Slither by Joseph Delaney

Tension; check. Monsters; check. Assassins; check.

I keep scratching my head as to what makes me pick up these horror books over and over. I'm the person who sits through horror movies with her eyes closed. Who gave up on "It" by Stephen King because it scared the sneakers off her feet. The one who had nightmares after seeing, "Jurassic Park." The person who lifts a Goosebumps book and drops it making the excuse she'll read it another time. For someone who doesn't do well with violence and gore, why do I keep having these sugar-like cravings for Delaney?

The books are a quick read. They are entertaining; I plow through ink in eager anticipation of the many bizarre monsters. They ooze tension in life and death situations and the females tend to be strong characters. Or maybe there is some latent Viking blood in me that secretly enjoys these books or the toned down children's version of the horror genre is more manageable for my touchy horror disposition. Whatever the reason, I have read ten of these books and will probably continue to do so even though I wonder why.

This book could stand alone from the series and seems like it might have a purpose in the eventual showdown with the Fiend. The Spook is not in it; only the witch, Grimalkin. The protagonist is an unemotional rat-like vampire, Slither, who alternates chapters with the voice of a human teenager, Nessa, who is at his mercy. Slither makes a deal with a farmer that his three daughters will not be bothered by him sneaking in at night to suck their blood if the father leaves the oldest to him after he dies. Every 40 years, Slither's government requires citizens to give them a female slave and Slither wants Nessa for this purpose.

When the father dies, the three daughters leave the farm with Slither. He has promised the farmer, who has provided him with wine and livestock blood over the years, to bring two of the daughters to their aunt and uncle. Once they set out one disaster after another strikes, leaving the group in multiple life-or-death situations. When Nessa saves Slithers life more than once, he finds himself acting in ways that are not "normal" for his species usual stoic murdering mentality.

The writing is functional - can't say I've scribbled any beautiful passages in my reading journal. Slither is a cold-blooded killer that would normally be a villain in most stories. He is bent on trying to not show weakness or be emotional, but he finds it hard to fight his feelings when Nessa shows unconditional love toward her sisters and bravery in battle. He is the character that struggles internally; moreso than Nessa. Her voice doesn't get the same page-time as Slither's. Readers might find Slither a hard character to connect with emotionally, but I found him curious. There are some nice plot twists that I didn't see coming, but I read the book in warp-speed so I wasn't on detail-mode. (And my detail-mode is not impressive even when I slow down.) Hence, you might see the plot twists coming.

This series reminds me a bit of "The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel" by Michael Scott, in that what was originally intended to be a smaller series has been stretched into one that goes on and on. Many of the books are separate adventures with the same characters. Seems like it should have ended a long time ago, but hey, I'm still reading them. Whatever. Like I said, I find them entertaining.

Action; check. Villains; check. Head scratch; check. Smile; check.

Reading Level 5.5
3 Smileys

Endangered by Eliot Schrefer

I started twiddling out reviews as a class assignment two years ago thinking it would help me remember novels when book-talking with students. Lo and behold, this reflection process has been like a boiling hotpot with questions bubbling to the surface as I bumble along. What makes children's books great versus average or what makes picture books rise to an artistic level? What began as an assignment has morphed into an enjoyable blogging journey into the world of children's literature. A common element inked in good children's books is they speak to both children and adults with various interpretations based on experience and this novel is no exception. I often have students point out a theme or picture detail that I missed or didn't notice as an adult, while I might point out a theme or detail from my perspective as an adult that they don't see.

When Sophie saves a baby bonobo ape off the street of Kinshasa, Congo, in chapter one, I applaud her courage for doing the right thing, but I also think of her as an impulsive teenager who is not thinking about the consequences of her actions. As an adult, I would have called her mother before making that decision because I know that traffickers and poachers are dangerous. Sophie's mother has been running a bonobo sanctuary for over six years and has the knowledge and tools to deal with this type of situation. Sophie, who grew up in the Congo, has lived for the past six years with her father in the United States. Their parents are divorced and Sophie is visiting her mom for the summer. A young reader will probably side with Sophie's actions. She is fourteen-years-old and when she sees a half-starved bonobo, she rescues it. Shucks, her mom owns a sanctuary and will be happy, right? Wrong.

Sophie's youthfulness and innocence makes her noble and seemingly right decision to save the bonobo tragic because the action is ultimately the wrong one. The moral dilemma facing Sophie is a driving force in the novel as she discovers that she can't save the bonobos one at a time like she does with the trafficker on the street, but must consider the endangered animals from a sociologically viewpoint; she must think about how the problem is reflected in the poverty of the Congolese people and the history of colonial abuse from foreigners that have stripped the Congo of its rich resources.

