Rebels & Revolutions

November 15, 2017
Grades 6-9 In an engaging tone reminiscent of adventure stories, installments in the Mystery and Mayhem series aim to lure readers in with present-tense, plot-driven accounts of history. Rebels and Revolutionsshowcases five instances of individuals or groups fighting back against injustice, such as Sengbe Pieh, one of the kidnapped Africans trapped aboard the Amistad; a group of Japanese Americans imprisoned in internment camps, who refused to be drafted until their civil rights were restored; and Cesar Chavez, who led an international strike to ensure better conditions for migrant workers. Though certainly cinematic in style, the focus on a thrilling narrative can occasionally lead to lurid sensationalism, and especially in accounts of enslaved people (referred to in the text as slaves), this is a drawback. Other accounts, however, are more successful in this regardMawson's Antarctic journey, which gets quite grisly, is a perfect match for the style. Though the context in each account is slim and the lack of source notes makes it difficult to sift facts from supposition, the fast-paced narrative might pique the interest of reluctant readers enough to spur them on to more comprehensive resources.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)