One Step Forward

The plight of 19-year-old Matilda Young, the youngest suffragist arrested after picketing at the White House in 1917, is brought to life in this fictionalized verse account by Atkins (Design a Game). As a child in Washington, D.C., Matilda watches her older sisters Lucy and Sophie march for women’s right to vote. She soon follows in their footsteps, taking on a more active role in the movement by working with the National Woman’s Party as a letter opener. But what she really wants is to be out picketing. Despite knowing that picketing is a dangerous job—protesters are often attacked and arrested—and her parents’ disapproval of her choices, Matilda determines to stand for what she believes in, no matter the cost. This inspiring historical tale of perseverance experiments with formatting to connote mood; in poem “Do They Know?” Atkins uses clipped, one-word lines to highlight Matilda’s stress about strangers learning she’s a suffragist. Imagined versions of suffragists such as Ida B. Wells and Mary Church Terrell feature alongside Matilda as their paths intertwine. Ages 13–up. Agent: Roseanne Wells, Lucinda Literary. (Mar.)