Kazumi Reads

Plot Summary:
In order to escape the streets, Perry has signed up to fight the war in Vietnam. Although he has aspirations of making something of himself, he knows staying home won't get him anywhere. After landing in Vietnam, Perry meets a cast of characters who have their own reasons, and issues, as to why they volunteered. For instance, Pee Wee. For the lack of a better description, Pee Wee is nuts. Like Perry, Pee Wee is from the Projects who hung out with the wrong crowd. In fact, Pee Wee inadvertently signed up for the Army because his buddy wanted to join, but was turned down because he was "rowdy." Jenkins, another newbie, is scared out of his mind and didn't take to Pee Wee's antics when it came to fighting. After orientation, Perry and company were called into the field and the fear that Perry had been trying to keep at bay was slowly taking over. For Pee Wee, this should have been a moment of elation, but Perry knew better that Pee Wee was all talk because he could also see the fear in Pee Wee's eyes. When they landed in Chu Lai, Perry, Pee Wee, and Jenkins were assigned to Alpha unit where they meet Johnson (a rather large and intimidating Southerner), Lobel (a movie buff), and Brunner (a suck-up). Although the reality of war has yet to set in, an accident occurs that conveys to these young men that war is very real and very scary. Although these young men have very little in common, the quickly learn to put their differences aside when they are sent to the front line. In fact, all Perry can think of is getting out Vietnam and relocating to Hawaii where he would enroll in the University of Hawaii. Unfortunately, that dream will have to wait because all he can think about is staying alive. The more action Perry and his fellow soldiers see, they more they realize that war is nothing like the movies they watch. In fact, they start wondering why Alpha group (an all-Black unit) is always the one sent in first. In this horrifying account of war, a group of men are forced to grow up and fight a war that eventually loses its meaning and the loss of life is catastrophic. To this day, the Vietnam War is one of the darkest moments in American history. 

Critical Evaluation:
Walter Dean Myers is one of those author's who knows how to get in the reader's head and force them to adsorb every word that is on the page. Most people don't know this about me, but I am a huge war movie fan and this story is written so well that I can visualize every detail. I cannot begin to imagine what these soldiers saw and it is absolutely heart-breaking. Perry wanted nothing more then to escape the streets and they only way he could do is to enlist. As a young, Black male, Perry's options were limited and it's almost the only way (at the time) he could progress, and get an education, is to join the Army. Granted, he is not the only one to join the service under these circumstances, it is still really hard to believe that these brave young men, who put their lives on the line, would come home to the same ignorance, hatred, and utter disrespect that they have grown up with. For example, with WWII, Black came home to Jim Crow Laws and Japanese Americans came home with no homes and deep resentment. These minority units (Tuskegee and 442nd) were the most highly decorated units, yet, all the could do was work as janitors and mechanics. As Vietnam escalated, the American people became angry. Some may not know this fact, but the reason why soldiers were given the awful label of "baby killers" is because Vietnam was the first war to have real live footage aired to the American people, the American Press was aloud onto air bases, and some reporters were implanted. Unfortunately, since most of the news was skewed (i.e., ratings and editing) , it shouldn't be surprising that people would overreact they way they did and that is why books like Fallen Angels are absolutely essential in providing real insight into the mind of a soldier. Since Perry volunteered for the service, readers needed to understand that the Draft was used for this war and a lot of young men, who weren't meant for war, were killed on the field. To this day, Vietnam veterans continue to suffer from the effects of the war and some don't even want to talk about their experience because of the horror they witnessed. I was in tears when I finished this story, but, despite the ordeal these young men went through, I am thankful for their sacrifice and service.     

Information about the Author:
According to his website:

I was born on a Thursday, the 12th of August, 1937, in Martinsburg, West Virginia. My name at birth was Walter Milton Myers. For some strange reason I was given to a man named Herbert Dean who lived in Harlem. I consider it strange because I don't know why I was given away.

I was raised in Harlem by Herbert and his wife, Florence. Herbert was African American. Florence was German and Native American and wonderful and loved me very much.
As a child my life centered around the neighborhood and the church. The neighborhood protected me and the church guided me. I resisted as much as I could.

I was smart (all kids are smart) but didn't do that well in school.

I dropped out of high school (although now Stuyvesant High claims me as a graduate) and joined the army on my 17th birthday.

Basketball has always been a passion of mine. Sometimes at night I lie in bed thinking about games I've played. Sometimes I think about what would have happened if I had gone into the NBA (I was never good enough) or college ball.

Anyway.... I wrote well in high school and a teacher (bless her!) recognized this and also knew I was going to drop out. She advised me to keep on writing no matter what happened to me.
"It's what you do," she said.

I didn't know exactly what that meant but, years later, working on a construction job in New York, I remembered her words. I began writing at night and eventually began writing about the most difficult period of my own life, the teen years. That's what I do.

