The Year of the Bomb

by Ronald Kidd

Book Overview

The year is 1955, and there's nothing that Paul and his best friends, Oz, Arnie, and Crank, love more than horror movies. So when Invasion of the Body Snatchers starts filming in their small California town, they couldn't be more excited. But when their acquaintance with Laura and Darryl, extras on the movie, leads to an involvement in a possible Communist conspiracy, Paul is afraid that they're in too deep. It's not a horror movie anymore--this is...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1416996257
• ISBN13: 9781416996255
• Release Date: June 2009
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.2" x 7.6"
• Age Range: 10 to 13 years
• Grade Range: Grades 5 to 8

Customer Reviews

a fantastic book

Wow! I just finished this book and can't wait to get it into the hands of my kids. This book really captures the paranoia that was the 1950's. Set against the back drop of the filming of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (one of my favorite movies), this story follows four young kids as they search out the communist threat in their community. One of the blurbs compared it to STAND BY ME, and it was a good comparison. This book is a terrific look at the feeling and attitudes of the people during the cold war. This is a must read for students. This would go great in a history class or paired with Arthur Miller's THE CRUCIBLE.

utterly charming and nostalgic

This book is nostalgic without meaning to be, I think, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. What's wrong with nostalgia? For some reason, it seems to be a problem for a lot of book reviewers, but I sure don't see why. The book is set in the `50's during the Cold War, when paranoia reigned and Communism was feared. It seemed like there was a Commie around every corner. It is in this atmosphere that Paul and his friends are growing up. The author deftly mixes the making of the movie, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, with the paranoia of plotting Communists. Paul doesn't fully understand the implications of what's going on, and his friends have different views, especially his friend whose father has been blacklisted by the movie industry. But the boys are distracted by the fact that a real Hollywood movie is being made right in their town. Even more exciting, they get invited onto the set and get caught up in dreaming about being spies. They even start spying on Richard Feynman whose activities sure seem suspicious. The author believably brings in real individuals, such as Feynman, to create a charming - and also thought-provoking - book.