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*Starred Review* In Chicago in 1968, Sam, 14, obeys his father, an eloquent civil-rights leader who is close with Dr. King and is passionately committed to nonviolent protest. But after King is assassinated and Sam witnesses police brutality toward a friend, Sam follows his rebellious older brother, Stephen (Stick), and joins the Black Panthers, whose revolutionary platform is the opposite of the nonviolent philosophy that Sam has been taught at home. Then Sam's father is stabbed. Will the brothers retaliate with violence? True to the young teen's viewpoint, this taut, eloquent first novel will make readers feel what it was like to be young, black, and militant 40 years ago, including the seething fury and desperation over the daily discrimination that drove the oppressed to fight back. Sam's middle-class family is loving and loyal, even when their quarrels are intense; and Magoon draws the characters without sentimentality. Along with the family drama, the politics will grab readers, especially the Panthers' politicaleducation classes and their call for land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice, and peace. A long author's note fills in background in this important title for YA American history classes.--Rochman, Hazel Copyright 2009 Booklist

Horn Book
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Chicago, 1968: Sam's father is a well-known nonviolent civil rights activist, while Sam's brother has joined the Black Panthers. When a friend is beaten and arrested by white police officers, Sam struggles to choose a side. Compelling characters aptly convey the frustrations and uncertainties dividing the civil rights movement at the time of Dr. King's death. Author's note. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

School Library Journal
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Gr 7 Up-Sam Childs, 13, is growing up in Chicago in 1968. His father is a civil rights activist, and the boy has been involved in peaceful demonstrations with his family. When he and his girlfriend, Maxie, witness the brutal beating of a friend at the hands of the police, his world begins to change dramatically. His 17-year-old brother brings a gun home and hides it in their shared room. Next thing Sam knows, Stick has run away from home and is involved with the Black Panther Party, whose philosophy his dad does not share. The brutality of the beating has wrought a change in Sam as well, and the good works he sees the Panthers doing in his neighborhood make him question his dad's opinion. The characters are well drawn and the complexities of the relationships between Roland Childs and his two sons are moving. The episodes of violence are graphic, but necessary to move the plot forward, and Magoon portrays well the tension between the Panthers and the Civil Rights Movement. An author's note provides further historical context. While the image of the Black Panther Party is somewhat idealized, this is an important book about a historical reality that has not been dealt with in juvenile fiction.-Kristin Anderson, Columbus Metropolitan Library System, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

School Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Gr 7 Up-Being the son of civil rights activist Rowland Child has never been easy, but adhering to nonviolence amid the 1968 racial turbulence in Chicago grows even more difficult for 13-year-old Sam to grasp. The boy adores his older brother, Stephen (better known as Stick), and wants to be just like him in sprite of their different approaches to life. Growing up is tough enough, but when Sam and his girlfriend, Maxie, witness a brutal, unprovoked beating of a friend by police, Sam struggles to be both a "rock and a river" as he tries to figure out who he is and where he stands. Which philosophy can he embrace? Can he accept his father's viewpoint which is closely aligned with that of his friend, Martin Luther King, Jr., or does he favor Stick's more militant ideas of the Black Panthers? The rich voice of Dion Graham brings the taut plot and well-developed characters to life, building suspense and providing insight into Sam's swirling emotions and the sometimes violent events that take place. The evocative language of Kekla Magoon's first novel (Aladdin,, 2009), winner of the Coretta Scott King John Steptoe New Talent Award, comes to life in this well-paced and deftly read production.-Maria Salvadore, formerly Washington DC Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

This compelling debut novel set in 1968 Chicago vividly depicts how one African-American family is torn between two opposiing approaches to the Civil Rights Movement. Fourteen-year-old Sam is the son of minister and civil-rights leader Roland Childs, a revered community figure and movement heavyweight whose counsel is sought by Martin Luther King Jr. Sam finds his faith in and respect for his father's stalwart commitment to nonviolence shaken when he discovers that Stick, his older brother and best friend, is involved with the Black Panthers. Sam is torn between the two people he looks up to most. As he poignantly wrestles over which direction to take, Sam both observes and experiences firsthand the injustice of racism. It takes a terrible tragedy for Sam to choose between "the rock and the river." Magoon is unflinching in her depictions of police brutality and racism. She offers readers a perspective that is rarely explored, showing that racial prejudices were not confined to the South and that the Civil Rights Movement was a truly national struggle. (historical note) (Historical fiction. 10-14) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.