The Scopes Trial is one of the most widely known legal cases in American history. Levy’s account of the events gives life to the story while avoiding the pitfall of being overly dramatic that plagues some historical fiction tellings. This narrative is factual and stuffed full of entertaining events and vibrant characters, and the author’s engaging storytelling style brings this historical event to life for a new generation a century later. Though this story is familiar to many, it is likely to be mostly new to the middle grade audience for whom this book is written. The themes dealt with in this book are still relevant today. Among the history and the facts, the book wrestles with the concept of how much authority the government should have over what individual teachers are allowed to teach and touches on whether politicians should dabble in determining whether science has merit or whether that should be left to scientists as experts in their fields. Throughout the narrative of the court trial, the author emphasizes times at which people with differing viewpoints argue their points while still retaining respect for each other. This book is an engaging read for students and adults who enjoy history.
Review of an Advance Reading Copy from the Publisher
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: 1 religious exclamation; 1 mild obscenity.
Note: The word “Negro” is used in historic quotes twice (not tallied).
Violence/Gore: A few characters die of natural causes; report of lynchings; a few reports of verbal or written threats; a few reports of murders; report of a hanging as punishment; report of injured workers; discussion of forced sterilization as part of eugenics.
Sex/Nudity: Mention of sex as part of biology and sex education materials; discussion of forced sterilization as part of eugenics.
Mature Subject Matter:
Darwin’s theory of evolution is a major theme in this book and is discussed at length, including as compared to Christianity; agnosticism (discussed); Nazism (mention); the holocaust (mention); report of lynchings; brief discussion of climate change; brief discussion of COVID-19; slavery (mentioned); capital punishment (reported): “politics of sexual freedom” are mentioned; eugenics (discussed); workers rights; child labor (reported); religious discrimination; gender discrimination; racism (discussed).
Alcohol/Drug Use:
Mention of alcoholism; mention of liquor and wine; discussion of Prohibition.
