Review: Scandalous!: 50 Shocking Events You Should Know About (so you can impress your friends) by Hallie Fryd

Scandalous!: 50 Shocking Events You Should Know About (so you can impress your friends) by Hallie Fryd.

Zest Books
Publication Date: February 2012
List Price: $13.99
ISBN-13: 9780982732205

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"Tennessee Puts Science Teacher Scopes on Trial for Teaching Evolution" (1925)

"Senator Kennedy Involved in Mysterious Death of Young Woman" (1969)

And the list goes on . . . . Scandalous! 50 Shocking Events You Should Know About (So You Can Impress Your Friends) by Hallie Fryd is the most "scandalous" account of 50 shocking events that have shaped contemporary society.

Beginning with the 1906 account of "Famous Architect Stanford White Murdered by Ex-Lover's Rich Husband" all the way through 2000 to the account of "Tight Gore-Bush Election Results Lead to Bitter Battle Between Parties", Scandalous! takes readers on a journey through some of the most interesting events that have kept reporters enthralled throughout the 20th Century while their readers look on both aghast and in awe. These historic events are brought to life once again in a reader-friendly fashion to share the great scandals with today's teens - because after all, everybody loves a scandal!

The fifty scandals that are highlighted in Fryd's book are widespread - including all sorts of secrets involving celebrities, scientists, criminals, and politics. Each scandal is organized in an exciting fashion. They begin with "The Scoop" which looks similar to a newspaper and headlines. The next section is "What Went Down." In this section readers learn the basics of the scandal. Within the text is a picture of a spiral-bound pad of paper that includes "The Players" so readers can keep abreast of the main people involved in the scandal. Also included are a Polaroid photo of a key player or object and a section for "Quotables." In this section, readers can read actual quotes surrounding the scandal. In "The Aftermath" section, readers find out what happened as a result of the scandal, and Fryd brings the event closer to home in the "Why We Still Care" section. Each scandal is then followed up with a "More" section that shares other similar incidents throughout history.

Scandalous! will most certainly intrigue, entertain, and even teach young adults about history. Hopefully readers will not merely take away that some people did some really bizarre things, but instead consider how these scandals in essence shaped the society we live in today. Plus they will notice how history has a tendency to repeat itself - and not always in a good way. Regardless, without some of these scandals, the world would be a very different place today!

Review written by Margo Nauert (6th grade teacher).

We would like to thank Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for providing a copy of Scandalous!: 50 Shocking Events You Should Know About (so you can impress your friends) for this review.

Have you read Scandalous!: 50 Shocking Events You Should Know About (so you can impress your friends)? How would you rate it?