Sunrise Over Fallujah (by Walter Dean Myers)

Robin, a young man from Harlem (and nephew to Richie, the soldier from the author's Fallen Angels), enlists in the army after 9/11, much to his father's angry disapproval. He is sent to Iraq as part of a Civilian Affairs unit, which is supposed to follow the fighting troops and help win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people. But in the confusion of this difficult situation, Robin finds himself in combat as often as in talks.

Writing about the reality of a current conflict for children, or even young adults, is of necessity a balancing act -- how much to show, how far to go, in accurate depictions of horrific events. Veteran author Walter Dean Myers walks that fine line about as perfectly as it can be done. He doesn't pull his punches, but neither does he go overboard. He has just enough violence and swearing to keep it realistic without wallowing in them, and thereby gives about as accurate a picture of the fog of war in this particularly foggy war as one can give to children.

He does this, in part, by keeping some emotional distance between the readers and the characters. The book is moving, but the reader never gets to know the characters well enough to be truly shattered by the things that happen to them. Again, a balance -- there's just enough emotional involvement, but not too much. And he shows the boredom and the humor that are just as much a part of army life as violence and death, even in a war zone. So far there have been very few books for young adults about this ongoing conflict, but this is one that does the job admirably.

From the Book:
I didn't know if I had the same will to win as the guy from the 3rd. What I did know was that I wanted to do my part. The officers let us sit around and talk up the war and I thought that they did it on purpose. It was like being in a locker room before the big game.

"I seen a 240 take a guy's leg off from a hundred yards," a big-headed corporal said. "The whole leg came off and the sucker was just laying on the ground, looking at his leg as he died."

I felt a little sick.

Author: Walter Dean Myers
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Publication date: April 1, 2008
Number of pages: 290
Hardcover price: $17.99
Read Aloud: 13
Read Alone: 13