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Kidd, Ronald
6 Reviews
(3)
4-6
Thirteen-year-old Nate's preacher father hates music, but it captivates Nate, who becomes friends with the musical Carter family and other musicians in town. When Nate leaves home, he discovers his father's music aversion is related to the death of Nate's two-year-old sister years ago. Set in 1927 Tennessee, this novel satisfyingly incorporates real history, capturing a boy's poignant coming-of-age as well as a fruitful time in country music.
Reviewer: Carolyn Shute
(3)
4-6
Thirteen-year-old David retreats to a secret room in the old Victorian house his mother is renting in Baltimore. Unwittingly, he awakens Edgar Allan Poe's spirit, which feeds on David's anger over his father's abandonment. When strange events resembling Poe's classic horror tales occur at school, David must stop the perpetrator or else be blamed. Kidd's latest novel is suspenseful without being overly gruesome.
Reviewer: Grace Enriquez
(3)
4-6
Since "the Warming," art, technology, and more are outlawed and a secret group of "dreambenders" remove dangerous ideas from people's sleeping minds. When Jeremy, an inquisitive dreambender, refuses to suppress Callie's love of singing, the two teens begin to challenge the very foundations of their society's well-intentioned but oppressive rules. Fans of The Giver will enjoy this nonviolent, thoughtful dystopian tale.
Reviewer: Barratt Miller
(3)
4-6
Billie, a thirteen-year-old tomboy who enjoys watching Greyhound buses wind through her small Alabama town, gradually becomes an ally to the Freedom Riders. She observes and befriends members of the group of civil rights activists while questioning why her own family continues to uphold racist beliefs. The story offers an intense window into civil rights–era violence from a Southern white girl's perspective.
Reviewer: Lauren Causey
(3)
YA
It's 1955 and Invasion of the Body Snatchers is being filmed in Paul's town. After becoming pals with one of the movie's extras, Paul and his friends find themselves caught up in an FBI investigation ferreting out Communists. The book is vividly imbued with historical detail; parallels between the Red Scare witch hunters and the movie's body-invading aliens are particularly effective.
Reviewer: Laura A. Woollett
(4)
YA
Johnny Ross knows he's not supposed to visit Beale Street ("downtown for Negroes") in 1954 Memphis. Drawn there by the music, he discovers a new world, including an acquaintance with rising star Elvis Presley. The Elvis conceit and twist ending are gimmicky vehicles for this otherwise engaging glimpse into the era's explosive race relations set against popular-music history.
Reviewer: Lauren Maggio
6 reviews
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