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Lay That Trumpet in Our Hands
In the orange-blossomed-scented spring of 1951, Reesa McMahon is awakened in the night to discover that the local Klan has brutally murdered her closest friend and mentor, nineteen-year-old Marvin Wiley. The killing of this gentle black man will turn the genteel town of Mayflower, Florida, into a battleground. As violence erupts over the state, and the NAACP join the McMah...more
Library Binding, 288 pages
Published
April 28th 2003
by Turtleback Books
(first published January 29th 2002)
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This coming-of-age story set in Florida at the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement in 1951 is VERY reminiscent of To Kill a Mockingbird--a young female protagonist, a racist community, brave parents who come into conflict with social norms, an important friendship, and a misunderstood adult who becomes a friend. However, this book has its own unique aspects--the KKK, a historically accurate race-based murder, the conflict of Northern and Southern values. Although the plot and characters felt...more
This was another recommendation from Tracy after her book club had read it. As a Floridian, I found this book a fascinating and accurate insight into Florida as it was 50 years ago, and the impact that has to the Florida I've come to know today. I loved that the story is told from the perspective of 13-year-old Reesa, which gives the story both innocence and realism. Even though it is fiction, the central tenets of the story are real events of history, so it feels more like a 1st person, non-...more
I had some mixed feelings about this book. Generally speaking, I really really liked it. There were a couple things that bothered me that were fairly minor, and yet in order to fix them, the entire book would need to be re-written, so make of that what you will! First of all, I don't like it when books are written in present tense. It just feels fake and annoying to me. And I felt like McCarthy kept wanting to slip out of it, anyway. She should have just gone with past tense and let it be....more
Mr. Z
rated it
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review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
High schoolers and above
Recommended to Mr. Z by:
A teacher friend
“Grief, I think, signs you up for a separate, invisible club, members selected at death’s awful randomness. ‘Gone forever’ is our password, lingering sorrow our secret handshake. If you haven’t lost someone important to you, you can’t begin to know the rules. Truth is, you don’t even know the club exists.”
It is hard enough to lose someone important to you due to natural causes or a tragic accident. But when someone is taken from you due to bigotry, inhumanity, hatred or any of ignora...more
It is hard enough to lose someone important to you due to natural causes or a tragic accident. But when someone is taken from you due to bigotry, inhumanity, hatred or any of ignora...more
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Lay That Trumpet in Our Hands was the kind of book that you finish reading and right away you have a little moment of "Wow". The story was written and composed very well which played a massive role in how engaged I was while reading it. I was the sort of book that, when you start reading, makes the short hand on the clock mysteriously shift several hours in what was supposed to be a few minutes. I can't say I would have picked it if it weren't a mandatory read for school, but there ar...more
Based on actual events, the story covers some of the atrocities committed by the KKK in Florida in 1951, beginning with the brutal slaying of a friend who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. This murder is only the first in a string of violent events that include bombings in Miami, and the murder of the Moores, a couple who worked to bring the vote to Florida's African-American population.
This is an amazing book that is an honest and insightful view into the thoughts and live...more
This is an amazing book that is an honest and insightful view into the thoughts and live...more
Here is one of those rare and remarkable debuts that herald the appearance of a major new talent on the literary scene. Inspired by real events, Lay That Trumpet In Our Hands is a wise and luminous story about a northern family, a southern town, and the senseless murder that sparks an extraordinary act of courage.
To this day, my family is in disagreement as to precisely when the nightmare began. For me, it was the morning Daddy and Luther discovered Marvin, beaten, shot, and dying, i...more
To this day, my family is in disagreement as to precisely when the nightmare began. For me, it was the morning Daddy and Luther discovered Marvin, beaten, shot, and dying, i...more
The story is set in central Florida where I now live, so it was interesting to read about places that are very local. It's a young adult type book which Amber was assigned to read over the summer. I read it wondering if it would be a worthwhile book, and it definitely was. The author brings to life the racial prejudices that played out in actual events in the early 1950's from the point of view of a young teenage girl. It's a well-written and interesting story.
Although fictional the book is based on true events in the Civil Rights movement and times in the Florida 50's. These events were part of the author's grandmother's life and was also written with the blessing of the 90 year old daughter of the Moore's who were killed on Christmas day in their home in Florida. A movie was made about Mr. Moore and his brave work standing up for rights fol all in the south.