She learns this lesson throughout the novel when the capital city of Kinshasa is overthrown and the president murdered. Militiamen and boys take to the streets shooting and butchering people with machetes. When the sanctuary gets attacked and rebels take over, Sophie flees to the forest with the bonobos learning to survive in the wild and trying to reunite with her mother who happened to be in a remote area north of the capital releasing bonobos into the wild.

The constant tension from Sophie's life being threatened, by either the rebel soldiers or bonobos as she figures out their hierarchy, makes this a page turner. Her discomfort of living in the jungle and dealing with mosquitoes, leeches, crickets, and more, involve the reader's senses creating a vivid atmosphere and setting. Sophie doesn't dwell on the deaths of people, she's too busy trying to survive and she forces traumatic thoughts out of her mind. I thought it might be dealt with after the ordeal but the author skips ahead about four years. While some might not like this, it does make it more suitable for young readers who will focus more on the adventures than horrors of war.

This doesn't mean that the author skips the ugliness of war; just that the violence occurs after-the-fact versus a graphic description of someone being killed.  One section becomes particularly intense when Sophie has to deal with a drunk boy soldier. Earlier, an adult explains to Sophie how young boys are snatched to become soldiers and must fight each other to the death. Without giving away any of the plot Sophie cleverly works her way out of what could have been a violent rape situation. It probably isn't realistic but the author portrays the boy soldier as just as much a victim as Sophie; thus making it appropriate for a younger audience. While there is violence, it is toned down (moreso than books like, "Code Name Verity"); Sophie might stumble over a body or hear screams that suddenly stop, but that is about it.

I was first introduced to the Congo in books such as "Heart of Darkness," by Joseph Conrad and "The Poisonwood Bible," by Barbara Kingsolver. These aren't accessible for younger readers and it is fantastic all the great childrens books being written that help build responsible citizens and impress the inseparable connections between humans, animals, and the environment. I have read a bundle of books like this lately. If you want more try: "The One and Only Ivan" by Katherine Applegate (2013 Newbery winner), that deals with treatment of animals and the ethics of zoos; "Moonbird" by Philip Hoose (2013 Siebert finalist), that deals with the extinction of a species and how it impacts the fragile ecosystems; or "A Long Walk to Water" by Linda Sue park, that shows the difference a water well can make in the war-torn country of Sudan.  These stories need to be heard. A great read.

Young Adult
5 Smileys

Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool

Clare Vanderpool knows how to craft a satisfying story. Early and Jack become unlikely friends when Jack is sent from Kansas to Maine. Early is a strange boy who likes to listen to certain music on days of the week, sleep in the custodian's workroom, sort jelly beans, and spew facts like Old Faithful. His made-up stories about Pi are strange as well. And not Pi from the "Life of Pi" but Pi as in the number pi, the 3.14 blah-blah-blah, or the number-that-never-ends. Jack doesn't want to listen to Early talk about Pi but he finds himself getting sucked into the story even though his mind resists it. I felt the same way at first but then found myself trying to figure out whose story Pi's mirrored amongst the characters.

Jack's grieving the recent death of his mom and he's angry at his dad for sending him to a boarding school in Maine from his home in Kansas. Early's dad has died too, although Early doesn't talk about it. Early is more focused on the loss his older brother, Fisher, who was killed in World War II. Jack has a rough start at school and doesn't fit in with the other students. The two misfits form an unlikely bond when they decide to run off from school on a quest to find a great black bear on the Appalachian Trail, but they find more than that and learn to face their grief.

Idioms, similes, and metaphors, "rain like cats and dogs" throughout this story. But while the idioms Jack's mom used showed wisdom and were an interesting play on words, the idioms the boys used were as tired as "raining like cats and dogs." Jack, in particular, thinks and speaks idioms so much I noticed it. I couldn't figure out why the author was purposefully doing this except toward the end when it reflected the boys internal changes of understanding their grief. When Early says, Mrs. Johannsen "beamed like a lighthouse" only to explain to Jack that it is an expression. "She was beaming more like a candle. A candle set in a window, but a closed window, so there's no breeze to make the candle flicker"; the change shows that Early has grown in his understanding that Mrs. Johannsen has realized her purpose and can move on from her grief. Whereas she was lost before, she was able to find closure with her son and become a steady flame versus a flickering one. This is reflected in the boys internal journey of dealing with their own losses. While I found the idioms tiring and baffling at first by the end I could see what the author was doing.

