Attack of the Black Rectangles

by A. S. King

Genres: Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade

272 pages, Paperback

Published September 3, 2024

Reviews

[Amy Werking · Rating 4 out of 5]

Juvenile fiction about censorship. Likable, relatable characters open the reader’s eyes about a real world problematic situation. Nice mentions of Jane Yolen’s word for young readers, too.

[Katie Parris · Rating 4 out of 5]

The subject of book banning really interests me and I’ve been reading every book I can get my hands on about it and the actual banned books as well. This middle grade novel tackles book censorship and focuses on a true story about The Devil’s Arithmetic (which I’ve never actually read but now plan to). It also touches on Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret and James & the Giant Peach, along with another I hadn’t heard of called The Higher Power of Lucky. This one also had a great plot with the main character’s home life and friends, I truly enjoyed it. Solid 4 out of 5.

[Josiah Smallwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

SOME ADULTS DON'T WANT YOU TO KNOW THEIR TRUTH

After Mac and his friends discover that certain words in their school books have been marked out, they set out to find out who censored their books and end up on a mission to protect free speech in their town and encourage others to stand up for their rights.

A highly relevant book is this age of mass censorship and book bans! It contains great messages about freedom, finding your voice, the absurdity of censorship, emotional health, taking responsibility when you've done wrong, treating kids as the intelligent beings they are, and so much more! It's also got a lot of great quotes that I think should be adopted by every free speech advocate in the world, such as this one:

CENSORSHIP: WHEN ADULTS ACT LIKE CHILDREN!

As for why I'm giving this book four stars instead of five, I felt that the story, while still very nice, wasn't as exciting or engaging as it could've been. While this book contains some very important messages, I think there are other books out there that do a better job of conveying them while having more thrilling plots.

Still, it's worth being designated as Scholastic Gold! Thank you, Amy Sarig King!

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was absolutely amazing. One of the absolute best books I have ever read - and one of the best middle grades reads I have ever read! I remember my professor reading us the synopsis of this book in undergrad and it had not been released yet - it sounded great then, and when I saw it, I had to pick it up! It was even a signed copy!

The main character, Mac, is so awesome! He has confusing feelings about his best friend Marcy, his dad has some underlying mental health issues going on. Grandad is awesome! It just had so many good pieces, and so many amazing quotes, especially about grace.

It also had some complex characters- like Ms. Sett and Aaron James.

Most importantly, it taught so many good life long lessons, like civil discourse, finding common ground, and working through shame. I cannot give enough props to this book. Give it all the praise and all the accolades!!!

[Kari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mac and his family live in a Truman Show like town where there are rules on junk food and behaviors that are restricting and controlling. Mac is a smart kid who can see the hypocrisy and twisted history that is being presented to him in school. But when an assigned book has blacked out words - that is the tipping point. Mac reaches out to the author Jane Yolen of The Devil's Arithmetic whose novel about the Holocaust has been censored, his friends start protesting with the help of his hippie grandfather and start talking to the principal to get to the bottom on this ridiculous censorship.

100% perfect for 2025 and all the chaos with the Gulf of America, return of Columbus Day, and trying to erase DEI practices, the LGBTQ+ community, the attack on Transpeople and so on and so on....

[Natalie T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific YA freedom-to-read novel recommended for everyone from middle-schoolers to retirees. A.S. King creates a spellbinding story about a student, Mac Delaney, who discovers that a famous novel assigned as a classroom must-read has some words blacked out. Mac wants to know which words are too dangerous or upsetting for a sixth-grader to read. He investigates, shares his outrage with his best friends, and a protest movement is born. Gritty, suspenseful, provocative, and full of surprises, ATTACK OF THE BLACK RECTANGLES could not be more timely or necessary, especially for its courage and optimism. Brilliant!

[Alcinda Burchill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kinda cool that I read The Devil’s Arithmetic before and now I read this

[Sarah Miner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written story about censorship and growth