Mississippi Library Association

When I Crossed No-Bob.

McMullan, Margaret. When I Crossed No-Bob.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2007.
209 pp. $16.00 (hardcover)

This story is set ten years after the Civil War, with Mississippi in the throes of Reconstruction. A new identity is being shaped in a union that no longer supports an economy fueled by the enslavement of humans. Addy is a young, white girl who only knows life within the bounds of her small community in Smith County, Mississippi. This hand-to-mouth existence and Addy’s attempts to make a name for her self outside the confines of her infamous family parallel Mississippi’s struggles. McMullan’s descriptions are vivid and easily bring to mind images of the reality of life in this era, which is too often neglected in fiction. Addy’s struggles with morality delve deeply. They take on not only the awareness of what is right and what is wrong, but the whys of things, and at times have a marked spiritual bent. A deep love of Mississippi is apparent in descriptions of its people and environment, but this doesn’t keep McMullan from exploring tough issues. Incidents dealing with racism and accepted norms of the day may be difficult for some to comprehend. Programming developed around this
time period would enhance children’s understanding of the material. Some of the historical references have a strained tone, but as a whole, children will learn Mississippi history without even realizing it. Reading about the Cherokee’s Kwanokasha was especially enjoyable. Recommended for mature middle school and young adult collections.

Elisabeth Scott
Reference Librarian
Mississippi Library Commission

Entry Filed under: Book Reviews
Posted on: June 26th, 2008