One Step Forward [Hardcover]

A Kirkus’ Best Book and Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection!

One Step Forwardis a compelling debut YA historical fiction novel in verse about Matilda Young—the youngest American suffragist imprisoned for picketing the White House to demand women’s right to vote.

Raised in a politically divided family, Matilda wondered if she could be as courageous as her older sister who fought for suffrage. Joining the radical protest movement came with plenty of risk. Women were routinely scorned, harassed, arrested—and worse. And taking a stand for her rights could tear her family apart.

Told in powerful verse,One Step Forwardfollows Matilda's coming-of-age journey as she takes her first step into action. Amid the backdrop of World War I, Matilda’s story vividly highlights the extreme mental, physical, and emotional battles faced by the protestors leading up to the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment. It also reveals the bravery, hard work, and spirit of the women who paved the way for future generations to use their voices and votes.

The plight of 19-year-old Matilda Young, the youngest suffragist arrested after picketing at the White House in 1917, is brought to life. This inspiring historical tale of perseverance experiments with formatting to connote mood. Imagined versions of suffragists such as Ida B. Wells and Mary Church Terrell feature alongside Matilda. -Publishers Weekly

Poetry reflects the events and emotions—a square concrete poem for her jail cell, text side by side as [characters] walk and talk, and shrinking text as Matilda feels silenced. Women finding and employing their voices is a theme. A forceful story while chronicling parts of the suffrage movement often ignored. -School Library Journal (starred review)

Four sisters support one another in the turbulent fight for women’s right to vote in early-20th-century lã/