It's 1964, and Sunny's town is being invaded. Or at least that's what the adults of Greenwood, Mississippi, are saying. All Sunny knows is that people from up north are coming to help people register to vote. They're calling it Freedom Summer.
Meanwhile, Sunny can't help but feel like her house is being invaded, too. She has a new stepmother, a new brother, and a new sister crowding her life, giving her little room to breathe. And things get even trickier when Sunny and her brother are caught sneaking into the local swimming pool -- where they bump into a mystery boy whose life is going to become tangled up in theirs.
As she did in her groundbreaking documentary novel COUNTDOWN, award-winning author Deborah Wiles uses stories and images to tell the riveting story of a certain time and place -- and of kids who, in a world where everyone is choosing sides, must figure out how to stand up for themselves and fight for what's right.
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful.
Message and Context Connect
By Bill McAtee
Deborah Wiles, in her after word--"A note about Freedom Summer"--succinctly states the underlying message she espouses in Revolution (The Sixties Trilogy), her second documentary novel:"At heart, Revolution is a story about what it means to be a citizen of this country, to live in a democracy, to be a member of a family, to nurture your friendships, to look beyond what you understand, to ask questions, and to tend to your community, your own backyard. What are your responsibilities? What must you do to empower yourself and others? Your vote is your voice. It is your most powerful weapon of choice. It can change the world."A cursory look may make one wonder if Wiles successfully made the connection between this high sounding aspiration and a conflicted yet curious rising adolescent girl to deliver the message. Some may snipe at the primary protagonist's Nancy Drew-ish heroic exploits as totally unbelievable. Others may complain that Wiles' use of a wide range of 1960 archival photographs and journalistic quotes is a garnishing distraction, to say nothing of unnumbered pages in spots.In the Acknowledgements Wiles confirms what is required to formulate an authentic message: "Context was what I needed for such a complex story . . . ." She found lots of "context" in the serious research she gathered from the works of other writers, reporters, photographers, civil rights archives, websites, project volunteers' letters, and "in Greenwood itself." All of which surrounds and grounds Sunny's and Raymond's ("High-top") story in graphic reality and gives it voice.A more careful reading leads one to affirm that Revolution gives an authentic perspective on Freedom Summer 1964. Message and context connect. What could be a more effective vehicle to hook young readers of a new generation in their turbulent world "to look beyond what you understand, to ask questions, and to tend to your community, your own backyard" than through the feelings and determination of ones of their own that did so long ago. Maybe, just maybe, it can help new readers break their silence and change the world.Transformed: A White Mississippi Pastor's Journey into Civil Rights and Beyond (Willie Morris Books in Memoir and Biography) William G. McAtee, Author; a fourth generation Mississippian and pastor there 1959-1966.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.Humbling, Haunting, Beautifully Brilliant
By jv poore
This book is imperative. I implore teachers, librarians, book sellers and book reviewers: please do not let this rest on a shelf until February. The time is now.Revolution is fiction because our plucky, strident narrator Sunny and her family are fictitious. The history shared; sadly, is not. A devastating, despicable, heart-wrenching, stomach-churning account of the incomprehensible influence of a few small-minded, hate-filled, yet surprisingly powerful, white men throwing their weight around to stop any and all strides towards race equality is all too true. Ms. Wiles unravels the tragedies with honesty, raw emotion and kindness and hope. She masterfully represents two dramatically different views while, most importantly, centering on the third view.Having a twelve-year old girl, adjusting to life with her cherished father and new step-family, a rarity itself in Mississippi in 1964, Ms. Wiles simultaneously opens the reader’s mind. Sunny is smart, and like so many of us at that age, she has the world figured out. As the daughter of a store-keep that has always catered to both Negro and White clientele, she fancies herself as a modern-day thinker.As her small town fills with volunteers to assist Black Voter Registration for Freedom Day, Sunny learns that there is much more to the individuals that make up her family and community. From her vantage point, being somewhat removed, she is able to see the whole picture and in doing so, is forced to reevaluate her own opinion. Further, she learns that she has the option to make a difference and possibly influence others. Few things move me more than passion for what is right, and this fiery little girl is filled.Adding this engrossing, motivating read are pictures straight out of Mississippi. If Ms. Wiles’ prose doesn’t jar the reader, I assure you these photographs deliver the punch. History, accompanied by humanity, is so very important for growth and development and it is somewhat disappointing to me that so many of the facets of this time were glaringly omitted from my text-books. Muhammad Ali’s role in the Civil Rights Movement is a bit awe-inspiring and quite frankly, explanatory. If ever there was a tome to whole-heartedly support for required reading, it is Revolution. Being appropriate for Middle-Grade readers in no way excludes High School Students/Young Adults or Not-So-Young Adults like me. I genuinely believe that most readers will learn something new, and I’m confident that, regardless of the reader’s age, emotions will be stirred. This review was written for Buried Under Books by jv poore.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.Riveting, Authentic and Necessary
By Joyce Ray
A novel. A documentary. Deborah Wiles has again nailed this new genre that both fills our need for story and documents the history that we own and cannot afford to forget. Through characters we care about who live this history, the author documents Freedom Summer in 1964 Mississippi for middle graders who need to know and for older readers to never forget. I loved this novel first because it’s a story every bit as great as To Kill a Mockingbird. Secondly, it illuminated for me a time when I was too caught up in my own personal life decisions to be a part of this revolution that swept the south and changed our society. Thank you, Deborah Wiles, for writing this book and the Sixties Trilogy.
