Crow is a fictionalized account of the real life historical event, The 1898 Wilmington Race Riot. This "riot" is now actually called a coup d'etat, as a group of citizens (in this case white supremacists) overthrew the legitimately elected local government. It was the only time this has ever been done in U.S. history. Although the book is based on an historical event, it is not a history book. Rather, it is a coming of age story of a naive boy who tries to make heads or tails of the prejudice and racial hatred around him. Moses tells us this story in his own words, and is a fantastic and likable storyteller. Born post civil war, he grew up with many freedoms that were not available years before and his father is an educated businessman. Moses is friends with everyone--black, white, rich, poor--but now he is realizing that prejudice, racism, and all these awful things do exist, and right in his own backyard. Watching the events unfold in the massacre is not only eye-opening for poor Moses, but horrifying. The freedom that was so hard to win is now, quite suddenly and violently, lost. The author does an amazing job of crafting this novel and writes the character of Moses brilliantly. Some of the intense parts include: Moses and his father struggle to escape a white supremacist rally where the whites call out to hurt the blacks; the supremacists use the "n" word; later, during the riot, innocent blacks are shot, and even children are harmed. This story would be best enjoyed by a more sophisticated reader as it could seem slow at times, but it is so well written, and such an important story, it is not to be missed by middle-graders. This worthwhile book would be also be an excellent read-aloud.
