Reviews

Revolution by Deborah Wiles

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This book was marvelous. I loved every ounce of it. I love the connection between Franny and Sunny towards the end. Although, I was confused about who Sunny's real mom was I was glad she made peace with her stepmother.

bak8382's review

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4.0

Sunny is just trying to enjoy her summer before she begins junior high, but nothing seems to be going her way. First she and her step-brother get caught breaking into the city pool after nightfall, and then she finds out there are "invaders" coming into town. It's the summer of 1964, and people from all over have come to Mississippi to fight for African American's right to vote. Sunny finds herself caught up in the conflict as attempts to desegregate her town come to violence.

This is another fantastic audio edition for this series. Like the first title, [b:Countdown|7192385|Countdown (The Sixties Trilogy, #1)|Deborah Wiles|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328839009s/7192385.jpg|7776967], there are real news headlines, quotations, and music interspersed with the narration. Narration is provided by four excellent readers. The end of the book includes an author's note on the civil rights movement. While it's not necessary to read [b:Countdown|7192385|Countdown (The Sixties Trilogy, #1)|Deborah Wiles|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328839009s/7192385.jpg|7776967] first most readers will want to go back and read it as well.

lornarei's review

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4.0

Another excellent book in the Sixties Trilogy. Being too young to remember these events as they happened and not getting past WWII in high school history, it's an eye-opening, appalling look at how people could actually treat each other back then. I love her style of writing - she can really create a setting. You can really feel the hot summer days and nights of Mississippi in the days before central air was common. At first I didn't understand why the two books (Countdown and this) could be considered a trilogy, but was then pleasantly surprised by the connection. Can't wait to see what the third book will be and how she will connect it to this one!

afro8921's review

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5.0

Sonny, Gillete, and Raymond are young people growing up in the segregated town of Greenwood Mississippi. Sonny is dealing with the perils of an absent mother, new step-mother, and her divided loyalties between the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee and her families loyalties to the separate but equal doctrine prevalent in the south. Gillete is a young man searching for his place in a new family, and his strained relationship with his father. Raymond is a young African American boy who is tired of being denied access to the best pools, schools, and movie theaters. Revolution combines the voices of these three young people with the voices from the SNCC members, the KKK, and residents of Greenwood, Mississippi in an engaging read depicting the turbulent times of freedom summer in 1964. This book is a great read for teens or tweens that need a historical fiction title.

mmphil's review

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5.0

Five enthusiastic stars from me. Unfortunately two young adult readers in my family (both of whom loved Countdown) abandoned this. Not sure why ... maybe it doesn't move fast enough and there are too many characters to keep track of? I loved the relationships between the different characters and the complicated, messy ways that people deal with each other. Not to mention the complicated nature of race relations in the Deep South. Looking forward to the next one in this trilogy.

heremireadz's review against another edition

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4.0

I learned a lot about this time period in history that I thought I already knew about. Civil rights, especially MLK Jr, is covered fairly thoroughly in school, but I was not aware of Freedom Summer, where volunteers came to Mississippi to encourage blacks to register. This book, with the abundant primary sources, made this historical period come alive and gave me a more rich understanding of the incredible hatred whites had for blacks just 40 years ago. The fact that doctors could have turned their heads to a 12 year old on his death bed just because he was black and they were not to treat blacks- this had me reeling. It is unconscionable, and yet these seeds of bitterness are still growing fruit today. I liked the multiple perspectives and the primary sources, both images and texts, but I found the narrative to have an over abundance of minor characters which were difficult to track. Students might have difficulty with the jumps between different types of text and narration.

sc104906's review

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4.0

This audio book was amazing! The integration of famous figure quotes, speeches, and biographies mixed with the story blew me away.

This story takes place during 1964 in Freedom Summer. Lyndon Johnson enacted legislation that allows both blacks and whites the same freedoms. Many civil right workers have “invaded” the south to support African Americans in their right to vote and receive equal treatment.

Sunny a twelve-year-old white southern girl, is caught up with the civil righters. She doesn’t know what the big deal is about equality, but one of the civil right workers looks like her long gone mother. Sunny learns about what is right and wrong, alongside her friends and family. The town is split about whether or not African Americans deserve equality.

Sunny is still getting used to her new family. Recently, her father, Jaime, married Annabelle, who has two children of her own. While Sunny gets along with her brother and sister, Gillette and Audrey, she is having difficulty with Annabelle. The family continues to unexpectedly grow. Sunny and society confront serious emotional issues during this freedom summer.

I really liked this book. The author presents historical facts, occurrences, and figures and shows how it affected children/young adults of the time. This book is perfect for young teens.