Attack of the Black Rectangles
Ratings2
Average rating3.5
15
Ratings2
Average rating3.5
Award-winning author Amy Sarig King takes on censorship and intolerance in a novel she was born to write. When Mac first opens his classroom copy of Jane Yolen's The Devil’s Arithmetic and finds some words blacked out, he thinks it must be a mistake. But then when he and his friends discover what the missing words are, he's outraged. Someone in his school is trying to prevent kids from reading the full story. But who? Even though his unreliable dad tells him to not get so emotional about a book (or anything else), Mac has been raised by his mom and grandad to call out things that are wrong. He and his friends head to the principal's office to protest the censorship... but her response doesn't take them seriously. So many adults want Mac to keep his words to himself. Mac's about to see the power of letting them out. In Attack of the Black Rectangles, acclaimed author Amy Sarig King shows all the ways truth can be hard... but still worth fighting for.
Reviews with the most likes.
ok for ME I prefer AS King when she's writing stuff for teens and can really let her freak flag fly. But I think this is a good middle grade book that deals with timely issues (censorship, sexism, racism, adults being unhinged fascists) in a way that respects kids.
I did think the subplot with Mac's dad (CW for mental illness? I THINK?) was maybe...idk maybe could have been its own book? But I guess it contributed to Mac's general stress and confusion about like, what's the deal with ADULTS.
Really well written and approachable exploration of censorship and the power of activism. I would have loved more information about the dad character, as I feel like A. S. King's normal exploration of mental health topics was lacking here.
