e-ARC, 144 pages
Release Date: April 21, 2020Published by: Scholastic Press
Read from: April 21, 2020Stand-aloneSource: Edelweiss (I received a copy of this book from Edelweiss and the Publisher in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)TW: School shooting, Death, True EventsFor fans of: Novels in Verse, Historical Fiction, Teachy Not Preachy, YA
An exploration of one of the darkest moments in our history, when American troops killed four American students protesting the Vietnam War.May 4, 1970.
Kent State University.
As protesters roil the campus, National Guardsmen are called in. In the chaos of what happens next, shots are fired and four students are killed. To this day, there is still argument of what happened and why.
Told in multiple voices from a number of vantage points — protester, Guardsman, townie, student.
*MY THOUGHTS*
I’m not someone who loves verse novels OR historical fiction. If you know me, you know this is true. But there’s sometimes I find a novel in verse that blows me away, like The Poet X or a historical fiction novel that blows me away like In the Neighborhood of True… and now I have this one that is BOTH that also blew me away.
“If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention.“1%
I LOVED this. It was extremely powerful and taught me about something I really had no idea about. It was really teachy, but because it gave both sides of the story it wasn’t preachy and I loved that. It gave me both sides and I was still able to come to my own conclusion about what I thought was “wrong” about the situation.
“YOU NEVER SHOWED ANYTHING BUT CONTEMPT FOR OUR COUNTRY! YOU HATE OUR COUNTRY./ OUR country hated US.“16%
I also really liked that this was written in verse and was historical fiction. As someone who doesn’t like either genre, this made the readability so much better for me. I wonder if it’s that way for other readers like me. As a librarian, it’s definitely something to keep in mind when offering reader’s advisories to others who don’t like either of these genres. (I’m thinking it could go along with the way that reluctant readers like to read novels in verse more because of the blank space on the page.)
“We cannot afford to be exhausted.“27%
This book is short, put packed full to the brim with information. I loved everything about it and I can’t wait for everyone else to read this as well. I hope it gives them something to think about. Whether its someone my age, a teen, or someone who is the same age as the author. I think everyone can benefit from a book like this.
Overall, I give this
