I had to read this for a college course, so I approached this with the same outlook that I usually do for things I'm to be graded on: with reluctance. I must say, this was one of the best school reads that I've had the pleasure to read. 
 Gaines has a wonderful way of not only setting the scene but also drawing you into it. It doesn't matter what your background is or how likely you are to relate to the characters or atmosphere. You'll get hooked into the story and find yourself actually caring what happens in the book as well as what the characters will do. This book really does deserve its status as a favored school read as far as general scholastic reads go since it does a great job of showing us what life was like for so many African-Americans during the 1940s. It was a little startling to me to read some of the things since while I'd read about them in class, Gaines made it feel like I was reading and hearing about these things for the first time. 
 The only bit of criticism I'd give is that there are large stretches where not much really happens and I can't help but feel that it could have been condensed a little bit more than it was. Some of the elements of the book didn't need quite as much page time to get to where it was going, which sort of disconnected me from the story now and then. It didn't overly dilute the bigger story here, but it was enough to where I know it'll bore some readers. 
 Even so, this is definitely a story that you should read or watch (the film, that is) at some point in time.