River, Cross My Heart vs Song of Solomon: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: African American families, Afro-Americans, African Americans, Domestic fiction, Fiction
River, Cross My Heart
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The impact of a child's drowning on a black family in 1925 Washington, especially on the 12-year-old sister who was baby-sitting the girl. Told against the background of the lot of African Americans at the time.
Song of Solomon
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Milkman Dead was born shortly after a neighborhood eccentric hurled himself off a rooftop in a vain attempt at flight. For the rest of his life he, too, will be trying to fly. With this brilliantly imagined novel, Toni…
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate Song of Solomon highest: Song of Solomon 4.3 · River, Cross My Heart 3.5.
- River, Cross My Heart has the widest readership — 14166 ratings behind its score.
- River, Cross My Heart runs the darker storyline; Song of Solomon stays the lighter read.
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How to choose
Scores by source
| River, Cross My Heart | Song of Solomon | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.5 (14166) | 4.3 (283) |
| Hardcover | 3.0 (7) | 4.2 (183) |
| Google Books | — | 3.5 (17) |
| Apple Books | — | 4.5 (453) |
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Reception
| River, Cross My Heart | Song of Solomon | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 14166 | 453 |
| Editions | 19 | 60 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 9264 | 740 |
| Reading it now | 146 | 10 |
| Written reviews | 389 | 13 |
| Wikipedia attention | 56 | 11994 |
| Pages | 256 | 353 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: River, Cross My Heart or Song of Solomon?
Song of Solomon has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Song of Solomon 4.3/5, River, Cross My Heart 3.5/5).
Which is shorter to read: River, Cross My Heart or Song of Solomon?
River, Cross My Heart is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: River, Cross My Heart (256 pages, ≈ 4 h 44 m); Song of Solomon (353 pages, ≈ 6 h 32 m).
Which is harder to read: River, Cross My Heart or Song of Solomon?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — River, Cross My Heart: Moderate; Song of Solomon: Demanding.