The Road to Memphis is a historical fiction novel written by Mildred D. Taylor. It was first published in 1990 by Dial Press. It is the fifth book in the saga following: Song of the Trees (1975), Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry (1976), Let the Circle Be Unbroken (1981), and The Gold Cadillac (1987).[1] Chronologically, this is the second to last book in the series to focus on the Logans. A prequel, The Land, was released in 2001. Taylor then released the final book in the entire saga, a sequel to The Road to Memphis titled, All the Days Past, All the Days to Come, in January 2020.
The Road to Memphis begins in 1941 and the saga's narrator, Cassie Logan, is now 17 years old. While Cassie continues her education, her older brother Stacey has started working. He surprises the family with a brand new car, a '38 wine-colored Ford. The brand new car attracts unwanted attention from Charlie Simms who attempts to force Stacey to use his new car to pull his car out of a ditch. Jeremy Simms, a tentative friend of Stacey, is too afraid of his father to help deescalate the situation. Ultimately Stacey avoids damaging his car by pushing the car out manually.
Later, Cassie goes on a coon hunting trip with her brothers and their friends, Little Willie, Clarence, and Harris. While hunting, they run into Jeremy Simms and his cousins, the Aames brothers. Harris, one of Cassie's friends, is chased by Aames brothers' dogs until he suffers a broken leg and is knocked unconscious. Jeremy Simms tries apologizing but Stacey refuses to forgive him, thinking that Jeremy has indeed changed just as his father and uncle have long warned.
Cassie leaves for school in Jackson only to return in November for the funeral of Great Faith Church's preacher. At the funeral, Cassie learns that one of her friends, Sissy, is pregnant. Sissy refuses to reveal the identity of the child's father and teases that it may be anyone in Stacey's friend group. Sissy leaves the funeral and Cassie runs after her, trying to solve the mystery. Sissy confides in Cassie that she knows it is in fact Clarence, her lover, who is on an overnight pass from the Army and refuses to marry her. On Cassie's way back to the church, the Aames brothers driving along the road catcall and attempt to trap her along the road. David Logan gets to Cassie just in time and reminds Cassie that she cannot walk roads alone. When she gets back to the church, Cassie ultimately betrays Sissy and tells Clarence her plan. Clarence confronts Sissy and without resolution, catches a ride with Stacey and the rest of his friends. He asks Stacey to stop in the town of Strawberry for some BC Powder. While in Strawberry, Stacy must stop to make his car payments to Wade Jemison, a friendly white attorney and must also repair a low tire. As the group runs their errands, they once again encounter the Aames brothers, who claim Clarence has lost his manners since being in the Army. They demand Clarence let them rub his head for "good luck" and Clarence has no choice but obey. Later, as the group picks up Stacey's car from the garage and run into Sissy, Harris, Little Man, and Christopher-John, the Aames brothers attempt to subject Moe to the same embarrassing treatment. Moe snaps when the Aames brothers make more suggestive comments towards Cassie, hitting two of the brothers with a crowbar. The brothers threaten to lynch Moe. Jeremy, who had been accompanying his cousins, lets Moe hide in the back of his truck. To make up for the past, he agrees to drop Moe off in Jackson until the group can decide what to do next.