This book is timely and necessary, and leaves me anxious about the current state of our world. It's difficult to stand up for yourself when you are young, and finding out that school teachers may be wrong is upsetting.

Read this book. Then ask yourself, "Would I do the same?"

Thoughtful content, presented by Liza Wiemer.

As much as I appreciated the sophisticated language and not mincing of words throughout the whole book I think it needs to be rewritten to better associate with its target audience. I’m not saying that the YA audience is dumb but the reading of this book was a little dense and read more like a research paper than it did a cohesive narrative.

I don’t deny that some people do talk like this but it is awkward to read and to put everything in perspective. Instead of getting the true feelings of the students and the teacher I felt like I was getting an analysis report instead of a description.

I love the importance of the book but if the author intends to have this read in classrooms or have it an the YA section I feel like after the 30th page you might lose some readers because it doesn’t appeal to the every day person, the writing is highly intelligent which isn’t a bad thing but the YA audience might find it more preachy and educational.

Absolutely loved this one. It was well-written and explored all the nuances of the thoughts and roles of students, as well as the teacher and administration. I liked how no one was on a pedestal and every side or POV was explored. Should be in every classroom.

4 out of 5

"This much I've learned, and I want to shout it to the world instead of in my head: THERE ARE NO DIFFERENT RACES OF HUMAN BEINGS! The idea of inferior or superior races is a human construct. It's made up. It's false. It's a lie! But people use this bull every day to justify hate."

The Assignment by Liza M. Wiemer promotes social justice, social action, and activism; the novel also heartily encourages young adults to speak up and to speak out for both themselves and for others, particularly when it comes to something that they know, without a doubt, is wrong and immoral. The Assignment introduces readers to two main characters, Logan and Cade, and a few pivotal classmates, teachers/administrators, and family members/acquaintances, all of whom play various roles in the lives of Logan and/or Cade, as well as within the town/community of Riviere, New York. Wiemer examines the two teenagers’ senior year of high school and the challenges that stem from one assignment from the classroom of their favorite teacher, Mr. Bartley. My main quibble about the book, in terms of characterization, is that readers seem to gain a deeper understanding for Cade and his family, especially, because of a major event in the plotline, while Logan, who lives in a single-parent household, has a background that isn’t as fleshed out, as it should have been. I really connected and empathized with Cade, but sometimes, it felt like Logan was just a supporting character and love interest.

All in all, it is also a bit unclear what specific age level or target audience Wiemer has written The Assignment for, as the main characters (Logan and Cade) are both high school seniors, who are really mature and motivated, and who act more like college students. This novel could definitely have been written for high school students and teachers alike, especially because of its focus on identifying, eliminating, and preventing “reprehensible assignments” nationwide and worldwide. While I really appreciated the use of varied perspectives and points of view within the novel, Wiemer did miss the mark by an inch or two, in my mind, as she did leave out the most important perspective until approximately 85% of the novel had already passed, from Mr. Bartley, History of World Governments teacher. However, I am glad that Wiemer did not outright ignore Mr. Bartley’s point of view, completely, as Mr. Bartley’s intentions, although misplaced, shows the humanity and imperfections that exist within us all, at some point in time, in different ways. The Assignment by Liza M. Wiemer is an excellent example of the need for guaranteed and viable curriculum in all K-12 public and private schools nationwide, as well as an appropriate and necessary focus on social justice and social action across all grade levels and subject areas. It also showcases the need for school districts, administrators, and teachers to be sure that the curricula being utilized with students in classrooms are appropriate and inclusive. It is far too often… that schools are using outdated materials and resources with generation after generation of students, which is more often than not, due to a lack of proper funding...

A warm-hearted and much-appreciated thank you to Random House Children's, Delacorte Press, and NetGalley for providing an advance copy! Please make sure to pick up a copy of The Assignment at your local book depository.

When their favorite teacher gives a school assignment to argue for the Final Solution (if you didn't know already this was when the Nazi planned for the genocide of Jewish people), Cade and Logan are in complete shock. How can a teacher expect students to argue for something like this?! This story follows Cade and Logan's refusal to participate in the debate and the hate and racism that comes along with standing up for what's right.

