The Assignment by Liza Wiemer - HIGH

The Assignment by Liza Wiemer, 336 pages. Delacorte Press (Random House), 2020. $18.

Language: R (42 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG13

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

History is Logan’s favorite subject, and she adores her history teacher Mr. Bartley -- he even wrote a letter of recommendation for her college application. When Mr. Bartley gives the class an assignment to recreate a scene in history by arguing for the genocide of Jews, Logan is horrified. Logan and her best friend, Cade, do all they can to stop the assignment, but doubt creeps in when other students and teachers don’t see the problem.

First of all, I want to make it clear that I only marked this book as “optional” instead of “essential” because of the language. The internal and external struggles that Logan, Cade, and others face illustrate how easy it is to let hate continue, and Wiemer asks readers to think about hard questions: are you willing to stand for what’s right? Even when you feel alone? Even when you stand against authority? Even when change takes longer than you hoped? Examples of students fighting for change and kindness in this book range from giving interviews to the paper to dyeing hair. Find out how you can stand for right in your life and do it. The mature content rating is for underage drinking and drug use, groping, and mention of sexting; the violence rating is for domestic violence, mention of suicide, discussion of genocide and other WWII tragedies, and hate crimes.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen