One Step Forward
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection!
One Step Forward is a compelling debut YA historical fiction novel in verse about Matilda Young—the youngest American suffragist imprisoned for picketing the White House to demand women’s right to vote.
Raised in a politically divided family, Matilda wondered if she could be as courageous as her older sister who fought for suffrage. Joining the radical protest movement came with plenty of risk. Women were routinely scorned, harassed, arrested—and worse. And taking a stand for her rights could tear her family apart.
Told in powerful verse, One Step Forward follows Matilda's coming-of-age journey as she takes her first step into action. Amid the backdrop of World War I, Matilda’s story vividly highlights the extreme mental, physical, and emotional battles faced by the protestors leading up to the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment. It also reveals the bravery, hard work, and spirit of the women who paved the way for future generations to use their voices and votes.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The plight of 19-year-old Matilda Young, the youngest suffragist arrested after picketing at the White House in 1917, is brought to life in this fictionalized verse account by Atkins (Design a Game). As a child in Washington, D.C., Matilda watches her older sisters Lucy and Sophie march for women's right to vote. She soon follows in their footsteps, taking on a more active role in the movement by working with the National Woman's Party as a letter opener. But what she really wants is to be out picketing. Despite knowing that picketing is a dangerous job—protesters are often attacked and arrested—and her parents' disapproval of her choices, Matilda determines to stand for what she believes in, no matter the cost. This inspiring historical tale of perseverance experiments with formatting to connote mood; in poem "Do They Know?" Atkins uses clipped, one-word lines to highlight Matilda's stress about strangers learning she's a suffragist. Imagined versions of suffragists such as Ida B. Wells and Mary Church Terrell feature alongside Matilda as their paths intertwine. Ages 13–up.