I liked what the author was trying to accomplish by writing this book especially since we still have to deal with racism and hate in this current day and age. I highly recommend this book to teens/young adults, because I felt like the plot as a whole would be enjoyed more by that age group. I did feel like I was a little too old for the cheesy romance that was included in this book as an added bonus to the main plot. On the other hand, I do think the romance is something that makes the book more appealing to teens/young adults and gives them an opportunity to read a book that has it all. Also, it teaches teens/young adults to stand up for what's right even when no one else has the guts to do it.

I really do think teens/young adults would love this! It could also be a good book for teachers to assign to their teen/young adult students!

<i>Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-arc! </i>

A completely thoughtful and powerful novel on the appropriateness of assignments and the importance of being an upstander instead of a bystander. While at times the pacing was a bit uneven, this is absolutely a book I will be thinking back on for a long time to come. A must buy for high school and YA collections

I was pissed from the first page of the author's note where I found out that this was based on true events. It was refreshing to see kids standing up to this teacher who wasn't a clear villain and not backing down even when it got hard. There were more POVs than I expected, which I enjoyed. There were a few things at the end that bugged me, and the romance kind of unnecessary, but overall it was a really great story!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a DRC of this title for review. All opinions are my own.

This was a top-notch read. I was intrigued by the premise (a high school senior history class is given the assignment to research and debate Hitler and the Nazi's use of the Final Solution for Jews during WWII) and wondered how the topic would be handled. The content was well written, the ideas posed were thoughtful, and the idea of inclusivity and understanding went beyond the issues faced in the 1940s and covered issues from contemporary society. The language and the issues posed were also appropriate for readers in middle school, which I was worried about only because the characters in the story are seniors. This did not impact the story and there was nothing graphic that I would be concerned about my 7th and 8th grade students reading.

First purchase material, especially for collections where readers are interested in Holocaust literature and/or realistic fiction.

We are definitely living in a new world when it comes to reading history critically, and I, for one, am so glad. The Assignment is kind of all about this perspective shift: In this YA novel, a high school class is given an assignment to reenact the Wannsee Conference, the one that ended up with the Nazis’ “Final Solution.” The teacher means well — he thinks the exercise will show students the logical fallacies in these racist arguments — but two of his students see a real problem in the project — namely, that it fuels the very discrimination and intolerance it’s supposed to be discounting. So these two students take a stand against their teacher, their administration, and ultimately, a big chunk of their small community, to get this assignment removed from the curriculum.
What I loved about this story was that there was tons of backlash: other students thought Cade and Logan were silly or overdramatic about homework; the teacher was offended and annoyed that his carefully planned project designed to get actual student interaction was being questioned; the principal was annoyed that he had to deal with such a trivial issue; and the online comments as publicity increased around the protest were definitely antagonistic. The whole “of course racism is wrong, but—” that comes up when someone challenges something like this was so well captured in this novel, and so was the persistence and courage that it takes to go from protesting to actually effecting change. I also think the book does a really good job of being sympathetic to the teacher in question, even while making it clear that defensiveness isn’t the way to respond to these kinds of concerns. What didn’t I love? There were some kids in the class who immediately “went Nazi,” which I found kind of unbelievable — I think it misses the complicated layers of experience in which people can make bad choices without fully embracing white power narratives. I’d also like to see more conversation around the problems with the assignment. It’s a bad assignment! But it’s set up that way from the beginning — it comes with a big red “Warning: Bad Assignment” label on it, and I would have liked some development around that. A little nuance across the board, I think, would have made this more of a novel and less of a morality tale.
But it’s such an important topic — it’s based on an actual school assignment, and we’ve all seen other terrible assignments like the ones where you pretend to debate the “pros” and cons of slavery — and it does provide a great model for how students can challenge these kinds of assignments. I’m recommending it.

The Assignment is such a powerful novel that beautifully illustrates the importance of history, and the even bigger importance of not repeating the mistakes of the past. I thought that the author handled this issue in a way that was not only very sensitive, but very believable. And since it was based on a true story, which the author speaks about in her note, she absolutely does it justice.

See, when the titular assignment is given, it’s given by a very beloved, and usually socially aware teacher. As such, his words seem to hold more meaning to the class, who as a whole are hesitant to call him out on the straight up awfulness of the assignment. Logan and Cade are completely disgusted and aware of how messed up this whole thing is, but they’re not really sure how to handle it. Again, the author does a fabulous job of making it feel so realistic and authentic to how actual students would likely react.

