Male Monday: Sunrise Over Fallujah

Sunrise Over Fallujah by Walter Dean Myers 2008
Scholastic

Rating: 2.5/5

IQ "From a distance, say the eight feet between eyes and television screen, or perhaps at the silent impact of a long-range missile hitting a newly framed target, combat seemed so simple. There was good and there was bad and the clear distances between the two held their own comforts. But as those distances narrowed, as they came within the range of smell and the feeling of warmth as a shell hit a target or the gentle shaking of the ground beneath you that stirred the constant fear within, the clarity disappeared." Birdy pg. 117

Robin "Birdy" Perry is the nephew of Richie Perry (the hero of another Myers novel, Fallen Angels) and he writes to his Uncle Richie from time-to-time as he tries to work out the complexities of war. His uncle will understand he reasons because he served in Vietnam. Birdy's father did not want him to join the Army and has not contacted him, his mother worries daily about his safety in Iraq. Birdy is part of the Civilian Affairs Battalion and his job along with that of his fellow soldiers is to help stabilize and rebuild Iraq and gain the trust of the Iraqi people. Birdy has no idea why he joined the army, but he does know that war is a lot harder and more complicated than it looks especially the Iraq war in 2003.

There is little camaraderie in this novel. Birdy talks about the members of his battalion but I never got the impression that he was that chummy with anyone, except Jonesy. Jonesy was a well-developed character but everyone else mentioned (Captain Miller, Major Sessions, Ahmed, Marla) remained one dimensional. I wanted more interaction between characters and to get a grasp for their personalities. They all remained very closed-off and I don't think everyone in the army is tight-lipped, there has to be more than one fun-loving Blues man like Jonesy in a battalion. It was also really hard keeping everyone's rank straight but that's not the author's fault, it's my own slow brain. The story did seem a bit predictable to me concerning the death of a character, obviously a character is going to die and I thought who it was going to be was clear. I also didn't like the one-sided letters. Birdy told us what his mom said in emails but we only read his letters. I think it would have been interesting to read his uncle's responses to his letters, especially as a war veteran. Furthermore I wanted to know more about his father who was against Birdy entering the army. This is odd because it's a novel about war but I found it dull at parts which was unfortunate.

The story is exciting though even when no action is occurring. It's exciting and saddening to read Birdy's thoughts on war, exciting because he never really THOUGHT about what being in a war meant so it's nice to see him try and sort out his many different feelings but it's sad because it's WAR. Birdy asks good questions "When I was a kid, maybe eight or nine I wondered why God mad the insides of people. Why not just make solid people that could do the same things we did instead of all the little parts, veins, arteries, hearts and things that could go so wrong. Why didn't God just keep it simple?" (pg. 117), ones that I don't believe answers exist. The author does an excellent job of explaining what was going on in the early, tumultuous days of the Iraq War through the ideas of CA soldiers (well I think it's accurate but I wasn't there). This is vital for teen readers because most of us are too young to understand and remember the beginning of the United States' invasion of Iraq.

Sunrise Over Fallujah offers look at a war that has only recently ended (and some may argue is still going on) in a thoughtful, intriguing manner. The author remains satisfyingly neutral, simply reporting the facts, representing various perspectives through the group of soldiers we (briefly) meet. The only message the author has is that soldiers are courageous and deserve the utmost respect which no one would argue against. I also appreciated that the author shows how quick the enemy can change, it's not always obvious who/what is the enemy as much as the two sides going to war want to make it seem clear-cut. The story didn't always hold my interest, especially at the beginning and the ending wasn't that great either but the middle kept a steady pace that held my attention. I would have liked (well I don't think I could like a book about war) to better understand the backgrounds and motives of the characters, even the main character was a mystery which isn't interesting. Overall I just had a meh reaction to this book and it's hard for me to explain why, and for that I apologize.

