old African-American boy, Emmett Till, is killed for allegedly whistling at a white woman.
This is truly a powerful story. It is written about a time in America's history where racism and injustice was a huge part of everyday life, especially in the South. While I am glad that this book reminded me how prominent of an issue injustice was, and still is, it made this book hard to read for 85% of the story. Especially the parts where Ma Pearl refused to believe Aunt Belle and Monty about the way life could be better and that she didn't have to live below Ms. Robinson to have a happy and successful life. It hurts me to realize that while that specific incident is fiction, there are many true stories that are most likely very similar.
This is my first time reading a book where I am not the intended audience (even though anyone should be able to read any book) and I think this book would have been informative to the middle grade "intended" audience, while in my case it just riled me about injustice rather than letting me enjoy the story.
However there were also some things that bothered me about this book besides racial injustice. First was the lack of recognition for Rose from just about anyone besides Hallelujah. It's like she didn't exist to almost anyone and that really bothered me. Second, Ma Pearl. In general as a character, I really really REALLY disliked her. As I previously mentioned, just her negative outlook on life and on all of the people in her life and her general disrespect towards everyone is terrible. She is another reason why I couldn't enjoy this book because I was constantly mad at her and her actions. Third, the ending.
All of my issues might again be that I am not the intended audience for this book and I accept that. However, I still wanted to share my opinions because I still think they are valid to the book as a whole.
Pre-Review
This was book was good but it also hurt my heart. Injustice is terrible and it chills me to the core to know that some people still believe that all people aren't equal; men, women, black, white, transgender, bisexual, gay, anyone. A person is a person. Sorry to get all real but sometimes it's necessary and this book reminded me of how terrible it used to be (this book is set in 1955).
Full Review to come on both Goodreads & my blog, https://jademelody.wixsite.com/melodious
February 7, 2017
Originally posted here at Random Musings of a Bibliophile.
It's always exciting when the very first book you read in the New Year is an instant favorite magnificent work you will be pushing at everyone you see for the foreseeable future. Midnight Without a Moon, the debut novel by Linda Williams Jackson, is such a book for me. Prepare to hear about this book for months to come.
It is summer of 1955 in Mississippi and Rosa Lee Carter lives with her grandparents, brother, and cousin on a wealthy white man's cotton plantation. Her best friend is the preacher's son. Her life's goal is to finish school and find a way out of Mississippi. As the summer heat rises, Rose spends her time working in the cotton fields and quietly trying to learn all she can about the NAACP. But her grandmother insists they are group who are just going to cause trouble for good people. When a neighbor is shot after registering to vote and tensions continue to rise across the state and Rose's small community, she must decide what she believes, how much she is willing to risk to stand up for that, and whether it is better to stand and fight or find a way out.
Rose's voice and character are absolute perfection. It works well for the time period while also being accessible and relatable for today's readers. Her life revolves around her closest relationships and is not entirely her own. She is a smart girl who desperately wants to finish school and become more, but her grandparents decide whether or not she goes to school. She works hard in the cotton fields and helping her grandmother while her older cousin gets to lounge around a good amount of the time. Relationship and family dynamics are the core of this book. Rose's mother had her and her brother young and out of wedlock. She married someone later and left her children with her parents. This is also the case for Rose's cousin. It makes for fraught family dynamics and the relationships are complicated by what her grandparents believe and the new ideas of beating down Jim Crow that are filtering in from so many of their relatives moving north and returning for visits. I can not even begin to explain in a short review how intricately Jackson pulls all of these together, layers them, and shows their complex importance simply by breathing life into the characters and making them real. I loved and felt so much for Rose, found her relationship with Hallelujah (her best friend) endearing, and adored her grandfather. Her grandmother filled me with rage, while at the same time that I found myself reluctantly understanding and empathizing with her. The complexities of all these people and their relationships make the story rich. It's a true picture of family and community that is not always comfortable, but shows the ties that bind us even when we don't necessarily like a person.
This story of Rose's self realization and her family's facing new challenges and questions is set against the summer of Mississippi in 1955 and the murder of Emmet Till and the trial of his murderers. This is kept in the distance though, and his is not the first murder discussed in the book. The book opens with the shooting of a man Rose knows because he registers to vote. The historical context of the book is important and the way the story is told even more so. This is a story about a black family living in a black community. It in no way shies away from or sugar coats what life was like in this time or place. In many aspects Rose's family life looks the same way it would have a hundred years before under slavery. Jackson does not attempt to make the reader comfortable with it in any way. The language she uses and the way people talk may make many squirm, but it makes the book that much richer and authentic. I think it is important to note that this book coming out this year, as the Voting Rights Act is being gutted, is a much needed reminder of exactly what things were like, why we need to keep fighting, and for a significant portion of the population the 1950s were Hell on earth and not a time we want to revisit.