I admire Vanderpool's plot building and writing craft. How can you not delight in sentences like this, "I still saw the other boys in class and around the dorm, but ever since that night in Sam and Robbie Dean's dorm room and the talk of the Fish, the awkwardness lingered like empty space on one of Early's records. It whirled in circles, making it hard to jump back in." Jack's loneliness is painful and the boys talking about boats using alien words creates an atmosphere quite similar to living in a foreign country. I empathized with Jack and the loss of his mom and home as Vanderpool expertly crafts his ache in a short time.

Depending on your patience as a reader, I found the beginning third slogged and some scenes seemed a bit clunky versus seamless. The ring in the pool left me scratching my head along with Mr. Bane seeming like a sensitive teacher at first to an unobservant one as Jack blunders about as he tries to steer the boat by himself. The educator side of me knows the liabilities and caution taken when dealing with kids and water. This might have been one of those cases where first person point of view forced characters to do things in order to forward the plot. I also felt this way when the two soldiers talked. It seemed rushed and I would have liked third person point of view and knowing what the two discussed.

Jack is very authentic in the way he acts as a teenager and deals with his grief. His mean act toward Early made him more real to me and yet he also thinks deeply about things and changes to be a better person. He learns from his mistakes and for me that is an endearing character. Early is developed well too with his odd quirks that make him likeable and his not so likeable traits that irritate Jack at times and make him tune Early out such as when Early sounds like a Thesaurus or dictionary or encyclopedia. I found some supporting characters too stereotypical for my tastes such as the librarian and Gunnar, but I don't think younger readers are going to notice this. The ending is very emotional and perhaps wrapped up to the point of feeling somewhat contrived but I prefer that to the opposite. I can think of many students who would like this book because of its touching end. A nice story for your library.

Reading Level 6.2
4 Smileys

The Templeton Twins Have an Idea by Ellis Weiner

The recent crop of metafictional books has left me not lovin' this technique as much as when I first encountered it in children's literature. Or perhaps, reading authors who are really good at it, reveals the lesser talents. Either way, this one goes on my hoo-rah list. I loved it like I love fresh corn on the cob (I'm making a connection with my crop statement. I'm also hungry. I'm also giving you a taste of how this book is written). Imagine a Lemony Snicket-type snarky narrator wired on 10 cups of coffee and inserting his thoughts so much I would  argue he is the main character. That's the book, "The Templeton Twins." The over-the-top, babbling narrator never shuts up, pointing out how the book is organized, why he chose to write it this way, why he is using certain words, and basically poking fun at everything under the literary sun. (By the way, I reeeeeaaaallly like the word, "snarky". It has a snappy ring to it, don't you know. What's that? You want to know what it means? Look it up yourself. I have a review to write.)

Figures of speech, acronyms and character names are in every chapter such as the metonymic expression, "Abigail's eyes fell on that drawing of a balloon mounted on the refrigerator. By that, I do not mean that her eyeballs literally dropped out of her head onto the drawing. I mean the picture caught her attention." (I think that's called, metonymy. Isn't it? Ahhhh, please correct me if I'm wrong. This is the reason I NEVER became an English teacher. As Weiner would say, "LET'S MOVE ON.") Acronyms scatter the pages like leaves with my personal favorite, the STB or Self-Tensioning Book Ends ("beloved by librarians throughout the universe") and names that bounce like a superball such as Dan D. Dean - sounds like dandy, Dean D. Dean - sounds like dee-dee-dee, or Nanny Nan Noonan- sounds like na-na-na-na-nah. You'd think this nattering narrator would get annoying, but I never reached that point; the author reigns in at the right point keeping the pace going along with my laughter. The "Questions for Review" at the end of each chapter have hilarious questions that parody reviews or tests students take in school: 

1. What were the names of Abigail and John, the Templeton twins? 
2. Bonus Question: There is no bonus Question. Proceed to Question 3. 
3. Isn't it a splendid thing that we have begun? (Hint: No. It means I must write some more. LET'S MOVE ON.)

The author is experimenting with how stories are presented with graphics, photos, and voice in surprising ways. While the action and cartoonish characters take a back seat to the humor, I admired how Ellis Weiner ties the plot points together and creates his own unique, goofy story while exposing craft at the same time.

