A readable blend of action and historical insight.
Was there a fiendish scheme to assassinate three Allied leaders when they met in Tehran in 1943 to plot a decisive assault on the Third Reich?
Meltzer and Mensch, who co-authored previous volumes describing attempts to kill George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and John F. Kennedy, have adapted their 2023 edition for adults, presenting young readers with an entertaining, fast-paced yarn. Though the evidence they rely on that the featured scheme ever actually existed is at best circumstantial, they have assembled a vividly rendered historical cast. In addition to better-known figures, readers will encounter people who may be new to them, such as Mike Reilly, the harried head of the U.S. Secret Service, and Austrian Nazi commando Otto Skorzeny. The historical information presented in their broad overview of the Second World War includes Hitler’s quoted goal to “make Germany great again” and Roosevelt’s funeral, all relayed in the present tense. The account of the 1943 Tehran Conference as a meeting designed to pressure the reluctant Churchill into committing to an Allied offensive from the west in the spring of 1944 paints an engrossing picture of the complex personal and political relationships of the three world leaders. Side stories of contemporaneous events, including Skorzeny’s daring rescue of Mussolini from captivity by King Victor Emmanuel III, the assassination of key Japanese admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, and Nazi atrocities at Poland’s Majdanek concentration camp, artfully add drama and emotional intensity.
A readable blend of action and historical insight. (note to readers, bibliography, source notes, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Oct. 21, 2025
ISBN: 9781546122364
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Scholastic Focus
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
Deftly written and informative; a call for vigilance and equality.
An examination of the history of Chinese American experiences.
Blackburn opens with a note to readers about growing up feeling invisible as a multicultural, biracial Chinese American. She notes the tremendous diversity of Chinese American history and writes that this book is a starting point for learning more. The evenly paced narrative starts with the earliest recorded arrival of the Chinese in America in 1834. A teenage girl, whose real name is unknown, arrived in New York Harbor with the Carnes brothers, merchants who imported Chinese goods and put her on display “like an animal in a circus.” The author then examines shifting laws, U.S. and global political and economic climates, and changing societal attitudes. The book introduces the highlighted people—including Yee Ah Tye, Wong Kim Ark, Mabel Ping-Hua Lee, and Vincent Chen—in relation to lawsuits or other transformative events; they also stand as examples for explaining concepts such as racial hierarchy and the model minority myth. Maps, photos, and documents are interspersed throughout. Chapters close with questions that encourage readers to think critically about systems of oppression, actively engage with the material, and draw connections to their own lives. Although the book covers a wide span of history, from the Gold Rush to the rise in anti-Asian hate during the Covid-19 pandemic, it thoroughly explains the various events. Blackburn doesn’t shy away from describing terrible setbacks, but she balances them with examples of solidarity and progress.
Deftly written and informative; a call for vigilance and equality. (resources, bibliography, image credits) (Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: March 26, 2024
ISBN: 9780593567630
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
Ultimately adds little to conversations about race.
A popular YouTube series on race, “Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man,” turns how-to manual and history lesson for young readers.
Acho is a former NFL player and second-generation Nigerian American who cites his upbringing in predominantly White spaces as well as his tenure on largely Black football teams as qualifications for facilitating the titular conversations about anti-Black racism. The broad range of subjects covered here includes implicit bias, cultural appropriation, and systemic racism. Each chapter features brief overviews of American history, personal anecdotes of Acho’s struggles with his own anti-Black biases, and sections titled “Let’s Get Uncomfortable.” The book’s centering of Whiteness and White readers seems to show up, to the detriment of its subject matter, both in Acho’s accounts of his upbringing and his thought processes regarding race. The overall tone unfortunately conveys a sense of expecting little from a younger generation who may have a greater awareness than he did at the same age and who, therefore, may already be uncomfortable with racial injustice itself. The attempt at an avuncular tone disappointingly reads as condescending, revealing that, despite his online success with adults, the author is ill-equipped to be writing for middle-grade readers. Chapters dedicated to explaining to White readers why they shouldn’t use the N-word and how valuable White allyship is may make readers of color (and many White readers) bristle with indignation and discomfort despite Acho’s positive intentions.
Ultimately adds little to conversations about race. (glossary, FAQ, recommended reading, references) (Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-80106-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2021
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