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matthiasdj's review
5.0
When I found this book on Goodreads, I knew this was gonna be an interesting book.
It turned out to be a great book, and I still can't believe that people in this world still do this. It's not okay if you do censorship.
Anyways, I loved this book!
4.5/5 stars!!!
It turned out to be a great book, and I still can't believe that people in this world still do this. It's not okay if you do censorship.
Anyways, I loved this book!
4.5/5 stars!!!
srundle81's review
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Wonderful lesson in censorship.
bibliobrandie's review
4.0
A wonderful middle grade book about the harms of censorship and standing up for what you believe in. Mac is a 6th-grader and discovers several words of his classroom copy of Jane Yolen's The Devil's Arithmetic are blacked out. When he discovers that the culprit is his teacher, he is outraged. He along with other members of his "lit circle" set out to do something about the censorship and find themselves going head to head with their teacher and the school board. As libraries across the country face more book challenges than ever, this is a very timely and important book.
whimsy_and_rigor's review
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
A delightful middle grade book that explorers fifth graders who are given a censored book by their teacher. The author tried to cram a lot of different concepts into the story, some of which fell flat. However, the characters are lovable, and how they took on the school was at Merle.
jedilibrarian42's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
Was the dad supposed to have un diagnosed mental illness or just be a jerk? The whole thing with him was just weird and not really resolved. I think that plot point could have been removed for a better story.
amandamillerkelley's review against another edition
challenging
funny
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
katnortonwriter's review
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Love this book, and love that we get a boy narrator for this. I feel like most MG books about social justice have girl narrators, and that’s cool, but I have some thoughts and feelings about including young male leads with an eye for social justice. As always, King makes *some* concepts/language simple to meet kids where they are, but doesn’t dumb down the overall message. (Remember, this is the author who once had a roomful of students chanting “herpes is for life!” while on book tour…)
victorialynch's review
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
An interesting look at the slippery slope of censorship. As someone who has made decisions about what books to make available to kids for years, I did enjoy this title, but I am not sure if kids could connect to it. They might make a connection to the boy’s relationship with his dad, who clearly has some mental health struggles. I also liked the sixth grade love story as it was very age-appropriate. The appearance of Jane Yolen in the audiobook was a nice touch.
thetowerofstories's review
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0