The teacher and principal are not particularly willing to listen to the students’ concerns, which is obviously infuriating to both the reader and Logan and Cade. So, they come up with their own plans! They seek outside help (which is really smart, tbh, and something I applauded), and they also were driven to look more deeply into their own histories. I don’t want to get into it too much, because spoilers, but I loved that part so much. There were feels and tears, as both the characters and readers were able to explore past and present colliding.

While there were maybe a few two many character points-of-view for me to keep straight, I wholly enjoyed this story for both its necessity, and the story itself. Frankly, we can use more hopeful stories where we show that a handful of people can make positive societal changes. Especially in our current landscape.

Bottom Line: A beautifully written reminder of why we must stand up for what we know is right, stand up against the mistakes of the past, and that no matter the struggle ahead, it’s always, always worth doing.

This book was so powerful. It should be assigned reading for all high schoolers. I started reading it and never put it down until I was finished.

Teachers are always creating assignments that push their students to think outside the box. But what happens when the assignment crosses a line? Will you complete the assignment or fight back? The Assignment is a critical look at assignments that want students to take different perspectives but may be ill-conceived. Wiemer expertly examines race in the context of the Final Solution, a euphemism used to describe the Nazi plan for the genocide of the Jewish people. Logan and Cade take center stage and are the relatable and genuine protagonists that balance each other. Wiemer includes several other viewpoints that could have been left out. Their viewpoint does not add any depth since they are only explored shallowly. It would have been more beneficial to have had then as equals to Cade and Logan or not at all. While the plot does push readers to critically think about debates, a teacher's authority, and their education; at times it is sidetracked by Cade and Logan's romance. Which derailed the plot and seemed more like filler. Yet, The Assignment is a critical look at the education system and how they perceive history. This is a must-read for both students and parents

I really wanted to like this book - I've enjoyed Wiemer's other books and, especially as a teacher, I appreciate the premise of this book. The book just didn't work for me: there were parts that were hard-hitting in a GREAT way, but in other parts it just felt preachy or very black-and-white (this character is ALL BAD, this character is ALL GOOD, no grey area). I teach a Holocaust unit yearly and although I've had students make insensitive, offensive, or racist remarks from time to time, I can't picture a large faction of a high school class suddenly very publicly, proudly adopting Hitler's mentality (conservative mentality, certainly, but Hitleresque is another matter). It's an important subject for sure, but this wasn't one that I felt to be a must-buy for my classroom library.

I've been in education for 17 years and I can absolutely see something like this situation happening in any school across the country, which is terrifying. It's an interesting update to The Wave, in very different times.

4.5 stars

What would you do if you were given an assignment that goes against your moral compass? This was a really difficult read that doesn't hold back. The fact that is was inspired by a real school assignment is just horrific. That's exactly what the main characters Logan and Cade thought when they were assigned to put themselves in the shoes of Nazi's during the Holocaust.

One thing that I really appreciated about how this author went about addressing such a sensitive topic was the inclusion of a forward AND an afterword. She explains how she came across the true story and how that snowballed into her own plot. 

Logan and Cade stayed true to their convictions, even when threatened physically, verbally, and academically. This experience allowed them to learn things about themselves as they are dealing with the fallout from standing up. against what's wrong and inappropriate. I don't know how much the romance had to do with the rest of the story; they could have just stayed best friends, because their friendship was really special.

I think this is such a powerful and important read that I hope it get's the recognition it deserves. 

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Children’s, Delacorte Press, and Liza Wiemer for the opportunity to read The Assignment in exchange for an honest review.

Being an educator, I have seen related issues in a district I used to work at. Young people are quite impressionable, and the misunderstandings of the Holocaust and Nazi Germany often begin in middle school where students experience a small snippet of world history for the first time. They see inferences in movies and media, and are influenced by parents, siblings, friends, neighbors, and other people in the continuity who may or may not be misinformed on the topic.

Sophomore year is high school is generally where I see the study of the Holocaust. Often English teachers correlate teaching the book Night by Elie Weizel during the same time world history teachers are teaching the Holocaust. This topic is hard to teach, as even today, just as shown in The Assignment, students will draw swastika’s on desks, salute while saying “Heil Hitler,” and even go so far as to bully others who do not fall under the Aryan category.

