Slap Your Sides

Annotation
Life in their Pennsylvania hometown changes for Jubal Shoemaker and his family when his older brother witnesses to his Quaker beliefs by becoming a conscientious objector during World War II.

From the Publisher
Everyone in Sweet Creek, Pennsylvania, knows about Jubal Shoemaker's brother Bud. Instead of going off to fight in World War II, Bud abides by his family's Quaker beliefs and becomes a conscientious objector. Suddenly a lot of folks in town are treating the Shoemakers differently, including someone who writes hostile messages across their store window. Fourteen-year-old Jubal, who has always wanted to be like his older brother, wonders if he can be—if he even wants to be like him—when Bud's decision is tearing their family apart.

A pioneer of modern young-adult fiction, M.E. Kerr delivers in her first historical novel a brilliantly insightful story about the wartime events that rock a small town.

From the Critics
From Publishers Weekly  
Even without the influence of recent events, Kerr's (What Became of Her) hard-hitting WWII novel would sweep readers up in its urgency. Jubal Shoemaker, the 13-year-old youngest son of a Pennsylvania Quaker family, admires his oldest brother, Bud, for adhering to his antiwar convictions and registering as a conscientious objector despite ever-increasing hostility from neighbors in Jubal's small town, from residents near the facilities where Bud is sent to work, and even from some relatives. Aunt Lizzie, for example, married to a Jewish artist and living in Greenwich Village, sends Bud terse notes like, "Kiss the Jews of Greece good-bye!" Kids at Jubal's Quaker school wonder about the limits of pacifism: what if they had the opportunity to take the life of Hitler, Mussolini or Tojo? Would it really be wrong to register as a noncombatant serviceman and be a medic? As the war escalates, conflicting opinions tug Jubal's family in different directions. Even as Jubal steels himself to follow Bud's path, he develops a romantic interest in a girl who, after seeing her twin brothers off to war, has soaped the words "Your son is a slacker" on the Shoemakers' store. Kerr does not shy away from difficult questions, nor does she resolve them for readers. Instead, she pulls the rug out from under Jubal in a shocking climax, and the abruptness of the denouement intensifies its impact. This morally challenging novel is as memorable as any of Kerr's work. Ages 12-up. (Oct.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
 
From Children's Literature  
Set in and around Doylestown, PA, where kids drink pop, play sports and ride horses, and where just about everyone knows everyone, the cordiality of the town is torn down during the beginning of World War II. Bud Shoemaker, son of a Quaker storekeeper, registers for the draft as a conscientious objector, declining to align with a service branch. This does not sit well with those townsfolk whose sons have gone into combat positions or serve in the military service in a noncombatant position. Assigned and sent to the Civilian Public Service, Bud performs various duties for the duration of the war without pay, such as felling trees, working as an orderly in a mental asylum, or serving in a community kitchen. He experiences a different type of war, directed at him for his convictions. This story, pulling Bud in from time to time, is more about the town and the people who are left behind¾old, young, male, female, friend, family or foe. Told from the perspective of Bud's youngest brother, Jubal, we watch a young man wrestle with man's inhumanity to man both at home and abroad, the struggle to find his own path, how to stand on his own feet, and how to navigate through troubling waters of public opinion and prejudice. M.E. Kerr has masterfully woven a work of historical fiction, based on her own experiences and thorough research that is sure to touch all readers. 2001, HarperCollins, $15.95. Ages 12 up. Reviewer:Mary Sue Preissner
 
