Slap Your Sides

By: M. E. Kerr

Narrated by: Jesse Einstein

World War II is raging in Europe, but back home in Sweet Creek, Pennsylvania, Bud Shoemaker, a Quaker and a pacifist, has taken a one-man stand against the fight by declaring himself a conscientious objector.

Fourteen-year-old Jubal sees his brother's choice as noble and brave, although most of the town (including Jubal's dream girl, Daria) sees Bud as a coward - or worse. The line between right and wrong has become alarmingly blurred, and it won't be long before Jubal's family begins to buckle as it struggles to cope with the consequences of Bud's decision.

©2001 M. E. Kerr (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Critic reviews

"Kerr's hard-hitting WWII novel [will] sweep readers up in its urgency...This morally challenging novel is as memorable as any of Kerr's work." (Publishers Weekly)

"Slap Your Sides will provoke thought and discussion about religion, war, and morality." (School Library Journal)

"Engrossing and thought-provoking." (Kirkus Reviews)

Silly title, great book.

I don't understand why this book isn't revered on the same level as To Kill a Mockingbird. M.E. Kerr builds brilliantly care worn characters who struggle with the moral issues of war in every aspect from an abstract concept to a deeply felt personal belief about whether it can be moral to take a life.

Her characters are sometimes deeply unlikeable but no one is reduced to a character flaw, they are all caught up in a web of anger and empathy and small deeds done in trade for greater kindnesses.

That everyone hated Bud

I liked that there was a love story, I disliked that they never kissed, and it just all ended for them once Juble saved Daria’s life other than that 5 stars :)