(2) YA Williams and Long provide readers with a complex narrative of the 1963 March on Washington that goes beyond Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous speech. They begin with the 1962 meeting between Bayard Rustin and A. Philip Randolph, where the two decided the time had come for the march that Randolph had conceived more than twenty years earlier. By starting at this point, Williams and Long are able to highlight the many challenges (governmental resistance; disagreements among the organizers) and triumphs that took place before, during, and (briefly) after the march itself. Photos, newspaper clippings, and other primary-source images bring the history to life for young readers. Throughout the text, sidebars add important historical information and questions to consider. Back matter includes additional interesting facts ("Extra Steps"), discussion questions, extensive source notes, and an index (unseen); an opening note addresses word choice and the use of quotes containing racist language (including the n-word). Pair with Lewis and Aydin's March series (March: Book One, rev. 1/14; and sequels).

Reviewer: Nicholl Denice Montgomery | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2023

(2) YA Formerly middle-class but made destitute by Zimbabwe's runaway inflation, Patson and his father are forced to become diamond miners. With so much money at stake, the diamond fields are a brutal place--even more so when President Mugabe's army takes over diamond production. Structured around the 2008 Marange diamond field massacre, this is a tale of grim inhumanity told through an optimistic protagonist.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2015

(2) YA The brutal massacre by government soldiers of his small Zimbabwe village sends fourteen-year-old soccer devotee Deo and his mentally disabled older brother, Innocent, fleeing to South Africa. There Deo is invited to join the soccer team that will represent South Africa in the Street Soccer World Cup. This incisive portrait of sub-Saharan Africa is a compelling mix of suspense, sports, and social injustice.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2011