Meet the 12-year-old Templeton Twins: Abigail, the genius, and John, the inventor. Abigail and John's mom has just died and they are finagling their father into buying them a dog; a common theme in children's books. You'd think this overused method of moving the plot along would be boring, but the narrator explains he knows this and points it out by writing, "asking for a dog is as old as the human (and dog) race," then he imagines out loud Cain and Abel arguing about getting a dog with Adam and Eve. Bad boy, Cain, sasses his parents while Abel begs "PLEEEEEEASE?" Abigail doesn't want to ask for a dog in a normal way because that is "tedious and grim." The narrator says, "Now, if I were you, I would immediately think, 'Just a moment, Narrator. Do you seriously expect me to believe that a twelve-year-old child would use the words 'tedious' and 'grim' in private conversation with her brother? wouldn't she be much more likely to say something along the lines of 'But, like, John? If we ask Dad the same old way, won't it be, like, boring and sad and stuff?'" This constant poking fun at the writing craft had me howling in the gym as I worked out. My neighbors on the elliptical machines quirked their brows at my sporadic outbursts. Between my plugged ears and piston pumping legs, I bet my laugh was much too boisterous. What do you expect from a Midwestern gal? I was having fun in my make-believe world. What's that? Oh, all right. I'll MOVE ON. I was just having a bit of a chit chat with you. I thought we could get to know each other.

When the Templeton's absent-minded professor-of-a-father moves the family to a different university, the twins get kidnapped by the idiotic villain, Dean D. Dean, AKA Tweedle Dee; aided by his equally idiotic twin brother, Dan D. Dean, AKA Tweedle Dum (my aliases). I love that Dean turns to crime because the professor gave him an F in class. He's even the moustache-twirling "Mwuh-ha-ha" stereotypical character, but because the narrator points it out, I found it funny. Dean's biggest problem is he accuses the Professor of stealing his idea to build a Personal-One-Man Helicopter.  The notion that an idea can be stolen is so ludicrous that its humorous and on a metafictional level points to the fact that many ideas are reused in children's literature. Weiner's presentation is what works. At least for me. I do have an odd sense of humor. While structure and plot are the building blocks of craft, it is the author's language and voice that makes this story rise on its own.

The parody of the slapstick villains and doofy adults is a familiar trope in children's literature where the adults are idiots and the young protagonists solve the story's problem because they are smarter and wiser. (Do you know the meaning of trope? "How very disappointing. And yet I know exactly what it means. Isn't that fascinating?" It means an overused theme or device.) Here Abigail and John not only unkidnap themselves, they save Dad in the process. They are helped by their ridiculous dog , Cassie a hyper fox terrier, that "runs and spins and wags its little tail like a metronome that has lost its mind. When you bring out the leash to take it for a walk and you tell it to "Sit!," it proceeds to leap straight up into the air, like a dolphin in a SeaWorld show, over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over until you finally give up and say, 'Oh for goodness' sake,' and you just hold it down and clip on its leash. You may do this four thousand times over the course of five years and it will never, ever sit." Are you laughing? No? Then I suggest you read the SERIOUS book, "Bomb: The Race to Build --and Steal-- the World's Most Dangerous Weapon." Do you get the idea of what this book is like with an in-your-face narrator? Good. "LET'S MOVE ON."

Reading Level 4.7
4 Smileys

The Center of Everything by Linda Urban

One of my favorite starts to a book is Linda Urban's, "A Crooked Kind of Perfect," with the protagonist complaining about having to play a wheeze-bag organ versus the elegant piano. Here comes another hilarious start, but with a Captain fighting to keep his boat afloat in a terrible gale by eating donuts spiked on the spokes of his ship's wheel; thus, inventing the donut hole. Urban has a whole or hole lotta fun with wordplays and slang. "The Hole Shebang" is my favorite. The 1960s "Gilligan's Island" TV show's theme song started pinging around my brain during these silly parts. "Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip.That started from this tropic port, aboard this tiny ship. The mate was a mighty sailin' man, the Skipper brave and sure. Five passengers set sail that day for a three hour tour. A three hour tour."

It didn't help that the book took me three hours to read. Ping. Ping. Here comes my theme song. Or Poke. Poke, as Ruby Pepperdine would say. Her grandma has just died and she is trying to squash her emotions, except they "poke" her in unexpected ways. When Ruby wins an essay that she has written on Captain Donut she gets to read it at the annual Bunning Day festival. Things fall apart leading up to the special day when her best friend gets angry over her sharing a secret wish with a boy in her class.

