The Year of the Bomb - Hardcover

Kidd, Ronald

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1416958924 ISBN 13: 9781416958925

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2009

Synopsis

The year is 1955, and there’s nothing that Paul and his best friends, Oz, Arnie, and Crank, love more than horror movies. So when Invasion of the Body Snatchers starts filming in their small California town, they couldn’t be more excited. But when their acquaintance with Laura and Darryl, extras on the movie, leads to an involvement in a possible Communist conspiracy, Paul is afraid that they’re in too deep. It’s not a horror movie anymore—this is real life. From acclaimed storyteller Ronald Kidd comes this coming-of-age tale about taking a stand, following the crowd, and navigating the gray areas in between.

About this title

About the Author:

Ronald Kidd is the author of the highly acclaimed Monkey Town: The Summer of the Scopes Trial, as well as On Beale Street. His novels of adventure, comedy, and mystery have received the Children's Choice Award, an Edgar Award nomination, and honors from the American Library Association, the Library of Congress, and the New York Public Library. He is a two-time O'Neill playwright who lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 4-7–In the 1950s in Sierra Madre, CA, four seventh graders, enamored of horror movies, have the thrill of a lifetime when a movie crew comes to town to film Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Paul is the narrator. His colorful friends include the son of a blacklisted sound editor, a scrawny scaredy-cat, and a tough guy who can't help picking on the others. The Red Scare plays a prominent role as the boys investigate a professor at a nearby university who worked on the Manhattan Project and was friendly with a Russian spy. The novel covers a lot of ground. The boys are charming and real, although readers may come away wishing there had been more closure concerning the children's family lives and interpersonal relationships. Still, they will learn a lot about the era, and the details about the horror and science-fiction genres and the movie industry are stellar. Expect questions about spies and bombs, and circulation of 1950s horror flicks to skyrocket.–Jake Pettit, Thompson Valley High School, Loveland, CO
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About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1416958924
• ISBN 13: 9781416958925
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 208