Revolution by Deborah Wiles
by Sam Arnold-Boyd on Jan.03, 2015, under Historical Fiction, Sam's Reviews
Who would like this book? Anyone with an interest in knowing about segregation and the Civil Rights Movement, specifically Greenwood, Mississippi during the Freedom Summer of 1964 needs to read this book.
The goods on this book: Revolution is the second book in Deborah Wiles’ Sixties trilogy, but you don’t need to read the first book, Countdown, to dive into Revolution since the only thing that they share is that they are each set in the sixties. Start with Revolution if you’re ready for a stark and honest view of Greenwood, Mississippi in 1964 from two points of view. Sunny, a white girl with a new step-mother and step-brother, struggles as she comes to know how ugly her town can get. She is drawn to one of the young women who have come from the North to volunteer to hep register African-American to vote in “Freedom Summer.” Raymond, a young and restless African-American boy, can’t stand the injustice of segregation and pushes his way into dangerous situations. Interspersed between their riveting stories is an extensive collection of primary sources of many types and summaries of people and events relevant to the time and place. All of this supporting material is excellent. Wiles’ brief summary of President Lyndon Johnson is especially noteworthy. At over 495 pages, this well-researched and documented book demands time and attention and would be a worthwhile text for a class about this turbulent period in U.S. history.
The details: 495 pages, 2014 Review by Samrarian