Urban plops her trademark quirky characters that are lovable, memorable and odd. Lucy is the drama queen who tells Ruby she has thrown a meteor into their lake of friendship causing a tsunami. She is the yin to Ruby's yang and their chemistry bubbles with fun. Nero is a different story. At first, Nero sounds too witty and old to me but he's funny so I don't particularly care. "Once a person kazoos in the lunchroom, she's lost her right to privacy," Nero says. "It's the fate of all celebrities." Urban develops him more in the proceeding chapters and shows he is thinker to the point he exasperates his teachers. Hence, when Nero points out characteristics in Ruby later in the story, I have bought into his character, and believe in it. Make no mistake, Captain Urban knows exactly what she is doing with this crew of characters.

The plot is solid and not too complex. The main character deals with friendships and grief with a slow buildup in the beginning. Quite a bit of the text involves interior monologue and not much action. Patient readers will be rewarded by the end as Urban brings it all together. Ruby has a "wish" and the reader doesn't know what it is. Urban uses this to bring tension in chapters, specifically six chapters in the first part of the book and it slowed the pacing too much for me even though the chapters were short. You'll have to decide for yourself. Grab your copy and drop anchor. "You're sure to get a smile..." Ping. Ping.

Reading Level 5.9
4 Smileys

Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin

When Harry Gold heard FBI agents knocking on his door, he scrambled to flush evidence of his treasonous actions down the toilet, but when they examined his office, and the map spilled on the floor, he knew the spy game was up. Thus begins this true story of the building of the atomic bomb. Stop right there. Time out. Imagine ear-piercing weather sirens giving you a split second warning before your body gets sucked (hands first) into the inky black vortex of an oncoming tornado. Don't say I didn't warn you! Books like these make me walk and read at the same time; falling down steps, walking into trees, and burning every meal that requires a flip of a burner switch. A tornado could come and I wouldn't even know it - nada, zippo, zilch.

Nothing like a bit of melodrama to jack up a review, don't you know. Not that this book is melodramatic. Shoot we are dealing with physicists. Oppenheimer is such a dippo that he goes on a date with a girl, parks the car with her, tells her he is going for a walk and completely forgets her in his car. She calls the police thinking something has happened to him and they find Oppie asleep in his bed at home. He explains that he forgot about her while contemplating theoretical physics. Uff da, and I thought my brain was scattered. Trust me, this is just one of many delicious details you'll eat up in this nonfiction story.

My journalism side admires Steve Sheinkin's creative use of quotations mixed with descriptive writing to create a strong sense of suspense and characterization. The description of Carl Eifler gives a clear picture of the character, "The thirty-seven-year-old Eifler already had a reputation for reckless bravery. Wounded by flying metal scraps earlier in the war, he'd pull out his pockektnife and dug the steel from his thigh. His idea of fun was to shoot cigarettes out of his friends' mouths." On his way to the CIA headquarters, Eifler spots a lawyer who once criticized him in a report and he "seized him by his jacket, lifted him off the floor, and smacked his back into the wall. Eifler leaned in close, glaring in the man's eyes. 'Listen, you son of a bitch,' he growled. 'If you ever interfere in my activities again, I'll kill you.' Eifler set the lawyer down, turned, and walked to his meeting. Eifler is then given the assignment to kidnap a top German physicist and escape to Switzerland. He asks the CIA officer what his orders are if the Swiss police capture him and the German. "'Very simple, Colonel,' said Buxton [CIA]. 'You are to deny Germany the use of his brain.' 'The only way to do that is to kill him,' said Eifler. 'So I kill him, and the Swiss police arrest me - what then?' 'Then we've never heard of you.'" Chalk this up as one of many "Mission Impossibles" planted in this nonfiction text that hit me like typhoon debris. Shucks, Sheinkin has such an extensive list of source quotes in the appendixes (this came from the book, "The Deadliest Colonel," by Thomas Moon and Carl Eifler) that I wanted to scream, "Ahhhh...stop it!" Stop giving me more books to add to my already bottomless book list that itches like an irritated mosquito bite.

The intertwined plot shows the Germans, Americans, and Soviets racing to build the bomb. Subplots such as the heavy water needed by the Germans to build the bomb and the Russians as tentative allies who like to steal from the Americans, are just a few elements that help build uncertainty and suspense. Bomb-making is not in my knowledge database and the author makes the fare anything but boring. The suspenseful description of scientists creating a chemical chain reaction with uranium on a cold day in a stadium, reveals the danger and tension as the silent crowd listens to the clickety-clack of the neutron counter hoping they can stop the reaction and not blow up Chicago. The chapter ends on the suspenseful question of one scientist thinking to herself, "When do we get as scared as we ought to?" These fictional elements elevate this book from what could be a dry expository text to a narrative, fast-paced read. Add to that the author's clarity in explaining the physics of building an atomic bomb and not once did my eyes cross or get glossy.