The sentence level writing in the book is excellent as well. Jackson has a true way with words. She can write beautiful poetic imagery and also say much with one simple sentence. Few authors are able to find a balance between the two and wield them well together. Jackson can. The book is also infused with a sly, tongue-in-cheek humor that I love. This comes from Rose herself, who is quite a smart mouth in her own head even if she doesn't let it out much, and from others as well. There are some truly great pithy one liners.
This is pretty much a perfect book in every way: character, theme, setting, plot. It's being marketed as MG and I think it is a must have for every middle school library and classroom. I believe it will also have crossover YA appeal and that both the 2018 Newbery and Printz committees better be discussing it.
I read an ARC provided by the publisher, HMH Books for Young Readers, via Edelweiss. Midnight Without a Moon is on sale now, and you should buy it immediately.
It's always exciting when the very first book you read in the New Year is an instant favorite magnificent work you will be pushing at everyone you see for the foreseeable future. Midnight Without a Moon, the debut novel by Linda Williams Jackson, is such a book for me. Prepare to hear about this book for months to come.
It is summer of 1955 in Mississippi and Rosa Lee Carter lives with her grandparents, brother, and cousin on a wealthy white man's cotton plantation. Her best friend is the preacher's son. Her life's goal is to finish school and find a way out of Mississippi. As the summer heat rises, Rose spends her time working in the cotton fields and quietly trying to learn all she can about the NAACP. But her grandmother insists they are group who are just going to cause trouble for good people. When a neighbor is shot after registering to vote and tensions continue to rise across the state and Rose's small community, she must decide what she believes, how much she is willing to risk to stand up for that, and whether it is better to stand and fight or find a way out.
Rose's voice and character are absolute perfection. It works well for the time period while also being accessible and relatable for today's readers. Her life revolves around her closest relationships and is not entirely her own. She is a smart girl who desperately wants to finish school and become more, but her grandparents decide whether or not she goes to school. She works hard in the cotton fields and helping her grandmother while her older cousin gets to lounge around a good amount of the time. Relationship and family dynamics are the core of this book. Rose's mother had her and her brother young and out of wedlock. She married someone later and left her children with her parents. This is also the case for Rose's cousin. It makes for fraught family dynamics and the relationships are complicated by what her grandparents believe and the new ideas of beating down Jim Crow that are filtering in from so many of their relatives moving north and returning for visits. I can not even begin to explain in a short review how intricately Jackson pulls all of these together, layers them, and shows their complex importance simply by breathing life into the characters and making them real. I loved and felt so much for Rose, found her relationship with Hallelujah (her best friend) endearing, and adored her grandfather. Her grandmother filled me with rage, while at the same time that I found myself reluctantly understanding and empathizing with her. The complexities of all these people and their relationships make the story rich. It's a true picture of family and community that is not always comfortable, but shows the ties that bind us even when we don't necessarily like a person.
This story of Rose's self realization and her family's facing new challenges and questions is set against the summer of Mississippi in 1955 and the murder of Emmet Till and the trial of his murderers. This is kept in the distance though, and his is not the first murder discussed in the book. The book opens with the shooting of a man Rose knows because he registers to vote. The historical context of the book is important and the way the story is told even more so. This is a story about a black family living in a black community. It in no way shies away from or sugar coats what life was like in this time or place. In many aspects Rose's family life looks the same way it would have a hundred years before under slavery. Jackson does not attempt to make the reader comfortable with it in any way. The language she uses and the way people talk may make many squirm, but it makes the book that much richer and authentic. I think it is important to note that this book coming out this year, as the Voting Rights Act is being gutted, is a much needed reminder of exactly what things were like, why we need to keep fighting, and for a significant portion of the population the 1950s were Hell on earth and not a time we want to revisit.
The sentence level writing in the book is excellent as well. Jackson has a true way with words. She can write beautiful poetic imagery and also say much with one simple sentence. Few authors are able to find a balance between the two and wield them well together. Jackson can. The book is also infused with a sly, tongue-in-cheek humor that I love. This comes from Rose herself, who is quite a smart mouth in her own head even if she doesn't let it out much, and from others as well. There are some truly great pithy one liners.
This is pretty much a perfect book in every way: character, theme, setting, plot. It's being marketed as MG and I think it is a must have for every middle school library and classroom. I believe it will also have crossover YA appeal and that both the 2018 Newbery and Printz committees better be discussing it.
I read an ARC provided by the publisher, HMH Books for Young Readers, via Edelweiss. Midnight Without a Moon is on sale now, and you should buy it immediately.
July 6, 2016
I had the opportunity to read an ARC of this awesome novel by Linda Williams Jackson. This is a very powerful book with an important story that needs to be shared with young people. More than any other book I've ever read on the civil rights movement, this book pulled me right into the world of African American sharecroppers living in Mississippi in 1955. Told from the point of view of thirteen-year-old Rose Lee Carter, who lives with her grandparents, her younger brother, and her cousin in a small house on a cotton plantation, Jackson helped me understand and experience the pain, fear, anger, and emotional turmoil of African American families living during this time of change.