Disclosure: Purchased

Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith

Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith

Rating: 4.5/5

Ida Mae Jones dreams of flight. Her daddy was a pilot and being black didn’t stop him from fulfilling his dreams. But her daddy’s gone now, and being a woman, and being black, are two strikes against her. When America enters the war with Germany and Japan, the Army creates the WASP, the Women Airforce Service Pilots—and Ida suddenly sees a way to fly as well as do something significant to help her brother stationed in the Pacific. But even the WASP won’t accept her as a black woman, forcing Ida Mae to make a difficult choice of “passing,” of pretending to be white to be accepted into the program. Hiding one’s racial heritage, denying one’s family, denying one’s self is a heavy burden. And while Ida Mae chases her dream, she must also decide who it is she really wants to be.

I.Q. "Isn't it funny ladies, how there's always a man at the bottom of everything we do?" Audrey

First of all, I want to make something clear. Flygirl is only slightly similar to Mare's War. This is good for both books as they are both unique and wonderful in their own way. I'm glad I read Flygirl soon after Mare's War because I was still in the WWII mindset, but you certainly don't need to read them one after the other. Sherri Smith's writing is so descriptive, I really liked how she took us into the mindset people had about the WAC (Women's Army Corps) and the WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots). They viewed them as either "funny" (lesbian) or man hungry. They had no respect for them and didn't think the WASP could fly planes. Also the discrimination that women, especially black women faced (while I knew it existed and was really bad) was frustrating, the author made it seem so real, that you got all wrapped up in it. Also, while I had heard of the WASP, I didn't know that black women weren't allowed to be in the WASP. I don't understand why they weren't allowed since they had black women in the WAC (segregated but still there).

The WASP were used to fly test planes that men were too scared to fly to prove that if a woman could do it so could a man, but they weren't allowed to actually fly them off base. The WASP weren't allowed to fly planes across the Atlantic. Neither the WASPs or the WAC were allowed to be in combat. The WACs were radio operators or secretaries. The WASP were ferrying pilots (they ferried new planes from factories to the coast where they were shipped overseas to help in WWII), flew on weather-checking missions, or they towed targets for artillery practice. This book really made you admire the courage and perseverance of the WASP. Anyway enough of the history lesson (the history lover in me came out).

The plot was really good and original. Ida Mae Jones decides to pass as white to pursue her dreams of becoming a pilot in the WASP. The hardship she went through, the struggle to maintain her black identity while pretending to be white and remember who she is were described wonderfully (when her mother visits Ida at the WASP base it reminded me of a scene from Imitation of Life). This book really made me wonder, if I lived in that time would I have passed (if I could) for white in order to follow my dreams no matter the cost (denying my people, not getting to openly acknowledge my family)? Ida Mae was always on edge, afraid of slipping up and saying the wrong thing to the wrong person. She was constantly wary and unable to really trust anyone. I admire her (and all the other black women who passed as white to follow their dreams, although there is no record that any black woman ever did that in the WASP).

Flygirl made me want to go out and learn how to fly an airplane (or at least fly in one so that I can sit in the front and observe the pilot). The way the characters describe their love of flying makes you want to try it. The humor of the WASP was great, they tried to see the best in a situation and prove themselves to the men and they were always joking around and singing.

My favorite character was Patsy "Cakewalk" Kake. She was so nice, fun, accepting, funny and daring. She stuck up for her friends and she didn't take any nonsense from the male instructors, officers, pilots or soldiers. One of my favorite quotes of hers is "Saddle up girls. It's time to stick it to them, right in the relief tube." (A relief tube is tube on a plane made for men to relieve themselves while they fly, for obvious reasons it didn't work so well for women). I especially love how she was a wing walker (someone who flies a plane and makes the wings move, does handstands and other tricks) and put this skill to good use (one of the best scenes in the book is when she wing walks, but I can't say anymore!). She teaches Ida about worry knots (which is when you tie a knot in your handkerchief to push it aside and you untie it when you're done worrying), which is a nice idea, although it wouldn't really work today since few people carry around handkerchiefs! She's an all around awesome character.

I didn't really like the ending. It made it seem like a sequel may be forthcoming (although I don't think there is). I felt it was a bit of a cliffhanger, there are some unresolved issues that need to be cleared up.

All in all I thought this book was excellent. A good read for anyone even if you don't like history. 8th grade and up.

