<blockquote> <p> There are times when a tree can no longer withstand the pain inflicted on it, and the wind will take pity on that tree and topple it over in a mighty storm. All the other trees who witnessed the evil look down upon the fallen tree with envy. They pray for the day when a wind will end their suffering. </p> <p> I pray for the day when God will end mine. </p> </blockquote> <p> In a time and place without moral conscience, fourteen-year-old Ansel knows what is right and what is true. </p> <p> But it is dangerous to choose honesty, and so he chooses silence. </p> <p> Now an innocent man is dead, and Ansel feels the burden of his decision. He must also bear the pain of losing a friend, his family, and the love of a lifetime. </p> <p> Coretta Scott King Award winner and Newbery Honoree Julius Lester delivers a haunting and poignant novel about what happens when one group of people takes away the humanity of another. </p>