For my complete review, please visit: http://janatheteacher.blogspot.com/20...
For my complete review, please visit: http://janatheteacher.blogspot.com/20...
March 4, 2016
This is the powerful story of Rose Lee Carter (although you find out a slight twist on her first name near the end) and her journey of finding her strength and purpose in a Jim Crow South on the verge of changes, set against fourteen-year-old Emmett Till's murder and trial (among other tragic, bigoted crimes). Vividly drawn characters and scene-setting will put readers right there with Rose, bursting with anger and sadness about the injustices she witnesses and endures, and struggling to make a decision of whether to seek a destiny outside of Mississippi, or to stay and be part of an important movement.
This book has it all from the first page~ setting, voice, character, heart, senses. Linda Williams Jackson's debut is just what Sharon G. Flake said in the blurb on the back of the ARC I read: "... an unflinching bird's eye view of 1955 Mississippi. A magnificent piece of writing!"
This book has it all from the first page~ setting, voice, character, heart, senses. Linda Williams Jackson's debut is just what Sharon G. Flake said in the blurb on the back of the ARC I read: "... an unflinching bird's eye view of 1955 Mississippi. A magnificent piece of writing!"
June 12, 2016
This would have been a two-star book, but it got an extra star because the subject matter is important.
Here's what didn't work:
1. The dialect: Using dialect in written dialogue helps establish character and denote time and place. Here, however, it was heavy-handed and more distracting than illuminating.
2. Rose: She spent the entire book wanting nothing more than to leave her small Mississippi town, but, at the very end, with no real explanation, she chooses to stay.
3. Rose's name: In a book about the spark that lit the fire of the Civil Rights movement, calling your protagonist "Rosa" is a little too on-the-nose.
4. The age level: Some of the subject matter and language seemed more appropriate for an older readership (the book's age range is indicated by the publisher as 10-12), but Rose herself often spoke and acted younger than her 13 years. At the very least, this is an upper middle-grade novel, more suited for a 12-14 readership. But, even then, Rose needs to truly be a thirteen-year-old and not continually act like a ten- or eleven-year-old.
5. The self-importance: The subject matter of this book is important, yes, but it was one of those books where you felt the author may have had an over-inflated sense of exactly how important and it leaked through to the writing itself.
6. Info-dumping: There were a lot of explanatory passages where the information imparted may have been better delivered in an author's note or glossary at the end.
As I've mentioned (several times), this book deals with important subject matter and will probably find a place in many classrooms and school libraries. As a book that one would pick up just to read for pleasure, though, it fell short. It's possible for historical fiction to entertain while educating and, for me, this book did not accomplish that feat.
Here's what didn't work:
1. The dialect: Using dialect in written dialogue helps establish character and denote time and place. Here, however, it was heavy-handed and more distracting than illuminating.
2. Rose: She spent the entire book wanting nothing more than to leave her small Mississippi town, but, at the very end, with no real explanation, she chooses to stay.
3. Rose's name: In a book about the spark that lit the fire of the Civil Rights movement, calling your protagonist "Rosa" is a little too on-the-nose.
4. The age level: Some of the subject matter and language seemed more appropriate for an older readership (the book's age range is indicated by the publisher as 10-12), but Rose herself often spoke and acted younger than her 13 years. At the very least, this is an upper middle-grade novel, more suited for a 12-14 readership. But, even then, Rose needs to truly be a thirteen-year-old and not continually act like a ten- or eleven-year-old.
5. The self-importance: The subject matter of this book is important, yes, but it was one of those books where you felt the author may have had an over-inflated sense of exactly how important and it leaked through to the writing itself.
6. Info-dumping: There were a lot of explanatory passages where the information imparted may have been better delivered in an author's note or glossary at the end.
As I've mentioned (several times), this book deals with important subject matter and will probably find a place in many classrooms and school libraries. As a book that one would pick up just to read for pleasure, though, it fell short. It's possible for historical fiction to entertain while educating and, for me, this book did not accomplish that feat.
May 30, 2020
This book was amazing! Midnight Without a Moon takes place during the time of Emmett Till. Maybe you recall the horrific story of this African American boy who was killed for allegedly whistling at a white woman. His murderers were acquitted.
Just one town over from where Emmett was killed, lives Rose Lee Carter. She is biding her time, planning to move north as soon as possible so she can get away from the mistreatment and oppression of the white plantation owners.
I loved this story because it really opened my eyes, and gave me a glimpse of how it must have felt to live during that time. To fear for your life, and yet to stand up, despite how scary it might be, to work for change. Rose never meant to get involved. All she wanted was to escape and find a better, safer place. But running away from your problems is never the neat answer we would like it to be.