Genre:
Teen Military Fiction, Teen Historical Fiction, Teen Lit for Guys


Reading Level/Interest:
Grades 9 & up

Books Similar to Fallen Angels:

• Search and Destroy by Dean Hughes
• Purple Heart by Patricia McCormick

Awards & Recognition:
From Amazon.com:

"A coming of age tale for young adults set in the trenches of the Vietnam War in the late 1960s, Fallen Angels is the story of Perry, a Harlem teenager who volunteers for the service when his dream of attending college falls through. Sent to the front lines, Perry and his platoon come face-to-face with the Vietcong and the real horror of warfare. But violence and death aren't the only hardships. As Perry struggles to find virtue in himself and his comrades, he questions why black troops are given the most dangerous assignments, and why the U.S. is there at all. Fallen Angels won the 1989 Coretta Scott King Award." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

. . . as thought provoking as it is entertaining, touching and, on occasion, humorous. -- The New York Times Book Review --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. 

Plot Summary:
Rafe is tired of labels. Every since he was a little boy, everyone knew he was different. In fact, when he came out, nobody was surprised and everyone accepted the fact that they live in a community with a gay kid. Rafe: the openly gay student. Rafe: he is gay and smart. Rafe: well liked and gay. Everywhere Rafe goes, he is never just Rafe, but the gay guy known as Rafe. In order to get away from the label that is always attached to his name, Rafe has transferred to an all boy's high school where no one knows his name and the fact that he is gay. It's not that he wants to be locked away with a bunch of privileged and gorgeous boys, he just wants to be seen as Seamus Rafael Goldberg, the ordinary teenager who loves to write and wants to be accepted for who is and not what he is. When Rafe arrived at Natick, he didn't know what to expect, including his roommate, Albie. Albie is not at all what Rafe is expecting (Albie is a pig and Rafe is a neat freak), but, despite everything, Albie and his friend, Toby, are actually not that bad and kinda cool. When Rafe is asked to join in a game of football, by Ben he is given a once in a lifetime opportunity: becoming a jock. As time goes, Rafe has become part of a pack and the more time he spends with his new friends, the more guilty he feels about leaving his best friend, Claire Olivia, behind. Although they didn't part on the best terms, Claire was his confidant and the only person he could be himself around. However, he has learned that his English teacher knows he is gay (thanks to his mother), but, luckily, he is willing to keep to keep Rafe's secret and actually the allow him to express himself in his weekly journals. Life should be absolutely perfect for Rafe, but, unfortunately, when Rafe starts falling for Ben, things are about to become more difficult and even more complicated. Then again, who said being a teen is easy, especially if that teens is harboring a secret that could pretty much change the dynamics of an entire school.

Critical Evaluation:
Rafe never wanted to be the poster child for gay rights for teens. In fact, when he came out to his parents, he knew they would accept him for who he is. What he didn't expect is that his parents would use his sexuality as their latest revolution. Clearly, Rafe's parents are liberals who want nothing but the utmost for their son, including acceptance and respect. In many ways, readers will admire his relationship with his parents because they are more concerned about nurturing his soul and protecting his rights. What his parents don't realize is that they are marginalizing Rafe. Rafe's goal in life is to live a life without labels and, for once, be a normal guy. In his mind, Natick was the ideal place to start over where nobody had to know he's gay and they would actually see him for who he is. However, even at Natick, he is still labeled as a jock and that is why him and Albie had a rocky start. What this story brings to light is the idea that we, as human beings, are separated and lumped together by our similarities that society has designed, which have some serious consequences. For Rafe, being the openly gay student stunted his abilities to be amongst his own peers; everybody knew that it's not okay to bully the gay kid, but it doesn't mean they have to like him. At Natick, everyone knows that being a jock means you are automatically what Claire and Rafe call an FBIT (Frat Boy in Training), which we learn from Ben, is not true. Konigsberg does an amazing job juxtaposing Rafe and Ben because they are both sick of social constructs and want to be recognized for who they are and not what they are. Although Ben is straight, the admiration they have for one another is genuine and that is why their friendships works. However, with every friendship, there has to be an understanding  that honesty is just as integral as respect. Openly Straight is an amazing tale of one guy who wanted nothing more than to "normal" and embarked on a journey where he not only learned about himself, but how to truthful to himself and others.

Information about the Author:
According to his website:

Bill lives in just outside of Phoenix with his longtime partner, Chuck. They have an Australian Labradoodle named Mabel, who completes them. She also can jump very high and head a ball like a champion soccer player.

Bill is now a full-time writer of fiction, which is his dream job. Except when it makes him crazy and impossible to live with, which is about 36 percent of the time.

Before Bill was a fiction writer (and long before he ever referred to himself in the third person), he was a sports writer. As a sports writer and editor for The Associated Press from 2005-08, he covered the New York Mets and his weekly fantasy baseball column appeared in newspapers across the country, from the New York Daily News to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. In May of 2001, while working for ESPN.com, he came out on the front page of the website in an article entitled “Sports World Still a Struggle for Gays.” That article won him a GLAAD Media Award the following year.