This book follows Cade and Logan, among other classmates and community members, as they stand up against an assignment given in their History of World Governments class. Studying the Holocaust, the teacher makes an assignment in which students must dawn the role of one of the Nazis at the Wannsee Conference in which the Nazi leaders were trying to come up with an idea of how to solve the “Jew problem.” While the teacher claims it is abhorrent what the Nazi’s did, he finds it is important for his students to see from the Nazi perspective to understand why they made the choices they did. The assignment consists of a research paper and a final debate. Cade and Logan cannot stand the fact that there will be a debate in which they must rationalize killing millions of people.

Logan and Cade take a stand, doing everything they can to try and have the assignment canceled. Their stand for what is right hits the media and they both feel the repercussions and lash-back from the members of the school and community, both in positive and negative ways.

The topic of this book and the fight for what’s right that Logan and Cade pursue shows such an honorable side of humanity. Often, too many young people are afraid to speak up, but there is strength in finding one’s voice and making themselves heard. This book is based on an actual assignment that was given and the issue is quite real. As an educator, I find that teachers must think very carefully about how they are going to teach the Holocaust to avoid accidentally or unknowingly instigating hate in their students and in a way that students can grasp this historical event. Teens are just reaching the cognitive point where they can start thinking of abstract ideas or things that are too unfathomable to grasp. The Holocaust isn’t real to them. They didn’t live it. It’s just a story. So teachers need to make it real, ingrain the importance of this historical event on global history. Bring in survivors, watch survivor videos, take a trip to one of the many Holocaust memorials or museums. Read different stories about the Holocaust that take on different perspectives and have a safe discussion.

The Assignment has quite an impact. It’s a great contemporary novel that tackles a topic taught in school and might be a good book to teach in English and have class discussions about with students. Highly recommend for both educators who teach the topic as well as students who are trying to do the right thing or find their voice to speak up for what is right.

I had been looking forward to reading Liza Wiemer’s The Assignment as soon as I heard a description. Based on a true story, Wiemer’s novel follows two teens who refuse to do an antisemitic assignment given in history class—one in which they’re expected to argue FOR the Nazi Final Solution and the murder of millions of Jewish people. Wiemer deftly handles this tough topic, creating two main characters, Cade and Logan, who are both fun and funny, witty and endearing, and just regular teens with regular teen problems on top of the huge challenge at the center of the novel. You’ll sink into the story as if you’re eavesdropping on their conversations. Wiemer’s dialogue writing is just that good! Standing up for the right thing should be easy, but somehow it never is—and the finely crafted plot brings us unexpected challenges and a surprising, poignant twist. This is an important modern-day story about intolerance and racism that every teen and adult should read and DISCUSS. I am going to be thinking about this book for a long time and take the liberty to quote the question on the cover. “Would YOU speak up for what is right?”
NOTE: I've already posted this to Goodreads separately.

In some respects this feels like one those books that adults/teachers love and kids don't care much about. However, I'm hoping it can break away from that mold and be successful, because it addresses important issues in a good way. The characters were interesting and I especially liked the way that we jumped into other side characters at points to help understand their thinking as well.

This feels like an updated, somewhat more realistic, version of THe Wave. Wiemer is showing us the complexity of a controversy. We have a few students immediately on board with the assignment, students who are probably at least marginally racist. A few immediately rebel. THe others either don't care or are too obedient to question what they've been told. It's most likely the reaction of most of society in the face of evil. Most importantly, we get a lot of perspectives, see a lot of motivations behind the various reactions of students and even the teacher. And we see the far reaching effects of the controversy once it becomes public knowledge. THere are consequences both positive and negative for everyone involved. It did feel like there were some unnecessary plot complications but overall a positive read.

I could not put this book down. From the subject matter, to the plot, the character development, and the tone, everything about it was incredible. I loved how the story jumped to different characters' perspectives (sometimes to ones you aren't expecting) and I loved loved LOVED Logan and Cade. Everyone should read this book--it honestly inspires me to be a better person. What I kept thinking about was, while the Holocaust is over, the world is still full of people who harbor hatred in their hearts, and our current administration fuels that hate with its rhetoric. But if we have more kids like the characters in this book willing to speak up, maybe things will get better.