Paul and his three friends, 13 years old in 1955, love the movies and they love taking the bus into Hollywood from their tiny town of Sierra Madre. What could be more amazing than the news that an actual Hollywood film is going to be shot in their town? Meanwhile, the government's hunt for Communists is in full swing, and the boys' teacher fills them with the fear and suspicion that was so rife at the time. They are told not to trust anyone, to keep their eyes open. The boys meet the beautiful Laura Burke, who plays the body double for the star of the movie. They meet the director, and they try to get their fill of the whole experience. When they discover that one of the movie people is not who he claims to be, they realize that there is much more going on even in their small world than they imagined. Kidd does an excellent job recreating the time; his own experiences as a boy hanging out on Hollywood Boulevard (lost days indeed) are duplicated here and film history buffs (if there are any among younger teens) will enjoy the many details about the Invasion of the Body Snatchers and how its plot played into the culture of fear that inhabited America at the time. He pulls in Richard Feynman and the Manhattan Project, to give some substance and background to the story. Quite a well-done bit of historical fiction and Hollywood history, for 12 and up. Summary:Four friends that love horror movies find out there will be a horror movie filmed in their hometown. On the set of the movie they meet two extras Laura and Darryl who are apparently Russian communists. Then they find a old Russian communist who gives them a flash drive that will tell them about the bombing on america. Last they show a FBI agent the flash drive and the FBI look over the plans the Russians have to bomb them.Characters:Paul, Crank , OZ , and ArniePaul is the main character in the book and is a quiet kid but when he learns about the russians in class he tries to spot them out Crank is a huge buff jerk who betrays his friends Paul, Arnie , and OZ for a FBI agent and helps him find Russians. OZ is a movie fanatic but when he finds out there is a movie being shot in his hometown he goes crazy.Arnie is a shy quiet kid who helps Paul find the Russians.Setting:Sierre Madre, in Los Angeles, CaliforniaConflict:Four boys Paul, Crank, Arnie, and OZ all meet communists from Russia that are planning to bomb America.Resolution:They find one of the Russian communists who is attached to the whole story about the bombing and he gives them a flash drive that tells them about the bombing and their plans to bomb america. Then the boys show the flash drive to the FBI.My opinion of the book is that it wasn't very clear about the concept of the book. I was very confused and mixed up because they went to a lot of places like where they filmed the movie, the diner , and the houses they went too. I would not recommend this because the story line was hard to follow.
What do You think about The Year Of The Bomb (2009)?
I loved this book. I would definitely recommend any of my friends to read it.
—aznmoon
Good book if you like to read about mysteries and action.
—violet
