Identity Crisis

It’s hard enough for most 15-year-olds to figure out who they are, but Claire Johnson’s identity crisis plays out in dramatic close-up in Walter Dean Myers’ young adult screenplay, Riot. During the Civil War, a military draft instigates a three-day race riot in New York City between Irish and African-Americans. The Irish, who resent ex-slaves for taking their jobs, are now incensed about having to risk their lives in the war. Half Irish- and half African-American, Claire finds herself torn between both sides, wondering where she fits in.

Younger readers might struggle initially with the screenplay style, but as the action heats up, it won’t slow them down. Compressed over a three-day time span, the story doesn’t flesh out the many supporting characters very deeply, but confrontations with friends, family, romantic interests, gang members, and soldiers draw out many of Claire’s doubts as she learns to embrace her identity. Myers’ story is educational, but it’s nevertheless a fast-paced, gripping read. And as the teenage characters tackle adult problems, the story might prove a cautionary tale to readers who want to grow up too quickly.

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Fear Factor: (Violence in the streets leads to several close calls for Claire and her friends, as well as a couple of deaths.)
Heart: (Any teen will be able to identify with Claire’s uncertainty about her place in the world, but at times the tie-in with citywide and national tension seems a bit too neat.)
Attitude: (When Claire’s father tries to send her out of town on a boat, the headstrong girl waits till he thinks she’s onboard before sneaking back into the city—not the safest move.)
Psst: Watch out for the cameo from Walt Whitman, who turns up at the Johnsons’ inn to share his philosophical musings about the war and draw parallels between Claire’s identity crisis and the country’s own turmoil.
If you like this: In A. LaFaye’s Stella Stands Alone, a gutsy teenage girl tries to carry out her dead father’s wish to turn his plantation over to its black workers in Reconstruction-era Mississippi.

Kara Hadge Graduate student in the Communication, Culture, and Technology program at Georgetown University and former Slate intern.

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