I live in the area that this all occurred in the book. The restaurant that the Grandmother takes the children too still stands to this day. When I read this book I cried and I laughed. This is a wonderful book that shows you the darker side to Florida that existed then and still exists in some parts today. I recommend this book to anyone it is a definite page turner.
I always find fiction that weaves itself around true events to be fascinating and this book is no exception. I found myself looking up old newspapers and Supreme Court rulings to confirm what I read in the book and many of the references were accurate. The story contains a depth and feeling and is worth the read.
A simply written but powerful story of the American south when the KKK still owned the orange groves of central Florida. The small nuances of the people of the time and the ever-present struggle in trying to understand why one should hate another solely because of the color of their skin ring constantly throughout the novel. Though not as long or thorough as To Kill a Mockingbird, I found it to be more personal and therefore, having a much stronger impact. Beautiful and touching:)
Highly recommend! The beautiful prose makes the book deceptively simple. As a professional historian I thought I knew the civil rights movement well, but I learned a great deal from this novel about families, communities, Klan violence, and strength. The characters are both real and charming.
Excellent story and writing by Susan McCarthy. Inspired by real events of racism and the KKK's impact on life and history. A compelling friendship between a black family and a white family. This book was written beautifully and kept me wanting more.
Okay--No Fear Book Club discussion went all around this one. Good "Southern lit" selection. The depth of character and situation from a young narrator proved effective in this one. It's no Mockingbird, but it adds another voice to the stories about racism and its ugliness. I was reminded yet again of the impact family has on who we are and what we believe. When that is in conflict with the society in which we operate, trouble brews and often explodes. This is a good one for matur...more
Excellent piece of historical fiction about the racial history of Central Florida, based upon real events involving the Klan and the NAACP. A story of courage and love to overcome violence and open the way to a better life.
This books is along the same lines as To Kill a Mockingbird. It is a fictionalized version of actual experiences from the author's childhood dealing with racism in the 1950's. Very well done.
One of the best stories I've read about the racial conflicts in the south during the 50's. I loved the way Susan McCarthy wrote this story for her dad, because it was his story.
Very evocative for those of us who grew up in Florida in the fifties and also very informative for those os us too young to know about these KKK activities at that time.
This book is very confusing with sudden change in locatin.however
what i can rememver it is very interesting,showing the racism and the actions by the kkk klan.
what i can rememver it is very interesting,showing the racism and the actions by the kkk klan.
A truly riveting book. The author paints a wonderful picture of Central Florida in the 1950's, and through a carefully constructed narrative brings to life the sordid deeds of the Ku Klux Klan, and how even small events can help change the course of history. In an interesting amalgam of events and characters, the author presents us with a story of Northerners in a hotbed of KKK activity, and how anonymous parties in conjunction with higher authorities and a few key players bring these awful deed...more
I like this book because it takes place in Orlando,Fl and how Marvin Cully got killed by the Klan's that is around the town killing people cause of their race.
this book is about the racism in central Fl and the different things blacks had to go threw and how Ressa and her familoy are going threw the lost of their good friend Marvin and how they are getting the FBI to help out with the case because they are trying to get justice because the clan shot him and he didnt even do anything they just miss took him for another person i dont recomend this book in my opinion this isnt a read for young teens unless you like history type books
The great writing and important themes in Lay That Trumpet in Our Hands make this a perfect book for discussion. It reminds me of the type of book I would have read in high school, but more engaging to read and with a more contemporary feel. In fact, many high schools are introducing this book into their curriculum. The story, based on real events, is about a young white girl whose family and community is struggling through a series of violent acts by the Ku Klux Klan in 1950's Florida. It i...more
This book is chosen as the summer read for Michigan Tech, with the author coming to speak in Houghton on the 25th. She will be accompanied by Evangeline Moore, now 80, the daughter of two voter registration activists who were killed when their home was bombed.
Very engaging story of racism in Florida in the 1950s, told from the perspective of a pre-teen girl; couldn't put it down!
Very interesting read. Left me wondering (as most historical fiction does) what was true and what was fiction. Quick read.
Excellent book about Central Florida in the early 1950s. It's a novel, but historically accurate.
Matt had this as an assigned summer reading book. It was really well written and though-provoking.
So many facts about Central Florida that were new to me. Very curious if long-time residents of Florida would find this novel offensive in any way.
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“Oh, child, there's no explainin' the meanness in this world." Armetta shakes her head, wipes wetness off her cheek, then cradles my hands in her palms. "But there's goodness here, too. You can't never lose sight of that, hold on to it. It's the goodness that gets us through.”
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