Customer Reviews

Fire From the Rock

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
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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!

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.

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.

Fire from the Rock is another of Sharon Draper's great historical fiction works for young adults. Set in Little Rock, AK in 1957 we learn the story of Sylvia Patterson, a young teen who has been selected as one of the few students to integrate into a white high school under legislation spurred by the Brown vs. Board of Education decision. While Sylvia struggles to pride herself on her successes that landed her in this position, she encounters racist members of the community who constantly berate and torment her. Meanwhile, Sylvia's friendship with Rachel Zucker, a Jewish girl, and her family strengthens. This relationship allowed for Draper to reference the persecution that Jews faced during the `50s; the juxtaposition of discrimination among the two races is described well and leads way to great classroom discussion. Backed with tons of historical-cultural facts and references, the overall plot also encompasses relatable themes for adolescents such as young love and ideological conflicts between teens and their parents. Based on the efforts to integrate African American children around the country into traditionally white schools, Sylvia's story details the trials and triumphs associated with desegregation efforts and offers an interesting perspective on the issue. A must read!

Sharon Draper does an excellent job with "Fire from the Rock" depicting the horrifying times of Civil Rights. Sylvia has the opportunity to integrate Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas which is both exhilarating and frightening at the same time. We follow her internal struggle throughout the entire novel. Draper does an excellent job teaching the history of that era and this would be an excellent novel to expose to students. I would definitely use this novel in the classroom for middle school students and high school students.

Sharon Draper writes a compelling work of historical fiction that focuses on Little Rock, Arkansas at the time of integration in 1957. Her story is of a young girl who is chosen to represent the black community when Central High School is forced to integrate. The novel is well written and Draper does a tremendous job of synthesizing historical facts into a book that focuses on the pressures and fears that an adolescent would face as the biggest decision of their life awaited them. By inventing a character instead of using one of the "Little Rock 9," Draper is able to tell a new story that focuses on a student who decided not to integrate, even though she had the chance. The book demonstrates what African American students faced when deciding whether or not to be a part of the special few chosen to break-down racial barriers.

Fire from the Rock is one of the most impressive pieces of historical fiction that I have come across in my studies of middle school reading. It is extremely evident and impressive the amount of research Sharon Draper conducted in order to create this novel. I loved the inclusion of pop culture references from magazines to music from the 1950s/ civil rights era. I absolutely cannot wait to be able to use this novel after I finish my M.A.T. program and become a certified teacher! This novel also made me more curious to read more titles by Sharon Draper, I've heard great recommendations for her novel Copper Sun and look forward to purchasing/reading it soon.

This is a great book that I am using in my 7th grade English class. My kids love it and are learning a great deal about school segregation and integration, as well as how to be true to yourself. I highly recommend this to anyone wanting a great fictionalized account of an important time period in our nation's history. The author does a great job of making this time come to life with accurate historical information.

Great fiction comes from powerful realities." Thus states Sharon Draper as she describes her own past that was woven into Fire from the rock. Draper was a child in 1957, the year this story takes place. One of her best friends at that time was a little Jewish girl and she watched the events in Little Rock on her fuzzy black and white television. Me, I wasn't born until October of that year.

Sylvia is a smart young lady who works hard in high school, listens to her parents and is experiencing young love. Like everyone in her school, she's aware of the plans to integrate the white high school next year. She knows that some of the white city leaders will interview prospective Black students to select those they feel are most appropriate. The Whites on the committee are known for their racist agendas. They want Blacks who work hard in school, can control their temper (because they will be provoked) and who can accept the limitations that will be placed upon them (such as not being allowed to attend school events). Sylvia's brother, Gary, wants to be among those chosen. Their family is well respected and Gary is also quite responsible. He feels that the nation is at the brink of change and for him, it can't change fast enough. He's a hot head and will not be selected to participate in desegregating the schools. But, Sylvia is.

When we think of this time and the images we've seen, we assume that everyone was ready and willing to march in the streets, sit at the counters and do everything they could to change their world. But, Draper gives us a much more real picture which included those who wanted to see a change, but were scared of becoming involved in the process of change, and rightfully so. They'd seen the hangings, faced the retributions and felt these things were all but impossible to fight. Some in the story support Sylvia and hope she'll decide to attend the all white school while others think she is being a bit to uppity. These feelings give Sylvia a small taste of what she'll face in the new school.

Should she leave? Should she give up senior year with her boyfriend? There, she won't be a cheerleader or go to her own prom but she'll have the finest of facilities and participate in something bigger than herself. Her father is afraid for her; he's seen his own father hanged. Yet, he and her mother are willing to let Sylvia make her own decision. I like that this young lady was empowered to make such an important decision on her own, and we were taken on the journey that formulated her decision.

Like Draper, Sylvia also had a Jewish friend, Rachel Zucker. The Zuckers owned the nearby grocery store and had a very good relationship with the Pattersons, but not with the Whites in the town. The Zuckers, like many Jews in the south were discriminated against in the same way Blacks were and the same way Latinos and Asians were in the west.

Draper provides a sobering dose of history. Its message isn't overpowering but it is svibrant and authentic. She wrote this hoping that students will see how far we've come and how far we still have to go. She suggests they simply look at the racial dynamics of their own high school cafeteria. Sylvia is a fictional character, not based on any of the Little Rock Nine.

The name of the book is "FIRE FROM THE ROCK", written by Sharon M. Draper. It takes place in Little Rock, Arkansas. This book has a lot of feeling because the book makes you feel sorry for her and so many other emotions while reading. I absolutely loved it! I admire Sylvia for being so strong and brave when she had to make such an important and life changing decision. The plot of the story is basically how Sylvia, who hates white people, gets chosen to attend an all white school. She wants to go, but at the same time, doesn't want to leave her friends behind.
Back then, segregation was a serious issue and some people thought integration was even worse! I'm glad that segregation is over or our generation would suffer the consequences. What I loved about the book the most were the poems. They were what really caught my attention because they were beautiful, meaningful, inspirational and even more emotional than the book itself! I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a book with heart!