Maw Books

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In The Rock and the River by Kekla Magoon, thirteen-year-old Sam is the son of civil rights activist Roland Childs (who is a fictional character just to be clear), who is close to Martin Luther King Jr. Sam has grown up his whole life participating in demonstrations and stuffing more envelopes than he cares to count.  He has learned that he will always be seen as his father’s son and as such must uphold a certain kind of reputation and represent his family well.

Racism is alive and strong in the south.  While Sam is confronted with this on a daily basis, it is this following event where somebody was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time that stirs his anger even more and serves as the underlying motivation in the story:

Bucky straightened up and shook his head slightly.  The officer slammed the baton into Buckey’s stomach again. Bucky doubled over from the force of the blow, pressing his arms against his stomach.  The hit echoed in my gut – along with the horrible knowledge that everything was about to get worse.
The second cop’s baton caught Bucky on the chin and jerked him back up.  Everyone on the street turned to look.  The cops took turns striking Bucky with their nightsticks, fists and feet.  The radio in the background seemed to sing louder, the cheerful pop tune warring with the sick thwack of baton blows against skin.  The tall cop bent close to Bucky, his square nose practically touching Bucky’s cheek, and said something. Bucky reacted sharply, jerking backward, his fists stretched out in front of him. The cop laughed and hammered Bucky’s arms with his baton.

The music cut suddenly and the silence suffocated the street.  The air grew thick, hard to breathe without choking.  Only the hum of cars on nearby streets disturbed the still air.  The stocky cop lifted the radio from his belt and spoke into it.

Maxie moved closer to me. This couldn’t be happening right in front of us, especially not to Bucky.  It went on forever.  Finally the tall cop brought his nightstick down hard against Bucky’s temple.  The blow connected, making a loud crack.  Maxie turned her face into my shoulder.  I slid my arm over Maxie’s back, hugging her closer.

Bucky fell to the ground.  His face pointed toward us, bruised cheeks and split lip. The side of his head was bleeding.  His eyes were open, searching.  His gaze landed on me, pleading for it to stop.  I longed for Stick or even Father.  They could do something, anything to make it stop.  Stick might run over, lending his fists to Bucky’s defense.  Father would know the right words, what to say that would help.

But not me.

The longer that he watches his friends and family suffer with racism the more he feels hopelessness and powerlessness.   He begins to think that his father’s philosophy of activism without using violence isn’t making a difference.  Or at least a difference that he can visibly see.

Sam’s older brother Stick has joined the Panthers, a new organization based out of California much to the disapproval of their parents.   Was the panthers way of intimidation and the bearing of weapons better?  Sam could see immediate results from the Panther’s actions.  And besides, they were running free breakfast programs, medical care and other social programs.  Sam loved Stick but was Stick going somewhere where he couldn’t follow?

The Rock and the River explored how Sam was stuck between two worlds.  Two choices.  Two different ways of acting.  Between his parents and his brother.  And whichever one he chose would ultimately bring disappointment to the other.  And which one was right anyways?

I loved his sweet relationship with his friend Maxie at a time when kids are just barely learning about attraction and love.  I also appreciated the discussion of class set and how although one’s skin color was the same, simply living in two different neighborhoods could be as though living worlds apart.

One loose end in the story that really surprised me as it was not addressed was that Sam’s parents did not ask him where he got the gun that played a rather pivotal role in the story.   This really bothered me.  His father tells him that guns have no place in their movement.  In their family. So why did his parents not even wonder where he got the gun?  No questions were asked about this and this bothered me.  As a parent, I would be wondering how my child got the gun in the first place.  A plot hole that I wish had been explored.

A brilliant book.  One that deserves to be read by both children and adults.  And widely at that.  Excellent.

The Rock and the River is part of my themed reading for the month of February which celebrates Black History Month.  Join me this month as I explore books that celebrate the history of African-Americans.
Links of interest: Kekla Magoon website and blog, more book blogger reviews.
Genre: Historical Middle Grade Fiction, approx ages 9-12.
Publisher: Aladdin. January 6, 2009.
Hardcover, 304 pages. ISBN 1416975829
Source copy: Library
The Rock and the River is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

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