A breathtaking account of the experiences of two naval pilots during the Korean War.
In this young readers’ adaptation of the 2015 title for adults by the same name, a courageous pilot’s moral compass makes him go against his rule-following tendencies in a bid to save his friend behind enemy lines.
The atrocities of war became the backdrop for a unique and unlikely friendship. In 1949, Jesse Brown from Mississippi was one of only five African Americans among the Navy’s 45,000 officers. In contrast, Tom Hudner was a young White man of means from Massachusetts when he entered the Naval Academy. These two officers navigated the racism that percolated just beneath the surface of the Navy, complicating their initial steps toward friendship. The author’s exploration of the internal lives of both men helps explain their actions and highlight their true natures, leading up to the tragic moment when Hudner risked his life in a vain attempt to save Brown, an act for which he later received a Medal of Honor. The Korean War and its aftermath become real; readers learn about the physical realities of being on the front lines as people witnessed death up close and the responsibility they felt afterward to honor those who served valiantly. Historical photos provide an added level of humanity. The strong pacing will keep readers’ senses alert and fully engaged as they fly through danger with these brave men.
A breathtaking account of the experiences of two naval pilots during the Korean War. (photo credits) (Nonfiction. 12-17)Pub Date: May 24, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-48145-5
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2022
Fans of all things martial will echo his “HOOYAH!”—but the troubled aftermath comes in for some attention too.
Abridged but not toned down, this young-readers version of an ex-SEAL sniper’s account (SEAL Team Six, 2011) of his training and combat experiences in Operation Desert Storm and the first Battle of Mogadishu makes colorful, often compelling reading.
“My experiences weren’t always enjoyable,” Wasdin writes, “but they were always adrenaline-filled!” Not to mention testosterone-fueled. He goes on to ascribe much of his innate toughness to being regularly beaten by his stepfather as a child and punctuates his passage through the notoriously hellacious SEAL training with frequent references to other trainees who fail or drop out. He tears into the Clinton administration (whose “support for our troops had sagged like a sack of turds”), indecisive commanders and corrupt Italian “allies” for making such a hash of the entire Somalian mission. In later chapters he retraces his long, difficult physical and emotional recovery from serious wounds received during the “Black Hawk Down” operation, his increasing focus on faith and family after divorce and remarriage and his second career as a chiropractor.
Fans of all things martial will echo his “HOOYAH!”—but the troubled aftermath comes in for some attention too. (acronym/ordinance glossary, adult level reading list) (Memoir. 12-14)Pub Date: May 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-250-01643-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A solid and captivating look at these remarkable pioneers of modern fiction.
The wild freedom of the imagination and the heart, and the tragedy of lives ended just as success is within view—such a powerful story is that of the Brontë children.
Reef’s gracefully plotted, carefully researched account focuses on Charlotte, whose correspondence with friends, longer life and more extensive experience outside the narrow milieu of Haworth, including her acquaintance with the novelist Elizabeth Gaskell, who became her biographer, revealed more of her personality. She describes the Brontë children’s early losses of their mother and then their two oldest siblings, conveying the imaginative, verbally rich life of children who are essentially orphaned but share both the wild countryside and the gifts of story. Brother Branwell’s tragic struggle with alcohol and opium is seen as if offstage, wounding to his sisters and his father but sad principally because he never found a way to use literature to save himself. Reef looks at the 19th-century context for women writers and the reasons that the sisters chose to publish only under pseudonyms—and includes a wonderful description of the encounter in which Anne and Charlotte revealed their identities to Charlotte’s publisher. She also includes brief, no-major-spoilers summaries of the sisters’ novels, inviting readers to connect the dots and to understand how real-life experience was transformed into fiction.
A solid and captivating look at these remarkable pioneers of modern fiction. (notes and a comprehensive bibliography) (Biography. 12-16)Pub Date: Oct. 23, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-547-57966-5
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 14, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2012
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