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This book is a must read. Heartbreaking and difficult, but relevant and perfectly written. One of my top picks that I read this year. This made me want to read more on this topic and really made me reflect on so many things going on in the world and that have happened in the past.

Kent State covered hundreds of pages of material, both about the Kent State killings and events at other colleges occurring at around the same time. Wiles scratched the surface of everyone‘s stories, trying to cover every side but as a result giving no side the chance to be fully developed and explored. Overall this was a great concept but underdeveloped and lacking. Good intro to Kent State but definitely look at other resources as well.
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Unsurprisingly, I hadn‘t learned about the May 4th 1979 Kent State Massacre in HS or undergrad. While I knew anti- war protests went on during the Vietnam War, I didn‘t know the horrors of what happened at Kent State. This short novel in verse is beautifully crafted to bring you, the reader, into the events of that fateful weekend, to pursue your own research, & ask questions. For more of my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4222252872

This is definitely one to experience in audio format, with its impressive and dramatic full cast of narrators. Deborah Wiles does an excellent job of providing context and a myriad of perspectives from the many people involved in this dark moment in American history, when American troops killed four American students protesting the Vietnam War.

Imprudent: Not showing care for the consequences of an action; rash.

According to this narrative of the Kent State killings in the spring of 1970; the student groups, Kent State administration, the townspeople, and the National Guard all acted in an imprudent fashion. The result was a PUBLIC tragedy
#imprudent #springsentiments @Eggs
#quiet #oppositeday @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @TheKidUpstairs

This book was so powerful! I‘m so glad I listened to it. I‘m not sure if it would be as powerful in the book as weird as it feels to say that. The way they produced it was phenomenal!

Read this if you do not know of or forget the story of what happened on May 4,1970 at Kent State University in Ohio. The song, Four dead in Ohio is just one of the songs in the sixties that were written to show what was happening as the Vietnam War continued even though most Americans, students, and even Walter Cronkite new it was not winnable. Loved how this is written in prose form, every student should read this history. Love this author!

I listened to this from my library‘s #Hoopla collection when I saw it won the 2021 Odyssey, an #audiobook award. The brief book presents multiple viewpoints on the murder of Kent State students by the Ohio National Guard in 1970. It‘s written by Deborah Wiles and narrated by Christopher Gebauer, Lauren Ezzo, Christina DeLaine, Johnny Heller, Roger Wayne, Korey Jackson, and David de Vries. I was moved to tears.

There were many points of view to follow in this audio book. However, I appreciated being shown the event from so many different perspectives. A full cast. Well done. I look forward to learning more about this part of our history.

“Tin soldiers and Nixon coming
We're finally on our own
This summer I hear the drumming
Four dead in Ohio”
Wiles‘ ability to transport you back in time while keeping firmly focused on the present is hauntingly powerful.

50 years ago today—May 4, 1970
By total coincidence, I picked this up through curbside pick up at my favorite indie bookstore and just finished.

Powerful, 132 pages in verse.