Jackson really brings the setting to life. She made me feel as though I were there, living through these events with Rose. I could relate to Rose's fear, and her courage made me want to be braver as well. We need to read books like these to remember our history. I would like to say that we should remember it so history doesn't repeat itself, but maybe it's more so that history will STOP repeating itself. So we can be the change that Rose is trying to be as well.
Just one town over from where Emmett was killed, lives Rose Lee Carter. She is biding her time, planning to move north as soon as possible so she can get away from the mistreatment and oppression of the white plantation owners.
I loved this story because it really opened my eyes, and gave me a glimpse of how it must have felt to live during that time. To fear for your life, and yet to stand up, despite how scary it might be, to work for change. Rose never meant to get involved. All she wanted was to escape and find a better, safer place. But running away from your problems is never the neat answer we would like it to be.
Jackson really brings the setting to life. She made me feel as though I were there, living through these events with Rose. I could relate to Rose's fear, and her courage made me want to be braver as well. We need to read books like these to remember our history. I would like to say that we should remember it so history doesn't repeat itself, but maybe it's more so that history will STOP repeating itself. So we can be the change that Rose is trying to be as well.
July 3, 2017
The story of Emmett Till is one that is pivotal in the beginnings of the civil rights movement but is not often included in histories geared to younger audiences.
I first became acquainted with it when a college professor assigned me to read a work of fiction and a work of non-fiction about the same event, by the same author. (In case you were wondering, I read Mississippi Trial, 1955 and Getting Away With Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Case by Chris Crowe.) I was both shocked and morbidly fascinated by the story of a young black boy from Chicago who was brutally murdered for allegedly whistling at a white woman while visiting family in Mississippi.
I’m glad to see another historical fiction written about the subject, and Linda Williams Jackson’s writing is beautiful. Rose Lee is feisty and engaging, and the scene with her dancing in front of the mirror is cringe-worthy in the most wonderful way.
My biggest complaint is that the other characters lack the same depth. Her Grandmother, Ma Pearl was so nasty as to be unbelievable and even made me roll my eyes on occasion. I have a feeling Midnight Without a Moon will quickly become a more of a favorite of librarians and middle school history teachers than middle-grade readers themselves. Still, it is a good book about a subject that is just as relevant today as it was then.
I first became acquainted with it when a college professor assigned me to read a work of fiction and a work of non-fiction about the same event, by the same author. (In case you were wondering, I read Mississippi Trial, 1955 and Getting Away With Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Case by Chris Crowe.) I was both shocked and morbidly fascinated by the story of a young black boy from Chicago who was brutally murdered for allegedly whistling at a white woman while visiting family in Mississippi.
I’m glad to see another historical fiction written about the subject, and Linda Williams Jackson’s writing is beautiful. Rose Lee is feisty and engaging, and the scene with her dancing in front of the mirror is cringe-worthy in the most wonderful way.
My biggest complaint is that the other characters lack the same depth. Her Grandmother, Ma Pearl was so nasty as to be unbelievable and even made me roll my eyes on occasion. I have a feeling Midnight Without a Moon will quickly become a more of a favorite of librarians and middle school history teachers than middle-grade readers themselves. Still, it is a good book about a subject that is just as relevant today as it was then.
September 19, 2016
Whew. What a powerful book.
Readers will feel what Rose feels during this book - tension, curiosity, struggle, fear, hope. And the history. So much history is wrapped up in this book and necessitates reflection and application to today's chaos, too.
This book is labeled as middle grade, but for upper middle ages 10+. I definitely recommend those around 10-12 years old reading it with teachers/parents to discuss a lot of the very hard (very real) things in the book. This will definitely be a book to read and discuss and share.
Disclosure: I was provided with a chance to read an ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.
Readers will feel what Rose feels during this book - tension, curiosity, struggle, fear, hope. And the history. So much history is wrapped up in this book and necessitates reflection and application to today's chaos, too.
This book is labeled as middle grade, but for upper middle ages 10+. I definitely recommend those around 10-12 years old reading it with teachers/parents to discuss a lot of the very hard (very real) things in the book. This will definitely be a book to read and discuss and share.
Disclosure: I was provided with a chance to read an ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.
March 18, 2017
This book will teach you more about the civil rights movement than any history text book. Not about the historical events but about the lives of African Americans in Mississippi. I appreciate more the courage needed to question the system, protest, register to vote... and the many reasons people were pushed to find that courage.
Rose/Rosa is a fabulous character. I loved watching her grow and develop more strength. It would be wonderful for the author to write a book featuring an adult Rosa.
Rose/Rosa is a fabulous character. I loved watching her grow and develop more strength. It would be wonderful for the author to write a book featuring an adult Rosa.
