A review by janelleleigh12
The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis

4.0

Christopher Paul Curtis' The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 is such an entertaining read. Not to spoil the ending too much, but the shocking inclusion of dramatic American history into the ending took me by complete surprise. When the bombing happened, I felt as if I just went over the top of the hill on a roller coaster and there is no where to go but down. Whereas the first five chapters are full of laughter and tears from laughing so hard, the last four are full of fear and anxiety. Thankfully, at the end, the reader is left with a feeling of peace regarding the characters and their growth within the novel, but not about the social situations going on in America in the 1960s. This book is a wonderful book to assign students in an English class because it is entertaining and thoughtful; also, I would highly recommend using this book in a History/Social Studies class covering the Civil Rights Movement or 1960s America.