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Characters:
Stacy Logan, Christopher-John, Cassie Logan, Little man (Clayton Chester), Mary Logan ,Big Ma, T.J Avery, Claude, Jeremy Simms, Lillian Jean, Daisy Crocker, Mr. L.T. Morrison, David Logan Setting: Mississippi in 1932 Conflict: They are black and are treated unfairly -
Cassie finds out that Mr. Granger is scheming to get the family's land.
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As punishment for visiting the Wallace store, Mama makes Cassie and her brothers visit the Berrys. Samuel Berry is burned almost beyond recognition.
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Cassie listens to her mother plan the boycott against the Wallaces.
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For the first time, Cassie gets to go to the farmer's market in Strawberry.
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It's not a good trip: she faces first-hand racism for the first time.
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At the end of this trip, Cassie is made to apologize to Lillian Jean Simms for bumping into her in the street.
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She hears that T.J. is now hanging out with (white) R.W. and Melvin Simms, and that they treat him badly
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When he shows up at their house badly beaten after his fateful trip to the Barnett Mercantile with the Simms brothers, she helps him.
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She sees the Wallaces and Simms drag the Averys out of their house, and talk about hanging T.J.
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She cries for T.J. and for her family's land.
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Cassie learns a major hard-knock lesson from this humiliating experience: some people see you as no more than your skin color.
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Cassie hears (from T.J.) about how the Berrys were burned by the night men.
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Miss Crocker breaks out the hand-me-down textbooks that the white school no longer wants. Cassie takes a stand and tells Miss Crocker exactly what she thinks about this.
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To thwart the white school bus that plagues their daily walk to school, Cassie helps her brothers sabotage it.
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That night, Cassie sees the night men arrive at her house. She's worried that they're retaliating because of the bus incident—but they're not.
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At the Wallace store, Cassie watches Stacey beat up T.J. for making Stacey look like a cheater on Mrs. Logan's test.
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Mr. Morrison teaches Cassie that sometimes you have no choice but to fight, but you have to pick your battles wisely.
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Cassie starts being nice to Lillian Jean.
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Papa tries to teach Cassie a lesson about respect, but Cassie concocts and elaborate revenge plan which works. She gets back at Lillian Jean.
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Cassie witnesses her mother being fired from her teaching job for organizing the boycott.
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After finding out that T.J. played a part in this, Cassie and her brothers give him the silent treatment.
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Cassie is worried when her father shows up at home, shot
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From her home, Cassie sees the woods burning.
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She learns that Papa started the fire, and that it prevented the men from hanging T.J.
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Mr. Barnett has died, and Cassie realizes that T.J. will be punished harshly because of his part in the robbery