• Age: 13 to 18
• Grade: 8 to 12

What if your country is involved in an unjust war, and you’ve lost trust in your own government?

It's 1968, and the Vietnam War has brought new urgency to the life of Billie Taylor, a seventeen-year-old aspiring photojournalist. Billie is no stranger to risky situations, but when she attends a student protest at Columbia University with her college boyfriend, and the US is caught up in violent political upheaval, her mother decides to move the two of them to Canada. Furious at being dragged away from her beloved New York City to live in a backwater called Toronto, Billie doesn’t take her exile lightly. As her mother opens their home to draft evaders and deserters, Billie’s activism grows in new ways. She discovers an underground network of political protesters and like minds in a radical group based in Rochdale College, the world’s first “free” university. And the stakes rise when she is exposed to horrific images from Vietnam of the victims of Agent Orange – a chemical being secretly manufactured in a small town just north of Toronto.

Suddenly she has to ask herself some hard questions. How far will she go to be part of a revolution? Is violence ever justified? Or does standing back just make you part of the problem?

Key Text Features

author’s note

chapters

dialogue

epigraph

facts

historical context

literary references

song lyrics

AMANDA WEST LEWIS is the author of seven books for young readers, including These Are Not the Words. Her novel September 17 was nominated for the Silver Birch Award, the Red Cedar Award and the Violet Downey IODE Award. She is a writer, theater creator, calligrapher and teaching artist. She is the founder of the Ottawa Children’s Theatre, and she has an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Born in New York City, she now lives in Brooke Valley, Ontario, with her husband, writer Tim Wynne-Jones.

Amanda West Lewis' profile page

A beautiful coming of age story set in a tumultuous time in history, where young people were using their voices and demanded to be heard … Focus. Click. Wind. will inspire readers to learn more about the war in Vietnam and the activisim that came out of that time period. If they live in Toronto, its an inspiration to see how Yorkville has changed so dramatically over time.

Storytime with Stephanie Blog

This book will engage readers while leaving them with lots to think about including how can one person make a difference during times of social unrest.

Canadian Children’s Book News

Readers may benefit from Lewis’ … explorations of the importance of protest and considerations of violence perpetrated in the name of a greater good.

Kirkus

A fascinating young adult book that raises important questions about how young people should react when they disagree with their country’s actions. Is rebellion a legitimate option?

Winnipeg Free Press

Focus. Click. Wind. by Amanda West Lewis leans into the sex, drugs, and rock and roll of the late 1960s, but these details are merely a portal into something more significant: a depiction of the social consciousness of youth who were simultaneously navigating personal tragedy and government-sponsored violence.

Historical Novel Society

Readers find they must respect [Billie's] diligence, her heartfelt devotion to an important cause and her desire to question the roles set out for her by her mom, her friends and, indeed, her government.

CM: Canadian Review of Materials

Focus. Click. Wind. has more grit than many coming-of-age novels.

Quill & Quire