4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What's in a name?, June 2, 2005
This review is from: Tulsa Burning (Paperback)
"Nobe" (Noble) Chase doesn't think much. He certainly doesn't feel noble. When his Pa's around, he's just someone to hit. When Pa's out drinking the proceeds from their farm away, Nobe's stealing coins from the payphones with a key he's copied from the telephone employee's original.
Then Pa dies. Nobe's glad. He's not going to be hit on anymore. But he's sad for Ma, too.
They can't keep their farm. Nobe and his Ma have to move into town, away from Nobe's home and the colored friends he's made down the road, Mrs. Mitchell and her son, Isaac.
Nobe quickly learns that Sheriff Leonard who takes them in is not a good man, either. When the Sheriff shoots Nobe's dog, Rex, instead of allowing the animal to come live with them in town, Nobe swears everlasting hatred and revenge on the man.
Nobe's also worried that the Sheriff is looking too closely at his Ma. Ma admits, she'd marry the Sheriff when his invalid wife dies, but Nobe thinks Sheriff Leonard might just be meaner than his Pa.
Nobe's friend, Isaac, comes back into town from his job in Tulsa and teaches Nobe how to drive his new car. Isaac works on a section of town called Black Wall Street and he's doing right well--enough to buy both him and his Mama new motorcars and his Mama (Mrs. Mitchell) a victrola.
When Preacher Johnson returns with tales of the Tulsa race riots, Noble borrows the preacher's car to go get Isaac, who the preacher saw being injured.
There's more, but telling more would spoil the ending.
The author has taken a little-known event and turned it into a memorable tale of nobility and kindness. Within 150 short pages, Noble Chase's character grows by leaps and bounds as we see a bit of painful history that some folks meant to never see the light of day.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One Word - VOICE, October 20, 2010
This review is from: Tulsa Burning (Paperback)
Within the first few paragraphs, Myers does an excellent job of pulling in her readers. The voice of Noble rings loud and true and clear from the opening words. And, it's a voice that readers will be willing to follow almost anywhere. As a teaching tool in the classroom, the book offers quite a lot. First, so many books written for younger teens are heavy on plot and a little lighter on building memorable characters. The book is an excellent example to kids of how satisfying a book can be when relying on character. Additionally, the book deals with history of time and place that sometimes flies under the radar. It truly captures an era in time. History that goes untaught, goes forgotten, and there is clear danger in letting go of Myer's strong sense of time and place. I'm glad I read the book. I found it deeply satisfying and have had real positive feedback from kids who read it after my recommendation.
Chris Bowen
Author of,
Our Kids: Building Relationships in the Classroom
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Book By Its Cover, July 23, 2009
This review is from: Tulsa Burning (Paperback)
The basic plot and main characters have been covered well in other reviews. I read this while looking for a book to assign in class, and it certainly meets most of the requirements--its good historical fiction, historically valid but still very much a book about people, relationships, anger, love, coming of age, etc.
The title is, I believe, a bit misleading. Although the Tulsa Race Riots form the backdrop to one key scene, this is NOT a book about the Tulsa Race Riots. It is about race and racism, among other things, and could certainly help a young person understand the dynamics behind the riots, BUT--most of it doesn't take place in Tulsa, the story of the riot is covered in a paragraph or two, and the results of the riot are only guessed at later and indirectly.
This is not a criticism of the book itself. Unlike much historical fiction for young people, TB actually does a pretty good job of letting the factual explanations flow naturally with the story and the dialogue. You don't feel as if the author is taking a break from the story to give a history lesson as is sometimes the case. There is certainly a lot to learn about both life in rural Oklahoma in the early 20th century and human nature and relationships in this well-told tale.
If you are looking for a book on the riots, however, this is probably not what you have in mind
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