Fire From the Rock [Hardcover]

Sharon Draper (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 16, 2007

Sylvia Patterson is shocked and confused when she is asked to be one of the first black students to attend Central High School, which is scheduled to be integrated in September 1957, whether the citizens or governor of Arkansas like it or not. Before Sylvia makes her final decision, smoldering racial tension in the town ignites into flame. When the smoke clears, she sees clearly that nothing is going to stop the change from coming. It is up to her generation to make it happen, in as many different ways as there are colors in the world.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

An honor student, Sylvia Patterson is thrilled when she is chosen as one of the first black students to integrate all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957. But the racism in her town is terrifying, and she is not sure she can go through with it. Unlike her older brother, she does not want to be a hero and change the world. Besides, many in her black community are against integration; why not stay with her friends, concentrate on academics, and get to college? With stirring complexity, Draper personalizes the civil rights struggle beyond slogans and politics. There is sometimes too much historical background purposively woven into Sylvia's narrative, including her diary entries. But the surprising turnaround in the plot, as well as the shocking facts, will grab readers and raise the elemental issue: what would I have done? A final note fills in history and provides a list of Web sites. Pair this with Robert Sharenow's My Mother the Cheerleader (2007), about a white kid whose mother is part of the racist mob. Rochman, Hazel

Review

Draper neatly intertwines history, pop culture, and emotion as she explores the turbulent era of Civil Rights. -- School Library Journal

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile (August 16, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525477209
• ISBN-13: 978-0525477204
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #903,285 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sharon Draper is a two-time Coretta Scott King Award-winning author, most recently for Copper Sun, and previously for Forged by Fire. She's also the recipient of the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Author Award for New Talent for Tears of a Tiger and the Coretta Scott King Author Honor for The Battle of Jericho and November Blues. Her other books include Romiette and Julio, Darkness Before Dawn, and Double Dutch. She lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she taught high school English for twenty-five years. She's a popular conference speaker, addressing educational and literary groups both nationally and internationally.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't have been a better portrayal, October 30, 2007

By 

Reader for Life! (Brooksville, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fire From the Rock (Hardcover)

Being that we were having Mrs. Sharon Draper herself come to our school as a guest speaker, I chose Fire From the Rock to read to all the 8th graders before her arrival. I can't tell you how riveting and realistic this story is. The references were chilling. The people were real. The plot was daunting. Our students loved this book. Many asked to read it again. What is the reality of 250 8th graders wanting to read a historical fiction book twice? If you want to give your students an inside peek to what was really going on during the Civil Rights Movement, this is an excellent book. Bravo Sharon Draper!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sharon Draper Writes Like a Man, January 30, 2008

By 

Hugh L. Fletcher "Actor/Teacher" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fire From the Rock (Hardcover)

Every time I had to put this book down I was in a funk until I was able to get back to it. The story was so engrosing that I found myself worrying about what was going to happen next. Sharon Draper is one of the few writers who can who can truly write for boys and girls. She tells the story, powerfully and eloquetly, and doesn't get bogged down in needless descriptions or self-indulgence. "Fire from the Rock" is the third or fourth book I've read by Ms. Draper and the one fault I find with her books is that I don't put them down until they're finished so I end up reading them too quickly and I have trouble finding another book to read that will be as satisfying.

Sharon Draper marvelously weaves fiction and history with so many twists and catches the only thing you can easily predict is that something will happen you didn't expect. This is a perfect book to help teenagers and tweens to understand not only the social climate that surrounded school integration, but the importance of the struggle for integration. This book should be on the required reading lists of every middle school and junior high across the country.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yet another amazing book by Sharon Draper, December 18, 2007

By 

K. Yanar (Florida) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fire From the Rock (Hardcover)

As a reading teacher, I am constantly looking for exciting young adult literature to expose my students to. Sharon Draper is my go to author many times. I was first introduced to her by her Hazelwood Triology. With "Fire from the Rock", Ms. Draper has elevated herself from an author who appeals to young adult readers by writing topics that they can relate to, to an author who also teaches them history in a way that they will actually pay attention to and get something out of it. In "Fire from the Rock", readers hear a first person as well as third person account of the struggle for segregation. This novel illustrates with such emotional beauty what it was like for the people in Little Rock who were personally experiencing the drama that most of America was watching unfold from the comfort and safety of their homes. A must read for parents and teenagers, and a perfect opportunity for a history lesson for a generation who seem to live with the mindset that the past should stay in the past.