From the Bookshelf of Mock Newbery 2026…

Countdown (The Sixties Trilogy, #1)

Deborah Wiles

Start date: September 1, 2010

Finish date: September 30, 2010

Discussion: Book of the Month 2011

Why we're reading this: "Countdown" was chosen over "The Dreamer" by Pam Munoz Ryan. You can read both if you want to read a litt…more
[close] "Countdown" was chosen over "The Dreamer" by Pam Munoz Ryan. You can read both if you want to read a little extra.

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Book of the Month 2011

November Read - The Kneebone Boy
By Kristen · 15 posts · 68 views

last updated Mar 26, 2011 01:49PM

December Read - The Dreamer
By Kristen · 9 posts · 51 views

last updated Dec 30, 2010 09:21PM

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What Members Thought

Oct 08, 2010 Wendy rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2010-award-possibilities

This is going to be my annual "I don't get it" book, I guess. I'm puzzled by the almost-universal accolades. (Review will be especially long because of Newbery talk.)

The writing itself is good enough, though marred in my opinion by overuse of similes--some of which didn't make much sense. "By the time Saturday rolls around, we're used to living like emergency room patients." I have no idea what that's supposed to mean. "I answer as if the pope himself called me and told me I could go." ??? Frann This is going to be my annual "I don't get it" book, I guess. I'm puzzled by the almost-universal accolades. (Review will be especially long because of Newbery talk.)

The writing itself is good enough, though marred in my opinion by overuse of similes--some of which didn't make much sense. "By the time Saturday rolls around, we're used to living like emergency room patients." I have no idea what that's supposed to mean. "I answer as if the pope himself called me and told me I could go." ??? Franny isn't Catholic. It felt mired down in detail, as well; it was like a reference to the time period was shoehorned into every paragraph.

I felt like I've seen every character (especially the groovy older sister) several other places. People are excited about the cigarette-smoking mom--didn't they read The Green Glass Sea? Also, too many secondary characters in general; wait, which one is Denise Dubose and which is Judy James? etc. (I thought it rather odd that the author used the real names of her childhood classmates and made up characters for them. Especially the ones that aren't very nice.)

I think the book is needlessly confusing. While it's pretty obvious to the adult reader what the older sister is getting involved in, I doubt it would be to the child reader. Whether still not having any information about this at the end of the book would bother kids or not, I can't say, but I feel like when I was a kid I'd be all "wait, what about the big secret? what was going on? who is Ebenezer? did I miss a chapter in there?"

Then there's the issue of the documentary material. As others have mentioned, the longer historical/biographical passages really took me out of the story; sometimes they were more interesting than what was going on in the plot. And as others have also mentioned, most of the song lyrics were extracted and placed in such a way that (if one didn't know the song, and/or the significance of the picture on the same page) any meaning was lost. Some of the material I liked: the photographs, mostly, and the quotes from the preparedness film (although that was overdone by at least half) and the quotes from Kennedy's speech. From reading what others say, I gather the purpose is supposed to be that we feel like we're Right There With Franny, immersed in the early sixties. But this didn't work for me: for instance, there are several references to the death of President Kennedy, which doesn't occur within the time frame of the book. Franny is into Kennedy, of course, and she doesn't know he's about to be assassinated, yet the reader does. The adult reader already knows that, of course, and probably most of the child readers do as well. But the within-book consciousness of Kennedy's eventual death destroys the immediacy that might have been provided by the documentary stuff.

Reading this (and it was a struggle to finish; I think it's overlong in general, especially at the climax), a similarity I couldn't identify kept niggling at me. I finally realized toward the end that I was being reminded of books that did something similar but, to my mind, did it better--don't laugh, but it's the American Girl books. (I haven't read one in twenty years or so and was bordering on too old for them when they came out, but still enjoyed them mildly.) These also had (have?) documentary material in them, at the end. I enjoyed poring over these as much as I enjoyed the thin plotlines. But I remember that it was fun having them at the end and finding out the rest of the story of the things mentioned in the text.

This book is fictionalized memoir--I don't know to what extent--and the other book it reminded me of a great deal was Judy Blume's excellent Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself. I'm not a particular Blume fan, but that book works in historical references more naturally and has (to me) a more engaging plot--it feels story- and character-driven, not historical-reference-driven.

Comments on anything anyone disagrees with in my review are, as always, welcomed.

Earlier: I'm impatient with this book, which is feeling like nothing but a baby-boomer nostalgia piece. I doubt I'd continue if it weren't being Newberyed-about. ...more

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Apr 22, 2012 Beth Given rated it liked it

Shelves: battle-of-the-books-2013-14

This is called a "documentary novel" -- the chapters are sometimes separated with photos and quotes and other primary sources to further illustrate the setting: Fall 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis. These "extras" were definitely my favorite part of the book; I liked the history of it (this was the first book I read on this exact topic) and I admired the way the author created a mood with the unique pairings of song lyrics and various photos. Visually this is a great novel to read, a whole ...more

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Dec 17, 2010 Jaclyn rated it it was amazing

Shelves: children-s, historical-fiction, mock-newbery-2010

Loved loved loved this book. The "documentary novel" style really sets the tone and gives the reader a solid idea of time and place. I found myself wanting to skip ahead and browse through the photos, quotes and documents that are scattered throughout. The story was excellent as well. ...more

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Jan 27, 2011 Jess rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction

This is one of only a few books I've ever read about the Cold War and it was very well done with real historical documents mixed with the story. ...more

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Jul 15, 2010 Jess rated it really liked it

Shelves: juv, historical-fiction

A fascinating use of images and quotations from the era, along with a story and characters that are absolutely engaging. Even knowing what I do about the Cuban Missile Crisis, seeing it from Franny's point of view made it immediate and terrifying - although Franny's focus is still often on her family and friends (or former friends). A great choice especially for girls who enjoy historical fiction or for readers looking for a story about friendship. If this shows up on the OLA/WLA Mock Newbery li ...more

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Mar 21, 2011 Megan rated it really liked it

Shelves: booksiwishwerearoundwheniwasakid, listened-to

The audio was fantastic. They incorporated the news reports and other era-related material in an amazing way. Can't wait for the next one! ...more

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Sep 03, 2010 Sarah rated it really liked it

Shelves: children, 2010, middle-grade

I really enjoyed this book. It's about a time I don't have a lot of knowledge about (it seems my history classes all stopped with WWII)so I found the nonfiction additions to the book to be very intersting.
Besides that, I really liked the story. I felt that Wiles really captured the difficulty of being a middle schooler in this book. Franny's struggles and voice were very authentic to me. ...more

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Jan 18, 2011 Cheryl Meibos rated it really liked it

Shelves: 6th-graders

This is the first children's book I've read with the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis as a backdrop.
I liked the 1960's historical details and it really gives the reader the feeling of the fear that gripped the nation at that time. I liked the documentary style photographs. ...more

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Feb 23, 2020 Whitney rated it really liked it · review of another edition

What a great read! The use of primary source documents added so much to the story. I can't wait to read the next one. I love historical fiction, and I haven't read much regarding the Cuban Missle Crisis. I love this one. ...more

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