Countdown

Countdown
Author: Deborah Wiles
Publisher: Scholastic (2010)
ISBN: 9780545106054

4.5 (out of 5) STARS


Summary: Franny Chapman is a young teenager during the 1960s. This book chronicles her life during the year 1962 which is during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Franny deals with world peace, best friends, cute neighbor boys and family issues.

Review:Franny just wants peace. But now is not the time of peace. The United States is on the verge of war with the threat of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Franny’s school has bomb threat drills on a regular basis. Franny feels scared all the time that her country will go to war or that a nuclear bomb will hit her town. They are taught to duck and cover if they hear the bomb sirens, which actually is ironic because ducking and covering cannot save anyone from a nuclear bomb.

Franny is also experiencing trouble at home. Her great uncle lives with her family and he suffers from post traumatic stress disorder as a veteran from World War II. He often forgets where he is and thinks he is back in the foxholes during the war. He is unpredictable and becoming more unstable over time.

The format of this book is very interesting. The chapters are interspersed with pictures, propaganda, and news from the 1960s era. It makes for a very interesting read. “Deborah Wiles has created a documentary novel that will put you right alongside Franny as she navigates a dangerous time in both her history and our history” (book flap).