Lay that Trumpet in Our Hands: Lay that Trumpet in Our Hands: A Novel

WOW! What a read! This is an important story told beautifully. Some of the narrative is lyrical. Other parts will chill you to the bone. It is a story that will stick with me for a long, long time. Told from the point of view of a young girl in 1951 Florida, it takes the reader into the civil rights movement with heartbreaking intimacy. Compared, on the cover, to To Kill a Mockingbird (something that's almost inevitable when the story deals with a pre-pubescent narrator talking about racism in the South), I found it a "different bird" altogether. It stands on its own as a fine piece of literature. Book discussion groups, take note! And all others simply looking for a book that will provoke thought and feeling - look no further.

I don't see the rating that I put on this book for the last time so maybe I didn't rate it at all. Why? I don't know. This book was one of the most excellent and intriguing books I've ever read in my life. It was so interesting to hear about a white person's perspective on the KKK and the plot was fabulous. Although I wish she wouldn't have had reason to write this story, I really did appreciate it. Thanks again!

Reading this book was like being in central Florida in the 1950's. Carol McCarthy is an excellent story teller. I've read the book twice and put it up on the shelf to pull down in a couple years to read again.

This novel is a glimpse into the world of 12-year-old Reesa and her family, a Northern family living in Central Florida during the early '50s.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 Marvin, a dear friend of Reesa's family, who is African-American, and who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Marvin's slaying 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. Determined to bring Marvin's murderers to justice, Reesa's family sets off a string of events that eventually lead to a federal investigation and federal trial of many of the town's KKK members.Why don't they teach this in school? I had no idea of any of these events until I read this novel. How very sad.

While reading this book, I kept saying to myself and my husband, "I didn't know that or did you know that. . .". In other words, this book is based on facts of historical events involving the KKK and the FBI that occurred in Florida in 1951-1952. However, this story is far from boring; it's told from a young girl's perspective as she grows up emotionally. Not only does Ms. McCarthy tell a story of fearful circumstances but also personalizes it so that we rout for this girl, her family and the community. Every anecdote ties together perfectly. I especially didn't want to read about a "rattler race" in a dry sinkhole, yet I couldn't stop myself. So will you.