A LESSON BEFORE DYING by Ernest J. Gaines

GRADE: B

Young teacher Grant Wiggins is bitter about returning to his home in a tight knit black Louisiana township to teach in a poor education system and live with his aunt. So he's definitely reluctant when he is called upon by his aunt's friend to counsel her son, who has been arrested and sentenced to death for murder. In trying to help this young man recover a bit of dignity before he dies, Grant forms a bond with him that will affect him more than he expects.

Although it took me a while to truly empathize with the main character as he seemed obnoxious and self-absorbed in the first half, this was a great story, with a powerful message and a great sense of time and place.