![]() For half the novel, Gratz alternates chapters, switching between two very young soldiers, one Okinawan and one American. In Grenade, author Alan Gratz spotlights soldiers and civilians from all sides of the battle: Americans, Japanese, and the Okinawans enlisted to fight for the Japanese but caught in the middle. This expertly crafted, well-researched novel mines a historical battle for its page-turning drama while shining a light on the human cost of war and examining how war erodes our humanity. ![]() ****īTW I would give 4-1/2 stars if I could … I found the first half of the book not quite trite for being a lot like all the Vietnam movies that have come before. Knowing her reaction to Refugee, I'd like to read that book, too, before I stand by my age rating for this book. My 12-year-old daughter read Alan Gratz's Refugee. And the worst part was, Ray knew he would do it again when he had to." **** In just a few awful seconds, he had become the monster these people were so afraid of. He had to have killed innocent Okinawans. In his panic he'd fired round after round into the crowd. Ray let the tip of his rifle drop into the mud and looked around in horror. When the last rifle fired, the Marines stood in the pouring rain surrounded by bodies. More Japanese soldiers did the same, and all hell broke loose. Ray watched in stunned horror as a Japanese soldier dressed as one of the Okinawans tossed aside the ratty blanket he hid beneath and shot the Old Man dead. "He lowered his rifle and started for a woman with a baby in her arms. Here is a passage from Grenade that I found just as graphic: The movie raters had a hard time keeping Apocalypse Now 'R' and not 'X'. My problems recommending this book for younger readers: (1) graphic suffering (2) graphic violence (3) copious violence anesthetizing the audience (4) graphic guilt and inner monstrosity painted so thickly, reader empathy might be too heavy (5) the spiritual messages may not become apparent until much of the violence has been absorbed. ![]() These spiritual themes are understandable for a 9-year-old reader, I believe. We journey with them to discover what may be worth more than one's own life. Two boys on opposite sides of World War II, Ray and Hideki, live a beautiful story of suffering, pain, and redemption.
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