Raise Your Voice: 12 Protests That Shaped America

Gr 6 Up–Kluger’s latest book covers specific activist events in United States history, beginning with the Boston Tea Party and concluding with the Standing Rock/Dakota Pipeline dispute. The work relays the details before, during, and after each protest, incorporating historical context throughout. The author conveys the setting and mood of each dissent or the events that ignited them within well-organized chronological chapters. For example, active verbs and potent imagery effectively capture the frenzy of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911: “They raced as fast as their elevator cars could carry them to the burning floor, where the workers jammed inside as soon as the doors opened.” Quotes, which allow readers a perspective from the time, are effectively interspersed throughout the text. The afterword discusses Kluger’s use of sources like Time, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, U.S. government websites, social activist sites, and a critical evaluation of Wikipedia.