While reading I did have questions that came up. I wondered if the Germans did anything to Knut Haukelid's tough mother, how the radiation affected people on the project and those living around the town, what Oppenheimer did after being forced out, how does the gun assembly work, how did the absent-minded Oppenheimer find a wife and have an affair, and more. I don't see this as a flaw. It is good to have more questions and Sheinkin cannot possibly answer them all. Plus, it would sidetrack the book and would have steered it toward an older audience. Sheinkin wisely sticks to his overall message of the moral issues and political intrigue. Is it right to build a weapon that can destroy the human species? He shows that even the physicists who worked on bomb questioned what they had done at the end. Oppenheimer, in particular, had horrible doubts about this weapon of mass destruction. Even the double-agents who could easily have been one-dimensional villains are multifaceted. I was surprised to feel sympathy for the physicists and double-agents, even though I didn't agree with their actions. This type of character development is not one I expect in a nonfiction book and I appreciated Sheinkin's attempt to create such well-rounded characters. Not to mention the sober punch in the arm ending that details how many countries now have nuclear weapons and how easily humans can destroy the planet if a nuclear war breaks out.

A little two year old is torpedoing through the library yelling, "Jie Jie! JieJie!" over and over in Chinese causing a ruckus. Mom is a short distance behind but she can't seem to catch the little roadrunner. It sounds like "Gee Gee" and the celebratory ring suits my mood after reading this book. I have half a mind to join her sprint chanting, "Read! Read!"

5 Smileys
Young Adult

Courage Has No Color, The True Story of the Triple Nickles: America's First Black Paratroopers by Tanya Lee Stone

This emotional story had me in a free fall from start to end. Tension is inherent when covering black history, but when you throw in jumping out of an airplane to a reader like myself who is afraid of heights, the result is a confetti of fingernails in my reading chair. The Triple Nickles were the first trained black paratroopers during the 1940's under Sergeant Walter Morris. Originally, Morris was in charge of 20 men who were guarding The Parachute School at Fort Benning, Georgia. He noticed that his men were not proud of their work so he began training them in a calisthenics routine that was the same as the white soldiers. His men responded by feeling valued and started "acting like soldiers." General Gaither noticed and called Morris into his office where Morris learned of Gaither's order to create an all-black unit of paratroopers, the 555th Parachute Infantry Company. Morris was assigned the task, and excelled as a leader in both training and mental toughness against prejudices.

It wasn't easy. Morris was breaking new ground. His men were isolated and denied basic rights such as where to sit in the cafeteria, on the bus, going to the canteen, going to the post's theater, and more. Even prisoners of war were not denied these rights. The black paratroopers did comment that their white instructors, who were from the South, did not express prejudices toward them and showed them respect. The author addresses why these black men decided to fight for a country that would not claim them as their own. The men said that they wanted to prove they could succeed by not reacting to prejudices. Succeed, they did and those that weren't prejudice took note helping to change popular opinions on the black man's plight.

They also succeeded in raising American conscientiousness. America was fighting in a war against the genocidal racist, Hitler, while on their own soil they had a culture of black discrimination. World War II was a turning point in popular views advocating for African-Americans human rights. Unfortunately, even today there is still discrimination, as the author notes, found in popular movies made on history of World War II where blacks are not given credit for their military service. For instance, the movie "Saving Private Ryan," doesn't give credit to the all-black unit that was critical to saving a group of white men surrounded in a German town.

This informational text is pretty straightforward with photos, chapter headings, subheadings and a one-sentence summary pulled out of the text and put in bold. The addition of primary advertisements and cartoons enrich the reading experience immensely. I particularly enjoyed them. I actually wanted more ancillary text like that. The Japanese balloon story was fascinating. How the heck have I not heard about it before! I would have liked a side bar on it. I also liked the additional information the author puts in the end titled, "The Story Within the Story," but I would have liked it inserted where the text was that covered the three paratroopers who dropped out. What I'm not sure is if this is a decision made by the author or if it is a decision made by the publisher. The title bothered me too. (*spoiler - don't read the following) I kept waiting for them to go into combat and when they don't, I felt letdown. I'm not sure how it could have been done differently. (end spoiler) Either way, this is a well-told story that is worth reading.

4 Smileys