Check out this link here, Kimberly Anyadike is believed to be the youngest African American girl to fly across the country. Congrats to her!

Random

On another totally different note, author Celise Downs is looking for beta readers to read and critique her newest book A Royale Pain: The Draven Atreides Teenage Informant Series. For more information or to sign up go here

PS I'm going to have my first contest soon! *grins* I have been babysitting like crazy trying to save up some money and now I have a sum to pay for the book and postage! Stay tuned. It'll probably be a 2 or 3 book giveaway. I want to get 50 followers before I began the contest though (this may change since I'm just so excited about it)

S
peaking of contests. Tashi is having an awesome one! I read and really liked Jason & Kyra, Played not so much.

Oh my gosh! I almost forgot. I'm participating in the August Color Me Brown Challenge hosted by Susan. I'm thinking everyone should enter (*hint hint* contest. You can win a prize from Susan and maybe me!). I certainly am.

I Should Call My Grandmother. You Should Too: Mare's War

Mare's War by Tanita S. Davis

Rating: 4/5

Meet Mare, a grandmother with flair and a fascinating past." Octavia and Tali are dreading the road trip their parents are forcing them to take with their grandmother over the summer. After all, Mare isn't your typical grandmother. She drives a red sports car, wears stiletto shoes, flippy wigs, and push-up bras, and insists that she's too young to be called Grandma. But somewhere on the road, Octavia and Tali discover there's more to Mare than what you see. She was once a willful teenager who escaped her less-than-perfect life in the deep South and lied about her age to join the African American battalion of the Women's Army Corps during World War II. Told in alternating chapters, half of which follow Mare through her experiences as a WAC member and half of which follow Mare and her granddaughters on the road in the present day.

I really enjoyed this book! The character were totally relatable and Mare is the coolest grandmother ever (don't call her that though!) The title of this blog post/review is kinda random, but reading this book made me think of my grandmother and how I haven't talked to her in forever. So I'm going to call her today! The title is a reminder that grandparents need love so call 'em up or hang out with them! They may actually have some cool/funny/interesting stories to share. That's one thing I learned from this book. You presume your grandparents haven't really lived life, they're just old. But they have stories too and while they may not be as interesting as Mare's (or may be even more interesting!), you never know unless you ask. So call/them or hang out and ask away!

First, Mare. I wish my grandmother was like her. It would be so cool to have a grandmother who wears stilettos, drives fast, has an interesting past, is sassy and stubborn. She sounds like quite a character and a lot of fun to be around. She's very laid-back, go with the flow which I think is nice. Although I wouldn't be thrilled if my grandmothers wore push-up bras and smoked. She was my favorite character in the whole book (although I wished she would have danced and hung out with more guys!). She was so brave and hardworking! Which leads me to the next thing...

The historical aspect of the book was really enlightening. Before reading this book, I knew absolutely nothing about the role of African American men and women in WWII (except from what I'd seen in Miracle of St. Anna which was more fiction than fact). The information was really interesting and I admired the black men and women who fought for the U.S. even though, the U.S. wasn't very appreciative. It would have been really hard for me to go to Paris, help fight to protect the U.S., see how kind and non-discriminatory the French people were and then go home. I probably would have stayed in Paris. The work of the WAC (Women's Army Corps) is something I intend on reading more about. Also, I'm going to find some WWII movies about black soldiers (I think Denzel was in one :D).

I also liked both sisters; Tali and Octavia. They were both a little annoying sometimes. Octavia because she was so timid, Tali because she was so rude and whiny. But I sympathized with Octavia's struggle with driving (I'm learning to drive too. And it's scary fun!). And I would be mad like Tali if I couldn't listen to my music. I also like how Tali was stubborn and didn't take no mess from anybody, like Mare.

The book was well written and held your attention. I couldn't put it down. I especially like how it alternated from WWII to the present day. Although sometimes I was so absorbed in the WWII stories, that I wanted to just skip the now chapters (but don't cuz those are good chapters too!)

If you like historical or realistic fiction, this is a must read! Actually I think everyone should read this, because we African American teens need to know all aspects of our history. I would say high schoolers and middle schoolers could and should read this book.