Title: Warriors Don’t Cry

Author: Melba Pattillo Beals

Genre: Non-fiction, Memoir

Rating: 

Warriors Don’t Cry, by Melba Pattillo Beals, is a heartbreaking, non-fiction book that gave me a deeper understanding of the struggles of African Americans. Warriors Don’t Cry is a memoir about Beals’ experience integrating into Little Rock’s Central High, Little Rock Arkansas, 1957. This book makes me feel as if I am walking the halls of the high school alongside the nine students (known as The Little Rock Nine ). Melba endured situations such as having a stick of dynamite flung at her, being burned in the girl’s restroom, and having acid sprayed into her eyes. She describes all these situations so well that it feels like you are right with her. The book engages your mind by putting you in someone else’s shoes.

The story has many distressing, but real scenes for which you have to be prepared for. There are some slower parts where Melba takes you through all her experiences of integrating Central, so I would not recommend it to anyone who needs a fast-paced story. I would also not recommend this book to anyone who can’t handle the agonizingly real violence portrayed in this book.  If you are looking for an engrossing, non-fiction book about the journeys, struggles, and sacrifices black people faced in our history, this is the book for you.

Reviewer: Lucii

Age: 14