May 22, 2017
This story is a lovely, sometimes brutal portrait of 1955 Mississippi and a black girl trying to figure out how to survive, how to fight, how to love who she is. It blends a fictional family struggling in the south with the factual accounts of the south during this time, specifically the Emmett Till trial. It's raw and real, the language visceral and piercing. Beautiful and eye-opening.
May 8, 2018
Lovely historical fiction about Jim Crow-era Mississippi. I loved the glimpse into Rose's internal struggle between her desire to leave and pursue her dreams and her desire to stay and fight for her home. Jackson's writing shines - you really feel like you're there with the characters.
April 21, 2018
I had no idea that there will be a follow-up to this impressive debut until I logged on to Goodreads to write my review. Although I was satisfied with how Midnight Without a Moon ended, I was also curious to see what would happen to all the characters and what part in the nascent civil rights movement they would take. Now it looks as though some of my questions will be answered. In this book, thirteen-year-old Rose Lee Carter lives in the Mississippi Delta in 1955 with her grandparents, Papa and Ma Pearl. The family ekes out a living as sharecroppers on a cotton plantation. Its owner treats them well enough compared to how other whites behave toward blacks during that time, and Ma Pearl is always happy to have the cast-off furniture of Mrs. Robinson. Rose is frustrated by the poverty and the unfair treatment of blacks, and she feels betrayed when her mother leaves for Chicago with her husband in search of a better standard of living. Throughout the book, Rose is sure that if she can just move north as part of the Great Migration, things will be much better. More than once, she learns about someone who has been killed for forgetting his place or by daring to register to vote. But the pivotal event in the book is the brutal murder of Emmett Till in nearby Money and the subsequent trial of his alleged killers. With her aunt coming down to the area from St. Louis to help with voter registration, and her family conflicted about the right way to behave in order to get along with the whites who hold all the power over them, Rose has a sudden moment of awareness that leaving might provide her with a better quality of life and opportunities that she might never have in Mississippi, but that someone must stay and fight and encourage change. While certainly no martyr, she reflects on the words of her best friend Hallelujah, "Dreams have more meaning when you have to fight for them" (p. 255) and realizes that she, too, has a right to stay where she is. Not only does the author capture vividly this particular time and place, but her characters are authentic and enable middle grade readers to see how youngsters their age might have reacted to everyday occurrences and the constant threat of violence that kept many adults from ever stepping out of their place or demanding their rights. There are many narrative threads running through this book, including Rose's inability to see her own beauty because of the darkness of her skin compared to the lighter skin of some of her family members, her grandmother's heavy-handed control of the household, and the many unplanned pregnancies that seem to spell the end of education for so many girls in those days. I was curious to know more about Rose's mother and her aunt Ruthie who finds it so hard to leave her abusive husband behind for good, and was touched as Rose ruminates on how "Change was inevitable in nature, as Miss Johnson used to say, but not in people. People had a choice, whereas nature did not" (p. 306). And oh, how hard it can be to make a change, even when we know it's for the best. I was delighted by every word in this book, filled with heartbreak and yet also containing moments of hope and humor, and I will be eager to read the next book.
March 30, 2017
Ms. Jackson's debut is a heartfelt account of life in 1950s Mississippi for a young African-American girl. Some parts were tough to read because the history of race relations in our country is so ugly, but it taught me a lot of things I didn't know before and gave me a whole new perspective. Rose Lee Carter is such a strong, voice driven character that the pages flew by while I was reading this. I certainly hope to see more from this author in the future!
December 26, 2016
This powerful, nuanced and brilliant debut should be required reading in middle and high school. Jackson nails the brutality and layered intricacies of racial prejudice with stunning, lyrical prose. I fell in love with Rosa, a thirteen year old growing up in Jim Crow-ruled south, as she anguished over her hopes for a future. Jackson submerges us in Rosa's world - the sights, sounds and feel of Mississippi in 1955 - come alive. This is the kind of story that resonates and stays with you. Classic.
Highly, highly recommended!!
Highly, highly recommended!!
February 17, 2017
3.5*
I really enjoyed this, part of me felt like it was going all over the place. It worked for the most part, not my favorite southern set book, but still great depth and message in this.
I really enjoyed this, part of me felt like it was going all over the place. It worked for the most part, not my favorite southern set book, but still great depth and message in this.
February 7, 2018
Set during the summer or 1955 Mississipi, we are following a young girl by the name of Rose Lee Carter. Her mother has left with her new husband and her new children to Chicago and has left her and her brother Fred Lee with their grandparents who live and work on a farm. This young 12-year-old girl and her friend Hallelujah, the preachers' son learn what it means to be black in Mississippi, living and working off land they don't own and what the white people in their state will do to keep those in power powerful and those without it, scared. From killing those who want to register to vote to those playing with the idea of moving North.