From VOYA  
In Kerr's earlier book Linger (HarperCollins, 1993/VOYA August 1993), the author presented a side of war not glimpsed often in the pages of a young adult novel. In her latest offering, Kerr again tackles a little-known aspect, the plight of those who objected to the war on religious grounds and refused to be drafted into the army. When World War II breaks out, Jubal's Quaker family members find themselves the target of hatred in their small town. The conflict begins when Jubal's oldest brother, Bud, registers as a conscientious objector, and other citizens take issue with what they perceive as an act of cowardice. The family hardware store is vandalized repeatedly by someone painting a yellow letter Y on the front window. When customers stop coming in, the family faces further challenges. Jubal knows that his brother has done the right thing by refusing to go off to war, but how can the family survive? Jubal struggles to reconcile his religious beliefs with the news of what Hitler is doing to eradicate the Jews throughout Europe. What will his decision be when he is drafted? What does it take to be a hero? What makes someone a coward? Is it wrong to stand up for one's beliefs if it means hurting someone else—especially a loved one? Kerr provides no easy answers in her novel. Instead, questions about principles and morals and values are sure to abound after students read this thought-provoking novel. Be sure to recommend this book to the history teachers when it comes time to study WWII. Here is a story not often told in text or trade books. VOYA CODES: 5Q 3P J S (Hard to imagine it being any better written; Will appeal with pushing; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; SeniorHigh, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2001, HarperCollins, 208p, $15.95. Ages 12 to 18. Reviewer: Teri S. Lesesne
 
From KLIATT  
The title is the usual witty one from Kerr, but otherwise this is a straightforward, serious work of historical fiction. It is set during WW II, in Pennsylvania, as a Quaker family faces the realities of being conscientious objectors. There are three sons in the family, and the youngest son, Jubal, tells the story. The oldest son, Bud, has chosen to be a pacifist to the extent that he will have no part in the war effort, and he is put to work in a mental hospital where he gets no real salary for doing excruciatingly difficult work. He endures this, telling his brothers about the reality of the situation without complaining, but it means that back home their father's department store loses most of its business. Even in a town with Quakers and Mennonites, feelings run high against pacifists as other local boys are fighting and dying in the war. The middle son, Tommy, has a lot of style and intelligence; when he goes to register for the draft, it turns out after all his agonizing about pacifism that he is 4F—physically unfit because of an ear injury. Jubal watches all this go on in his family over the course of the war, from l942 to l945, and he is concerned, but he is also somewhat obsessed by his relationship with Daria, a neighbor girl whose older brothers are fighting overseas. The families had been friends before the war divided them, but now Daria and Jubal have to sneak out to be together—they ride horses on Saturday afternoons at the farm where Jubal works. The story comes to an unexpected climax one afternoon in the barn, when Jubal hears Daria crying for help and rushes to defend her. His violent act toward another human being makes him rethink all his own positions onnonviolence. Kerr always makes her readers think seriously, and here she focuses on pacifism during a popular war, forcing readers to wonder what they would do when faced with evil. She conveys the bravery of those few who do stand firm as conscientious objectors, describing the harassment COs faced in WW II—including assaults and economic ruin. The brothers—Bud, Tommy, and Jubal—are memorable characters, each one believable and sympathetic. None is portrayed as saintly: each has plenty of human foibles, which makes the three all the more real. This is an unexpected book by Kerr; it tells an important story of adolescents struggling with their own weaknesses during difficult times. KLIATT Codes: JS*—Exceptional book, recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2001, HarperCollins, 199p., $15.95. Ages 13 to 18. Reviewer: Claire Rosser; September 2001 (Vol. 35 No. 5)
 
From School Library Journal  
Gr 8 Up-As a religious Quaker, Jubal Shoemaker's older brother Bud has registered as a conscientious objector during World War II, and suddenly things change for his family. Graffiti labeling Bud a slacker appears on the family department store, longtime employees and customers leave without warning, and the Shoemakers' marriage becomes strained. Jubal catches the person vandalizing the store-a girl named Daria Daniel, whose father hosts a radio show supporting the soldiers and whose twin brothers are off fighting. He falls in love with her even though he doesn't always agree with her views, but her father forbids her to have anything to do with him. Tensions increase in town and at the farm where the 13-year-old works until he accidentally kills a mentally ill Quaker while trying to protect Daria and must face the fact that he has taken another person's life. Bud, Jubal, and their mother hold firm to their religious pacifism, but Jubal is troubled by reports on the radio and from his Aunt Lizzie-a former Quaker now married to a Jew-about the atrocities being committed in Nazi Germany. The characters lack the skillful development found in Kerr's earlier books. Jubal and his brothers seem flat, and Daria and Aunt Lizzie are far more interesting. Still, Slap Your Sides will provoke thought and discussion about religion, war, and morality.-Lisa Prolman, Greenfield Public Library, MA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.