Attack of the Black Rectangles

This book inspired by a real life incident (experienced by the author's son) is a must for young readers today, particularly when the protagonist, Mac, keeps asking questions he shouldn't. Spurred on by his class reading the novel The Devil's Arithmetic, a story where a Jewish American girl goes back in time to the Holocaust, Mac wants to know why words and phrases are blacked out. Censorship, Mac will discover, can be imposed by means of stealth, and it's his teacher that keeps the town in line with her letters to the local paper.

But the novel is not just about censorship. It's about protesting and dress codes and importantly, standing up for what is right at a time in a young person's life where they feel vulnerable. With a father who believes he is an alien anthropologist, his Grandfather a Vietnam Vet, and his mother a compassionate Hospice worker, Mac's life is anything but ordinary.

A possible downside of this novel for New Zealand students? A definite American flavour with content around Thanksgiving, the First Amendment, even Colombus. Arguably, with a focus on misogyny, flat earthers, and Holocaust deniers, I think students will still find it both readable and page-turning.

Content advisory: touches on the Holocaust, PTSD, and mental illness.