I really loved this book, I loved the spirit that embodies Rose she has been through so much at such a tender age and for a girl knowing that her education is her ticket out of Mississippi doesn't let her Ma Pearl (who is like the worst, even though as a mother I can understand where she might be coming from when it comes to trying to protect her family, but really she was just a bitch and not in anyway helpful to any cause) I loved the history in this book and the connection to time. You really felt for everyone and I can't wait to read the second book in this series, I need to know how Roses story ends.
I really loved this book, I loved the spirit that embodies Rose she has been through so much at such a tender age and for a girl knowing that her education is her ticket out of Mississippi doesn't let her Ma Pearl (who is like the worst, even though as a mother I can understand where she might be coming from when it comes to trying to protect her family, but really she was just a bitch and not in anyway helpful to any cause) I loved the history in this book and the connection to time. You really felt for everyone and I can't wait to read the second book in this series, I need to know how Roses story ends.
March 6, 2017
Rose and her younger brother live with their grandparents (their mom and stepfather are raising his children, not hers, because four kids are too much for her mom to handle). It's 1955 Mississippi and all Rose wants is to escape. She doesn't know where and she doesn't care, but 1955 Mississippi is no place to be unless you're white. Her grandparents are more go along to get along, but her best friend Hallelujah is more inclined to fight for change. And seeing as how this is set during the summer of Emmett Till, change is coming no matter if they want it or not.
First, I love Rose. I love the way she really grapples with whether or not she should stay in Mississippi. The theme of whether you have a responsibility to stay and change an unfair place or if your responsibility is to yourself and staying alive keeps recurring.
I think there's a lot in this book that may make people uncomfortable, but this all really happened. And it happened fairly recently. I wasn't alive yet but my parents were, and odds are the intended audience (this is MG) would have grandparents that may remember Emmett Till.
Highly recommended.
First, I love Rose. I love the way she really grapples with whether or not she should stay in Mississippi. The theme of whether you have a responsibility to stay and change an unfair place or if your responsibility is to yourself and staying alive keeps recurring.
I think there's a lot in this book that may make people uncomfortable, but this all really happened. And it happened fairly recently. I wasn't alive yet but my parents were, and odds are the intended audience (this is MG) would have grandparents that may remember Emmett Till.
Highly recommended.
July 24, 2018
Rose Lee Carter is thirteen-years-old in the summer of 1955 living in the Mississippi Delta with her brother Fred Lee and beautiful older cousin Queen. Rose spends the summers caring for the cotton on Papa’s farm and dreaming of heading north to Chicago to join her mother and her mother’s new husband and family. North where whites and coloreds live together. North where Rose can get a better education and someday become a rich doctor, lawyer or teacher and help out her family. North where Rose’s dark dark skin – midnight without a moon her Ma Pearl calls it- doesn’t matter. North where colored men don’t get killed just for registering to vote. North where the boy Emmett Till came from and where his body returned to his mother brutally maimed just for not understanding he shouldn’t whistle at a white woman. Rose’s best friend Hallelujah Jenkins tells Rose the truth about what is happening in Mississippi and how change is coming and he is determined to fight for his freedom. Rose isn’t so sure what to think. What is her place? Where does she belongs? How can she become free without paying the price?
This is a tough book. It’s labeled Juvenile at the library but I would say it’s more for young adults. The author does not at all shy away from the tough topics that affected the African-American population in Mississippi from the end of the slavery. There’s teen pregnancy/illegitimate children, alcoholism, spousal abuse, child abuse, racism and of course murder. The fatal flaw of this book is that it lacks an author’s note. There are so many topics in this novel that need to be touched on: share cropping, NAACP, Medgar Evers who was just beginning his career and Emmett Till’s murder; especially now that the case has been reopened. I also think this book could have benefitted from some discussion questions. (they’re online : http://www.jacksonbooks.com/MWAM_MGat...) I had a lot on my mind after reading this book. My other complaint is that it was LONG. I could have done without the religious revival business. I really didn’t like the ending. I disagreed with Rose and felt the author felt the need to hammer home a moral to her story.
The setting is very vivid. I could see, smell and feel Mississippi. I know what cotton looks like and feels like from working at a cotton mill museum. It’s a novelty to us here in New England to even get it to grow let alone spout cotton bolls. I could feel Rose’s love/hate relationship with it.
Rose is a great narrator. I could easily hear her voice smart, sassy and proud. I could hear her interpretations of what everyone else was saying. This would make a great audiobook. I really liked Rose because she’s so bright and curious and of course because of the abuse she suffers at the hands of her cruel grandmother.
Rose’s grandmother, Ma Pearl, is all kinds of CRAZY! She favors Rose’s cousin Queen because Queen has light skin. Ma Pearl rules the house with an iron fist. She is especially cruel to Rose. What kind of grandmother tells her grandchild she is unworthy because of the color of her skin? What grandmother makes her grandchildren pay for the mistakes their mothers made? What kind of grandmother doesn’t want a better life for her grandchildren? I just did not understand Ma Pearl and I don’t think any of the characters really did either. Yes she’s had a hard life and yes it is better than it was when her parents were enslaved and yes people are getting killed for standing up for their rights. However, she could still be kind to Rose and encourage Rose to stay in school and study and rise above her situation. Why not figure out with the help of the teacher how to get Rose the education she desperately wants and needs? Why on earth is she so cruel to her own children? I can see the tough love approach with Aunt Rosie but Aunt Rosie is in that situation because of her crazy mother. I can understand why Ma Pearl doesn’t like her youngest daughter coming back and stirring up trouble but I don’t understand why Ma Pearl thought the worst of Papa’s younger sister? Even just the family situation makes Rose an appealing character readers can empathize with. Then you have the added complication of race and the emerging Civil Rights movement. I’m pretty sure Rose’s name is deliberate on behalf of the author, especially when certain revelations are made about her name later.
Rose’s mother seems to possibly be somewhat intellectually impaired. Unlike her feisty daughter she is not a fighter. She made bad decisions but ended up being rewarded because of her beauty. The way she treats Rose and Frank Lee is disturbing.
Papa is more sympathetic than Ma Pearl. I totally understand his reasoning. Papa becomes more sympathetic later as the story goes on. He’s very special to Rose despite using her as unpaid labor. Queen is a nasty, spoiled, horrid person. She has soaked up all Ma Peal’s love and ingrained racism and spews back the same venom towards Rose. Queen gets away with laziness and cruelty to Rose and everyone else she deems unworthy of her fair self. Hallelujah is a darling. I can see why he is Rose’s best friend. He’s intelligent and intellectual. He may be nerdy for a teenager but he’s AWARE. He alone fills Rose in on what is actually happening to their neighbors. He alone shows Rose copies of Jet magazine and other “negro” publications. I wish Rose could see herself represented in the magazines but the news satisfies her curiosity and helps her think about what she wants and her place in the world. I think Hallelujah helps Rose with her sense of self-worth and that to make makes a good friend.
The northern friends and family like Aunt Belle are sympathetic from a modern, northern standpoint but I can see why Ma Peal doesn’t like them coming down and stirring up trouble. She’s scared and I would be too. I liked how Monty stood up for Belle and against Ma Pearl.
This is a fantastic novel that would be excellent for use in the classroom. It should be on teen reading lists for 7th grade if it isn’t already BUT the publisher needs to add a historical note and discussion questions first.
This is a tough book. It’s labeled Juvenile at the library but I would say it’s more for young adults. The author does not at all shy away from the tough topics that affected the African-American population in Mississippi from the end of the slavery. There’s teen pregnancy/illegitimate children, alcoholism, spousal abuse, child abuse, racism and of course murder. The fatal flaw of this book is that it lacks an author’s note. There are so many topics in this novel that need to be touched on: share cropping, NAACP, Medgar Evers who was just beginning his career and Emmett Till’s murder; especially now that the case has been reopened. I also think this book could have benefitted from some discussion questions. (they’re online : http://www.jacksonbooks.com/MWAM_MGat...) I had a lot on my mind after reading this book. My other complaint is that it was LONG. I could have done without the religious revival business. I really didn’t like the ending. I disagreed with Rose and felt the author felt the need to hammer home a moral to her story.
The setting is very vivid. I could see, smell and feel Mississippi. I know what cotton looks like and feels like from working at a cotton mill museum. It’s a novelty to us here in New England to even get it to grow let alone spout cotton bolls. I could feel Rose’s love/hate relationship with it.
Rose is a great narrator. I could easily hear her voice smart, sassy and proud. I could hear her interpretations of what everyone else was saying. This would make a great audiobook. I really liked Rose because she’s so bright and curious and of course because of the abuse she suffers at the hands of her cruel grandmother.
Rose’s grandmother, Ma Pearl, is all kinds of CRAZY! She favors Rose’s cousin Queen because Queen has light skin. Ma Pearl rules the house with an iron fist. She is especially cruel to Rose. What kind of grandmother tells her grandchild she is unworthy because of the color of her skin? What grandmother makes her grandchildren pay for the mistakes their mothers made? What kind of grandmother doesn’t want a better life for her grandchildren? I just did not understand Ma Pearl and I don’t think any of the characters really did either. Yes she’s had a hard life and yes it is better than it was when her parents were enslaved and yes people are getting killed for standing up for their rights. However, she could still be kind to Rose and encourage Rose to stay in school and study and rise above her situation. Why not figure out with the help of the teacher how to get Rose the education she desperately wants and needs? Why on earth is she so cruel to her own children? I can see the tough love approach with Aunt Rosie but Aunt Rosie is in that situation because of her crazy mother. I can understand why Ma Pearl doesn’t like her youngest daughter coming back and stirring up trouble but I don’t understand why Ma Pearl thought the worst of Papa’s younger sister? Even just the family situation makes Rose an appealing character readers can empathize with. Then you have the added complication of race and the emerging Civil Rights movement. I’m pretty sure Rose’s name is deliberate on behalf of the author, especially when certain revelations are made about her name later.