Since then, he has spoken at numerous venues across the country on what it’s like to be a gay person in the world of sports. He has written for The New York Times, New York Daily News, North Jersey Herald and News and Denver Post, to name a few. His work has also appeared in Out Magazine. In 2011, his coming out was named the #64 moment in gay sports history by the website Outsports.com. His story was included as a chapter in the book “Jocks 2: Coming Out to Play” by Dan Woog.

Genre:
Teen LBGTQ Fiction, Teen Contemporary Fiction, Teen Humor, Teen Sports Lit

Reading Level/Interest:
Grades 10 & up

Books Similar to Openly Straight:

•  Freak Show by James St. James
•  The Geography Club by Brett Hartinger

Awards & Recognition:
Positive Reviews from:

• Booklist
• The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
• Library Journal

Plot Summary:
She wakes up battered and bruised; her fingernails are missing and she doesn't remember who she is. The next thing she remembers is being dragged out into the woods, awaiting death. However, something in her screams to fight back and when the opportunity presents itself, she takes it. Alone, and on the run, she has to find help because she has no idea who she is and why someone would want to kill her. Luckily, for her, she is not completely helpless because no only does she have the will to run, but she has the skills to survive. After taking her kidnapper's car, she finds her way to Newberry Ranch where she tries to get help from the security officer on duty. Although he isn't a real police officer, he does everything he can to help her. When she thought this nightmare was over, it was only the beginning to a series of events that she never thought possible. When the security guard got off the phone, he informed her that she wasn't kidnapped, but a runaway from a local mental hospital. There is no way this could be true because why would staff members from a psychiatric hospital drag her away to secluded cabin, rip out her fingernails, and carry guns? Furthermore, why would they threaten to kill her? After hearing this new information, she takes matters into her own hands and is back on the road not knowing where to go and who to trust.When she stopped at a local McDonald's for food, she meets a guy named Ty who not only helps her get away from the men who are chasing her, but promises to help her recover her memories. Little do they know, the journey they are to embark is not only risky, but could can turn deadly in an instant if she cannot find her parents. The clock has started ticking and they are running out of time.

Critical Evaluation:
Wow. This was incredibly suspenseful. Not only will readers enjoy the pace of this story, they will want to finish this book in one sitting. For a small book, there is a lot going on. For example, we don't know our main character's name because she suffers from amnesia. Secondly, we don't know if she is going to be the type of heroine we are going to admire. Once readers get passed the first few chapters, they will learn that our girl is not only brave, but incredibly quick on her feet. Henry captures the point of view of a kidnapping victim extremely well because not only do we see the flight or flight decision making, we see how determined she is to find out who she is and her desire to live. Although she is scared out of her mind, she refuses to give up because she is convinced that someone is trying to frame her or worse...kill her. What's confusing about her amnesia is that it seems to be temporary; she is can remember things from her past, but not the names of her family. Furthermore, when she and Ty make progress in their journey, we learn that she hasn't lost the ability to certain things such as: drive, unlock a car seat, and use her marital skills when necessary. Although she is more than capable of handling this on her own, Ty is the one person she needs the most to keep her calm and focused. Ty, who also has a hidden past, is the perfect protector since he is the only one who believes that she isn't a crazy serial killer, but is being framed for something that she didn't do. Honestly, Ty is the type of guy that any girl would be proud to have as their boyfriend because he is genuine. The more these two teens get to know each other, it's only natural they would fall for each other. However, this is not a love story, but a story about survival where the fates of thousands of people depend on her. 

Information about the Author:
According to her website:

April Henry knows how to kill you in a two-dozen different ways. She makes up for a peaceful childhood in an intact home by killing off fictional characters. There was one detour on April's path to destruction:  when she was 12 she sent a short story about a six-foot tall frog who loved peanut butter to noted children's author Roald Dahl. He liked it so much he arranged to have it published in an international children's magazine. By the time she was in her 30s, April had started writing about hit men, kidnappers, and drug dealers. She has published more than a dozen mysteries and thrillers for teens and adults, with five more under contract

Genre:
Teen Suspense, Teen Mysteries, Teen Adventure

Reading Level/Interest:
Grades 9 & up

Books Similar to The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die:

• Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Schott
• Stolen by Lucy Christoper

Awards & Recognition:
From Amazon.com:

"Suggest this one to fans of Stefan Petrucha’s Split (Walker, 2010) and Matt Whyman’s Icecore (2007) and Goldstrike (2010, both S & S) for a good adrenaline rush with the tiniest hint of romance." -- School Library Journal

- School Library Journal

"Older Jack and Jill readers will find themselves unable to put down this book until they reach the stunning conclusion."
- Jack and Mill Magazine

"Henry is a dependable best-selling force in both adult and YA worlds, and this book is tailor-made to please her fan base." -- Booklist

"Henry (The Night She Disappeared) delivers another speedy, suspenseful mystery, this one reminiscent of Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne books."--Publishers Weekly