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From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)

Fourteen-year-old Maxie spends a lot of time at the Black Panther office. She’s eager to become a full-fledged Panther like her older brother, Raheem. The Panthers have purpose and passion and she wants to be part of making a difference. Instead, she’s given menial tasks, from stuffing and sealing envelopes to babysitting. At home, Maxie’s family life is unraveling—her mother, marginally reliable at the best of times, has lost her job and is bringing home men to try to plug the economic hole in their lives. Raheem is trying to help make ends meet, but can’t do enough for the family to avoid an eviction notice. Meanwhile, an attack on the Panther office by police intensifies Maxie’s desire to become a real Panther and carry a gun—she was the only one not able to fire back in the chaos. Then it becomes clear someone is in the office is passing information to the police, and Maxie decides she’ll prove her worth by figuring out who it is. Kekla Magoon’s sequel to The Rock and the River (Aladdin, 2009) stands on its own, illuminating the discrimination and poverty that motivate Maxie, and the divide between the African American community in 1968 Chicago and white society, even whites such as war protestors who stand against the status quo. Magoon’s writing keeps getting better as she skillfully offers insight into this time and place through characters who represent a variety of perspectives and experiences. (Age 12 and older)

CCBC Choices 2013 © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2013. Used with permission.

From Publisher's Weekly

September 24, 2012
Magoon (Camo Girl) lyrically explores political and social uprisings in 1960s Chicago through the eyes of 14-year-old Maxie Brown, who is determined to join the Black Panthers: "The Panthers are going to change everything. I've known it all along, but now I can feel it all the way through me." Between the Civil Rights movement, Dr. King's assassination, and the Vietnam War, it's both a dangerous and energizing time to be alive. Maxie lives in poverty with her older brother, Raheem, who could soon be drafted, and her overworked mother, who brings home deadbeat boyfriends. She splits her days between wandering the neighborhood with her friends; navigating a tumultuous relationship with her love interest, Sam, whose brother was killed by the police; and volunteering at the Panther office. When two members go to jail, the chapter leader asks her to look out for a traitor within the party, but her discovery forces her to reassess her loyalties. This haunting story features fully developed characters, poetic images, and a conflicted heroine whose substance mirrors the complexities of her era. Ages 8â€Â"12. Agent: Michelle Humphrey, Martha Kaplan Agency.

From School Library Journal

September 1, 2012

Gr 6-9-In this compelling, stand-alone companion to The Rock and The River (S & S, 2010), 14-year-old Maxie Brown is caught up in the 1968 turmoil of the civil rights and Vietnam War protests in Chicago during the Democratic National Convention. She desperately wants to prove herself worthy of becoming a Black Panther, like her older brother, Raheem. Her determination to belong gradually alienates her from her cautious childhood friends and motivates her to find the traitor who is alerting police about Black Panther operations. When she discovers who's behind the leaks, her decision changes her world forever. Maxie lives in the projects with Raheem and her single mother. The Black Panther Party helps her feel secure and empowered in a world in which poverty, violence, and injustice are rampant, and she wants the ultimate emblems of Black Panther membership: a jacket and a gun. This provocative portrayal of a teenager's quest for identity, belonging, and recognition transcends time and place. Readers will readily become engaged by Maxie's zeal, her efforts to understand the people around her, her desire for acceptance, and her conflicting emotions. A strong cast of characters, vivid re-creation of documented events, and insights into the Black Panther message and actions add authenticity to Maxie's powerful coming-of-age narrative.-Gerry Larson, formerly at Durham School of the Arts, NC

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

From Horn Book

September 1, 2012
This companion novel to The Rock and the River is a sequel, but the action here is narrated by fourteen-year-old Maxie. Maxie lives for the Black Panthers. She's willing to pay her dues performing mundane chores in the office, but she pines for the day she can accept responsibilities typically reserved for older members. In 1968, Chicago hosted the Democratic National Convention with its attendant riots, and the Panthers (with Maxie and her friends in tow) are right in the thick of things. As the events of the summer segue into the fall, Maxie seeks to renew her romance with Sam (the narrator of the first book), but their relationship is complicated by other factors. He's still grieving for his slain older brother, while she's dealing with problems at home. Her mother's lost her job and has taken in yet another boyfriend; her older brother, Raheem, can barely make ends meet. When the Panthers learn that there is a traitor in their midst, Maxie is sure that finding the mole is her ticket to the party's inner circle; the acquisition of her brother's gun in the final chapter leaves the probability of violence thick in the air. Maxie's voice is the big draw here, providing readers with a ground-level view of an important historical moment but also of the nascent sociopolitical zeal of adolescence. jonathan hunt

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)