The following version of this book was used to create this study guide: Wiles, Deborah. Revolution. Scholastic Press, New York, 2014. Kindle AZW file.

The people of Greenwood, Mississippi, are in for changes in the summer of 1964. Twelve-year-old Sunny lives a relatively sheltered life and is not aware of the civil unrest of the time and place. When she learns there are “invaders” (43), Sunny immediately expects something frightening, but she does not realize these people are fighting for equal rights for the black citizens of Mississippi. While many people are opposed to change, including some members of Sunny's own family, there are others who support the changes even when it earns them the outright anger of other friends and family.

Sunny depends heavily on her family, including her stepbrother Gillette, her father, her uncle Parnell, and her maternal grandmother, but she struggles with other members of her family, including her stepmother Annabelle. She has to learn to accept the changes in her own life, just as other people in Greenwood begin to learn to accept the social and political changes that are being made.

Sunny and her family are members of the white community. While Sunny, her father, Gillette, and Annabelle are not especially prejudiced, they live in a time and place where prejudice is rampant and accepted. The social norms of the time and place mean that blacks are persecuted if they insist on equal rights, including the right to vote. Blacks are often fired from their jobs if they try to vote, and the voting registrar – who is always white – routinely refuses to allow them to vote.

During the summer of 1964, hundreds of volunteers, including many whites, arrive in Mississippi to work toward equal rights. Sunny fears these “invaders” without knowing who they are (43). On the night the first volunteers arrive in Greenwood, Sunny and Gillette sneak into the public pool after dark for a swim. Sunny bumps into a boy who has the same idea, and she and Gillette discover that the boy is black.

That boy is Raymond. He arrives home without being caught, and discovers that Jo Ellen, a white girl from the North, is staying with them for the summer. Raymond is a good baseball player, has a loving family, and an extended community support system. However, there are changes happening in his world and Raymond struggles along with everyone else to discover his role. He is too old to be happy in the background, but he is too young to be in the dangerous roles of the activists.

Meanwhile, Sunny has been watching as the volunteers work to make changes in Greenwood, and she sees that some of the adults are in favor of the changes while others are adamantly opposed. Violence erupts several times and officials do nothing to protect the rights of the black protesters. The situation comes to a head when white agitators shoot into a parked car, hitting Raymond in the head. Sunny and a volunteer named Jo Ellen are in the car that takes Raymond to the hospital where they are met with animosity and the white staff members refuse to help Raymond.

Raymond survives and members of the community have to take steps toward learning to live with the new social and political order. Sunny and her family survive the summer, but she has to learn to begin to accept her personal situation, including her blended family and the absence of her biological mother.