Revolution (The Sixties Trilogy #2) - Hardcover

Wiles, Deborah

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0545106079 ISBN 13: 9780545106078

Publisher: Scholastic Press, 2014

Synopsis

*A 2014 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST*

It's 1964, and Sunny's town is being invaded. Or at least that's what the adults of Greenwood, Mississippi, are saying. All Sunny knows is that people from up north are coming to help people register to vote. They're calling it Freedom Summer.Meanwhile, Sunny can't help but feel like her house is being invaded, too. She has a new stepmother, a new brother, and a new sister crowding her life, giving her little room to breathe. And things get even trickier when Sunny and her brother are caught sneaking into the local swimming pool--where they bump into a mystery boy whose life is going to become tangled up in theirs.As she did in her groundbreaking documentary novel COUNTDOWN, award-winning author Deborah Wiles uses stories and images to tell the riveting story of a certain time and place--and of kids who, in a world where everyone is choosing sides, must figure out how to stand up for themselves and fight for what's right.

About this title

About the Author

Deborah Wiles's books include the picture book Freedom Summer and the novels Love, Ruby Lavender; The Aurora County All-Stars; the National Book Award finalist Each Little Bird that Sings; and A Long Line of Cakes. The first book in the Sixties Trilogy, Countdown, received five starred reviews upon its publication and has appeared on many state award lists. The second, Revolution, was a National Book Award Finalist. The third book, Anthem, was called "brilliant" in a starred review in Booklist and "musically and culturally immersive" in a starred review in Kirkus Reviews. Wiles lives in Atlanta, Georgia. You can visit her on the web at deborahwiles.com.

Reviews

Gr 5–8—In Wiles's second installment of the trilogy, readers are offered two alternate viewpoints from very different worlds within the same Greenwood, Mississippi town during the tumultuous Freedom Summer of 1964. Sunny, a 12-year-old white girl, is worried about reports of "invaders" descending upon the sleepy Southern enclave and causing trouble. Meanwhile, Raymond, a black boy from Baptist Town (known among the white citizens as "Colored Town"), is becoming increasingly aware of all the places (especially the public pool and Leflore's theater) he is barred from attending due to Jim Crow laws. As Sunny's worldview is suddenly expanded as she begins to learn more about the sinister underbelly of her seemingly perfect town, her story intersects with Raymond's. Among the cadre of brave young volunteers working to register black Mississippians to vote—a mix of white and black members of various civil rights associations—is Jo Ellen, the older sister from Countdown (Scholastic, 2010). As in the first book, song lyrics, biblical verses, photographs, speeches, essays, and other ephemera immerse readers in one of the most important—and dangerous—moments during the Civil Rights Movement. While Sunny's experiences receive a slightly deeper focus than Raymond's, readers are offered a window into each community and will see both characters change and grow over the course of the summer. Inclusion of primary source materials, including the text of a real and vile pamphlet created by KKK members, does not shy away from the reality and hurtful language used by bigots during this time period. For those looking to extend the story with a full-sensory experience, the author has compiled YouTube clips of each song referenced in the book on a Pinterest board (http://ow.ly/vBGTc). With elements of family drama and coming-of-age themes that mirror the larger sociopolitical backdrop, Revolution is a book that lingers long after the last page.—Kiera Parrott, School Library Journal

Edition details

• Publisher: Scholastic Press
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0545106079
• ISBN 13: 9780545106078
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 544