Overview
RICK WARD WANTS TO GO TO WAR.
And he's not sure why. Maybe he's running from his dad and his crazy temper. Maybe he's running from his girl, who seems to think he's more of a joke than a man. Or maybe he's just running — to find himself.
But after Rick ventures into the Vietnam jungle, he discovers that no one — not protestors, politicians, or writers — has got a clue. War is far bigger, scarier, and more complicated than anything he ever could have imagined.
Synopsis
Rick Ward wants to go to war.
He doesn't know why. Maybe he's running from his dad, who has an uncontrollable temper. Maybe he's running from a lost love, his high-school sweetheart, who is a stranger to him now. Or maybe he's just running — to find himself.
Desperate to experience real life, Rick enlists in the army with the Charlie Rangers, a special unit in Vietnam. They infiltrate the jungle, kill with precision, and get out quickly. Rick isn't sure he can shoot anyone, but he wants to be tested, like his heroes, Hemingway and Conrad. If he can see the heart of darkness and survive, he'll be a man — and finally have something to write about.
But as Rick discovers, war isn't what anyone — either the protestors, the politicians, or the writers — say it is. It's far bigger, scarier, and more complicated than anything he could ever have imagined.
Dean Hughes captures the sights and sounds of war — and the courage of a young soldier fighting to survive.
KLIATT
AGERANGE: Ages 15 to adult.
To quote the review of the hardcover in KLIATT, January 2006: Rick, just graduated from high school in 1969, doesn t know what to do with his life, and he longs to escape from his bullying father. Despite misgivings about whether the US belongs in Vietnam, he s curious about the experience of war--maybe he could be a writer and use it as material, he thinks--and he decides to enlist. Once in the army, he opts to join the Charlie Company Rangers, a six-man unit that hunts down and kills the enemy in stealthy, dangerous and terrifying search and destroy missions. At first concerned about whether he can prove himself to be a man under fire, and still conflicted about whether it is a just war, Rick soon learns that simply staying alive overrides all other considerations. He befriends an older man nicknamed Preacher, and from him learns compassion for the Vietnamese people. Wounded, Rick returns home, experienced in ways he wishes he weren t and haunted by terrible dreams, and he tries to forge a new path for himself. This powerful tale by the author of Soldier Boys brings to mind Tim O Brien s classic fiction on Vietnam, conveying a similar sense of the visceral horror of war. This is a YA version, with no swearwords, though there are some gory, gruesome details. Hughes has done his research, and he has the lingo down pat. Readers will feel they re sweating in the jungle with Rick, heart pounding, on alert for enemy ambushes. An anti-war message comes across loud and clear, but Rick s respect for the special bond of soldiers who are willing to die for each other comes across clearly too. Reviewer: Paula Rohrlick
March 2008 (Vol. 42, No.2)
Editorials
Children's Literature
Just out of high school, Rick Ward thinks he wants to go to college and become a writer, but the circumstances of his life work against him. His girlfriend admires his writing, but she wants him to protest the Vietnam War and stop playing beach volleyball with his friends. The day after she breaks up with him, he quits his job when his abrasive boss repeatedly finds fault with his work, and his father throws him out of the house. Knowing that he will not be able to earn enough money for college in the fall, he feels that the army is his only option. It will give him respect from his father, a place to live, and experiences to write about. Basic training tests his ability to put up with humiliation, but his athletic conditioning and mental ability take him successfully through the course. Additional training and his request to be sent to Vietnam land him in the Charlie Rangers, a special unit that searches the jungle for enemy soldiers. His new unit is both more and less than he was hoping for. The total trust each man shows the others when they are on patrol surpasses anything Rick could have imagined, but the insults and cruelty some of the same men display in the barracks sometimes makes him feel like an outcast. Kent, a young Mormon soldier called Preacher by the rest of the unit, befriends him, but since Kent is scorned by the others for his compassion toward the local Vietnamese, this friendship further isolates Rick and he tries to pull away from it. He wants to believe that he is making a positive contribution, but he is sickened when men he cares about are killed in front of him and when he himself kills a sniper at close range. When Kent's foot is blown off by a mine, Rickfinally realizes how much he has depended on Kent's friendship. Then, on a patrol led by a sergeant who makes bad judgments, Rick is shot through the leg and the intestines while rescuing another soldier. Recovery time in the hospital gives him time to think about the war and the men he has fought beside. He still plans to write and to go to college, but he has learned just how complex reality is. This excellent novel brings the reader into the heat and danger of the literal jungle. Even better, it brings the reader into the good and bad of real people and their actions as directed by the forces of war. 2006, Atheneum Books for Young Readers/Simon & Schuster, Ages 12 up.—Judy DaPolito
KLIATT
AGERANGE: Ages 15 to adult.To quote the review of the hardcover in KLIATT, January 2006: Rick, just graduated from high school in 1969, doesn’t know what to do with his life, and he longs to escape from his bullying father. Despite misgivings about whether the US belongs in Vietnam, he’s curious about the experience of war--maybe he could be a writer and use it as material, he thinks--and he decides to enlist. Once in the army, he opts to join the Charlie Company Rangers, a six-man unit that hunts down and kills the enemy in stealthy, dangerous and terrifying “search and destroy” missions. At first concerned about whether he can prove himself to be a man under fire, and still conflicted about whether it is a just war, Rick soon learns that simply staying alive overrides all other considerations. He befriends an older man nicknamed Preacher, and from him learns compassion for the Vietnamese people. Wounded, Rick returns home, experienced in ways he wishes he weren’t and haunted by terrible dreams, and he tries to forge a new path for himself. This powerful tale by the author of Soldier Boys brings to mind Tim O’Brien’s classic fiction on Vietnam, conveying a similar sense of the visceral horror of war. This is a YA version, with no swearwords, though there are some gory, gruesome details. Hughes has done his research, and he has the lingo down pat. Readers will feel they’re sweating in the jungle with Rick, heart pounding, on alert for enemy ambushes. An anti-war message comes across loud and clear, but Rick’s respect for the special bond of soldiers who are willing to die for each other comes across clearly too. Reviewer: Paula Rohrlick
March 2008 (Vol. 42, No.2)
VOYA
This book is instantly gripping, in a popcorn kind of way. Hughes immediately plunges readers into the middle of Rick Ward's world: His girlfriend thinks he has no direction, his father's disdain is evident, and even Rick feels that he needs to gain some life experience to fulfill his goal of becoming a writer. As such, Rick signs up to fight in the Vietnam War, already unpopular among his peers, joining an elite unit that enters the jungle in six-man units, tracking down and killing the enemy. He meets Kent, who balances his involvement in the Charlie Rangers unit with his own strong religious convictions; Whiley, who seems to enjoy the violence a little too much to Rick's liking; and a host of other characters as Rick starts to wonder if he is in over his head. Readers could be in danger of examining the plot and characters for subtext that ultimately fails to spring forth. Hughes appears to be telling a simple story in a time that virtually demands far more intensified discussion. Through conversations between Kent and Rick, he tries to tap into that concept as they discuss their feelings about the conflict and whether they are aiding the Vietnamese people. But the plot is ultimately a predictable one, and efforts to make sure that all sides are represented make the book feel more wishy-washy than fair and balanced. Readers follow Rick's adventure to see what happens, but the trip does not quite seem worth it. VOYA CODES: 3Q 4P M J S (Readable without serious defects; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2006, Atheneum/S & S, 224p., Ages 11 to 18.—Matthew Weaver