Kent State

 Bibliography:  Wiles, D. (2020). Kent State. Scholastic Press. ISBN 978-1-338-35628-1


Plot Summary: The book consists of fictionalized accounts of the real events of the four days leading up to the Kent State shootings on May 4, 1970. The shootings came as the result of a four day standoff between state guardsmen and (unarmed) student anti-war protestors and resulted in the deaths of four students and the wounding of nine bystanders. The narrative is told through various voices in a conversational format.


Critical Analysis: The book begins with a prelude describing the actual events of the Kent State shootings. The author uses many voices and perspectives to give fictional accounts of the real events. It is written as a conversation between various nameless characters which include students, “townies”, parents, guardsmen, and a campus black student group member. The author uses different sizes and fonts to indicate when different people are speaking as there are no names. The author cleverly breaks the fourth wall and includes the reader in the narrative, which leads the reader to become more invested in the events, as I found myself sympathizing with both the victims and the guardsmen. In the author’s note at the end, it is evident how in-depth her research was as she goes on to thank all those who helped in the research process. Rather than simply credit her sources with a list, she gives specific details as to their input in her research.  She concludes with a list of rhetorical questions, asking the reader how history might have changed if certain aspects had been very different. A great read, her writing style complemented the narrative and made it extremely engaging.  I didn’t put it down until I finished. 


Reviews:


Kirkus Reviews: “A well-researched and deeply moving portrait of an iconic moment in U.S. history.”


Scholastic.com: “...a moving, terrifying, galvanizing picture of what happened that weekend in Ohio….”


Awards:


Odyssey Award, 2021


Connections:


In a middle or high school English class, use it in a creative writing lesson and have students create their own narrative by mimicking the author’s writing style used in this text.


In a middle or high school History class, after reading, have students compare to primary sources accounts of the same events.


In a middle or high school History class, have students compare the protest movement here with other protests of the Civil Rights and Vietnam era.


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