Why not break the law and bring in some tourists? Conjuring fictionalized inhabitants of crumbling Dayton, Tenn., home of the infamous Scopes “monkey trial,” Bryant (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">The Trial) lets her characters speak directly, in well-honed verse that illuminates a broad range of perspectives. Overheard near a drugstore soda fountain, scheming business owners and a publicity-chasing superintendent get permission from a popular teacher, J.T. Scopes, to arrest him for violating the Butler Act, which bans the teaching of evolution. Adventure-seeking kids, skeptical journalists, erudite scientists, curious townsfolk and one shrill evangelical all have their say on the ensuing battle between silver-tongued prosecutor William Jennings Bryan and sharp-witted defense lawyer Clarence Darrow. Bryant obviously sympathizes with Darrow and the Darwinists, but she doesn't heavily stack the deck: the eloquent insights she attributes to her characters are evenly distributed. Nor does she go out of her way to emphasize the timeliness of the topic. The colorful facts she retrieves, the personal story lines and the deft rhythm of the narrative are more than enough invitation to readers to ponder the issues she raises. Ages 12-up. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Feb.)

This fictionalized account of the famous "Monkey" Trial tells it in the diverse voices of local townspeople in Dayton, Tennessee, as well as in the reports of a national journalist. The big cast is sometimes hard to keep straight, including the town constable, a storekeeper, and several high-school students, but the fast free verse is very easy reading.The ACLU send Clarence Darrow to defend the young high-school teacher who dared to teach evolution. For the prosecution the famous preacher and presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan attacks the evils of modern science. Fundamentalists burn biology books. There are also other big historical issues:Willy Amos is a "colored" teen not allowed to attend school with whites, and he keeps secret that he can read. The court debate stimulates Marybeth Dodd to aim for college. A long author's note fills in the facts, with a bibliography of books, articles and websites. The issues and arguments will resonate with readers today.

This multivoiced free-verse account of the Scopes trial is told from the viewpoints of students, merchants, a reporter, and others; the novel also incorporates quotations from the trial's chief adversaries, Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryant. The narrative strategy allows for explication of the conflict between biblical literalism and scientific thought while properly keeping the human drama at center stage. Reading list.

In 1925, the leading citizens of Dayton, Tenn., created a media circus to revive the sagging economy of their small town. John Scopes, the new science teacher, agreed to be arrested so the American Civil Liberties Union could test the Butler Act, which forbade the teaching of any theory that denied the biblical story of the creation. It was faith versus science, and reporters, lawyers and onlookers soon besieged the town. Bryant's novel-in-verse gives voice to many players, and though the theatrics of Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan, the famous orators, seem lost among the many voices, and characters' observations are sometimes repetitive, the participants come across as real individuals with distinct voices and personalities. By the end, the young people demonstrate how the trial opened their eyes and minds, as they seem inspired to launch themselves into the larger world. Eloquent at times and a natural for the classroom, this is a good match with Ronald Kidd's Monkey Town (2006). (epilogue, author's note, bibliography) (Fiction. 11+)

Gr 8 Up-Nothing much happened in Dayton, TN, until the summer of 1925. That was the year that J. T. Scopes, a science teacher at Rhea County High School, asked students to read a chapter on evolution from their textbook. Tennessee had recently passed a law against the teaching of evolution in public schools, and the American Civil Liberties Union was seeking an opportunity to prove that this law was unconstitutional. Mr. Robinson, a local store owner, thought that Scopes could bring publicity to the town and boost its stagnant economy, if he would submit to a trial. The ACLU pledged support, and the teacher found himself in the middle of one of the most controversial trials of the century. What ensued was a circuslike atmosphere that surprised and eventually divided the residents of Dayton. This novel in verse chronicles the events and drama of the trial. There is a host of characters, both fictitious and real: J. T. Scopes (real), William Jennings Bryan (real), Mr. Robinson (real), Clarence Darrow (real), Paul Lebrun (fictitious), and many students and citizens (fictitious). The poems are in first person, giving a voice to all primary stakeholders-the citizens, young and old, who are stunned by the chaos that erupts in their tiny town. The epilogue provides information about the events and the people following the trial. Bryant offers readers a ringside seat in this compelling and well-researched novel. It is fast-paced, interesting, and relevant to many current first-amendment challenges. Students who like this novel will also enjoy Robin Brande's Evolution, Me and Other Freaks of Nature (Knopf, 2007).-Pat Scales, formerly at South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities, Greenville Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.

An array of distinctively individual and eloquent voices recounts the events surrounding the 1925 Scopes trial in Dayton, Tennessee. Two high school boys, best friends, are pulled in opposite directions by the oratory of Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan. A high school girl, stimulated by the discourse, finds the courage to oppose her father's belief that girls should stay at home and enrolls in college. A young African American boy, for whom there is no school, teaches himself to read and fantasizes about becoming a lawyer; Darrow encourages him. A Bible literalist berates those she perceives as evolutionists, and a preacher is challenged to look deeper into himself. The constable sees the judge's bias but does his job. Writing in verse, Bryant skillfully weaves her fictionalized narrators with the historical characters. The turmoil of the trial frames the coming-of-age stories of her four young characters and reveals the humanity of Darrow, Bryan, and Scopes. The author brushes away the many inaccuracies that persist to this day, and creates a simple, clear, and accessible account that will engage adolescent readers. Pair this book with Ronald Kidd's Monkey Town (Simon & Schuster, 2006/VOYA February 2006) for the effect of the trial on a real Dayton teenage girl. Secondary teachers may find that this book lends itself to readers' theater.-Marla K. Unruh.