Riot

*As the Civil War rages, another battle breaks out behind the lines. *During a long hot July in 1863, the worst race riots the United States has ever seen erupt in New York City. Earlier that year, desperate for more Union soldiers, President Abraham Lincoln instituted a draft–a draft that would allow the wealthy to escape serving in the army by paying a $300 waiver, more than a yearвЂTMs income for the recent immigrant Irish. And on July 11, as the first drawing takes place in Lower Manhattan, the city of New York explodes in rage and fire. Stores are looted; buildings, including the Colored Foundling Home, are burned down; and black Americans are attacked, beaten, and murdered. The police cannot hold out against the rioters, and finally, battle-hardened soldiers are ordered back from the fields of Gettysburg to put down the insurrection, which they do–brutally. Fifteen-year-old Claire, the beloved daughter of a black father and Irish mother, finds herself torn between the two warring sides. Faced with the breakdown of the city–the home–she has loved, Claire must discover the strength and resilience to address the new world in which she finds herself, and to begin the hard journey of remaking herself and her identity. Addressing such issues as race, bigotry, and class head-on, Walter Dean Myers has written another stirring and exciting novel that will shake up assumptions, and lift the spirit. From the Hardcover edition. From School Library Journal Starred Review. Grade 7 Up—The setting is New York City, July 1863. Lincoln has just called up more troops after the devastation at Gettysburg. Tensions rise and then boil over into riots as Irish immigrants rail against the draft and direct their wrath at the city's African-American population. Fifteen-year-old Claire, daughter of a black father and white mother, finds herself at the center of the vortex. She is forced to grapple with the notion that her race has suddenly become the entirety of her identity while friends and family are pulled into different camps and a mob mentality consumes the city. The author revisits the screenplay format utilized to much acclaim in Monster (HarperCollins, 1999), yet here it serves a wholly different purpose. While the screenplay helped Monster 's Steve reveal a creative identity apart from his mug shot, in Riot it gives a sense of the proportion and chaos of the times, as the camera pans across the city jumping from one incident to another, simultaneously tracking numerous characters. Myers crafts a sympathetic cast, which is excellent fodder for conversations about race and class, and the book is also a choice pick for reluctant readers who will relish both format and pacing. Once again, this master storyteller has delivered.— Jill Heritage Maza, Greenwich High School, CT END About the Author Walter Dean Myers is one of the best known writers of children's literature working today. His work has received numerous awards, including two Newbery Honors, five Coretta Scott King Awards, the Michael L. Printz Award, the Margaret A. Edwards Award, two Lee Bennett Hopkins Awards, the ALAN Award, and many others, including the 2008 Arbuthnot Award from the ALA. This year, he is the first time winner of the Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement, which will be presented at ALA in Washington. Besides writing, Walter loves collecting photographs and ephemera dealing with black history, and owns several pieces from this period, including an actual $300 waiver of the Civil War draft.

the Civil War Is Raging And In A Desperate Effort To Find More Recruits, The Union Begins A Draft - A Draft With A Difference. The Wealthy Can Pay $300 To Be Released From Their Obligation, But The Poor Must Go And Fight And Die. In New York City, The Recently Arrived Irish Are The Hardest Hit By The Draft And During The Long Hot Days Of July The City Explodes In A Rash Of Arson, Marches, Attacks, And Lynchings, With The Immigrant Irish Taking Out Their Anger On The Black Inhabitants Of The City.
fourteen-year-old Claire, The Daughter Of An Irish Mother And A Black Father, Has Never Had To Choose Between The Two Sides Of The Family - She Has Never Had Reason To Consider Her Own Identity. When She Learns That A Friend Of Hers Is In Danger, She Decides To Go To Her Aid, But By Venturing Out On The Streets, She Puts Her Own Life At Risk.  
    
myers's Use Of The Screenplay Format Allows His Readers A Birds-eye View Of The Four Hot Days In July When New York City Burned, Using Multiple Points Of View From Both Sides Of The Conflict.

publishers Weekly

written In Screenplay Format Like His Printz Award–winning Monster, Myers's Historical Novel Is Set In 1863 New York City During The Civil War Draft Riots, Which Began As A Protest Against Conscription And Resulted In A Clash Between The City's Irish And African-american Populations. The Streets Are No Longer Safe For 15-year-old Claire, Whose Parents (her Father Is Black, Her Mother Irish) Run The Peacock Inn Restaurant/tavern. “i Don't See Why You Have To Be A Black Person Or A White Person,” Claire Says, After Being Cautioned To Stay Inside. “why Can't You Just Be A Person?” But When The Colored Orphan Asylum Is Looted And Burned, Claire Feels An Obligation To Help. Myers Writes Poignant Dialogue, Laying Bare The Prejudices Of The Period, While Exploring Claire's Emotional Transition Out Of Childhood. Stage Directions (“close-up Of Maeve. Her Face Is A Picture Of Incredible Anger As She Screams At The Police”) Pull Readers Into Both The Setting And Characters, Though The Transitions Between Scenes Are Occasionally Jarring. Readers Should Find This Story Moving—a Direct Result Of Myers's Empathetic Portrayal Of Those On Both Sides. Ages 12–up. (sept.)

In 1863, fifteen-year-old Claire, the daughter of an Irish mother and a black father, faces ugly truths and great danger when Irish immigrants, enraged by the Civil War and a federal draft, lash out against blacks and wealthy "swells" of New York City.