Rose’s mother seems to possibly be somewhat intellectually impaired. Unlike her feisty daughter she is not a fighter. She made bad decisions but ended up being rewarded because of her beauty. The way she treats Rose and Frank Lee is disturbing.
Papa is more sympathetic than Ma Pearl. I totally understand his reasoning. Papa becomes more sympathetic later as the story goes on. He’s very special to Rose despite using her as unpaid labor. Queen is a nasty, spoiled, horrid person. She has soaked up all Ma Peal’s love and ingrained racism and spews back the same venom towards Rose. Queen gets away with laziness and cruelty to Rose and everyone else she deems unworthy of her fair self. Hallelujah is a darling. I can see why he is Rose’s best friend. He’s intelligent and intellectual. He may be nerdy for a teenager but he’s AWARE. He alone fills Rose in on what is actually happening to their neighbors. He alone shows Rose copies of Jet magazine and other “negro” publications. I wish Rose could see herself represented in the magazines but the news satisfies her curiosity and helps her think about what she wants and her place in the world. I think Hallelujah helps Rose with her sense of self-worth and that to make makes a good friend.
The northern friends and family like Aunt Belle are sympathetic from a modern, northern standpoint but I can see why Ma Peal doesn’t like them coming down and stirring up trouble. She’s scared and I would be too. I liked how Monty stood up for Belle and against Ma Pearl.
This is a fantastic novel that would be excellent for use in the classroom. It should be on teen reading lists for 7th grade if it isn’t already BUT the publisher needs to add a historical note and discussion questions first.
May 13, 2016
Rose Lee Carter is a smart, resourceful girl in 1950's Mississippi. She lives with her grandparents and spends her days picking cotton. She dreams, too - of school, of college, of moving north. She is also one of the most memorable characters I have ever encountered.
There is so much that I loved about this story. The way the author weaves in history and actual events. The characters: Rose, Queen, Pa - I felt like I was getting a glimpse into an actual family. The voice. Oh, the voice! You will be ready to follow Rose Lee Carter anywhere.
I think this book is going to really resonate with young readers. As a former teacher, this is absolutely a book that I would keep several copies of in my classroom. I'd use it for lit circles. I'd read it out loud. Such an important, heartfelt, moving story. This needs to be in the hands of kids.
This was an absolutely outstanding book and Linda Williams Jackson is an author to watch.
There is so much that I loved about this story. The way the author weaves in history and actual events. The characters: Rose, Queen, Pa - I felt like I was getting a glimpse into an actual family. The voice. Oh, the voice! You will be ready to follow Rose Lee Carter anywhere.
I think this book is going to really resonate with young readers. As a former teacher, this is absolutely a book that I would keep several copies of in my classroom. I'd use it for lit circles. I'd read it out loud. Such an important, heartfelt, moving story. This needs to be in the hands of kids.
This was an absolutely outstanding book and Linda Williams Jackson is an author to watch.
March 10, 2017
This is a book I knew I'd love from the beginning, and now that I'm done reading it, I'm happy to say it didn't disappoint. In fact, it mesmerized and awed me. Linda Jackson's writing is vivid, raw, and naturally literary... I must confess I cried a few times.
The main character (Rosa--or Rose--Lee Carter) is a young black girl experiencing growing up in 1950s Mississippi. Her life is tremendously difficult, and still she is willing to fight and to approach everything with curiosity. Her struggle and determination (despite the prejudice and hatred that constantly threaten her, her family, and friends) inspire me.
MIDNIGHT WITHOUT A MOON has the potential to join the literary canon of our time and is a must read. It's needless to say I recommend it.
The main character (Rosa--or Rose--Lee Carter) is a young black girl experiencing growing up in 1950s Mississippi. Her life is tremendously difficult, and still she is willing to fight and to approach everything with curiosity. Her struggle and determination (despite the prejudice and hatred that constantly threaten her, her family, and friends) inspire me.
MIDNIGHT WITHOUT A MOON has the potential to join the literary canon of our time and is a must read. It's needless to say I recommend it.
June 28, 2016
This is a very powerful book about a young girl who dares to see the world differently. The writing is beautiful with thought-provoking lines that made me pause just to take them in.
I will note that there are some tough themes in this book as it realistically portrays the time period. Adult support might be a good idea for younger children in the age range who might need to discuss the book's events.
The author has done a great job of telling an important story and everything from the title to the ending will impact the reader.
I will note that there are some tough themes in this book as it realistically portrays the time period. Adult support might be a good idea for younger children in the age range who might need to discuss the book's events.
The author has done a great job of telling an important story and everything from the title to the ending will impact the reader.
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