Prisoner of War

April 15, 2017
A teenage Marine endures the horrific brutalities of the Bataan Death March and a Japanese prison camp in the Philippines in this intense historical novel. To escape the physical abuse of his alcoholic father, 15-year-old Henry Forrest, a white boy from Duluth, lies about his age to join the Marines but finds himself facing far worse than his own father's cruelty when his unit is sent to the Philippines. A month after Pearl Harbor is attacked, the Japanese invade the islands and U.S. forces fight them on the Bataan Peninsula until forced to surrender. Among his fellow captives, Henry finds kindness, respect, even brotherhood. His squad sergeant serves as a father figure. The events depicted in the novel are factual, and Spradlin's descriptions of the brutalities perpetrated against the POWs and the horrendous conditions of their prison camp are gut-wrenchingly vivid. His characterizations, however, lack nuance. The Japanese are one-dimensional villains: cruel, brutal, cowardly, and stupid. The Americans feel like stock characters from a John Wayne war film: fearlessly courageous, stoic in their suffering, nearly superhuman in their endurance, unfailingly caring for one another, and resolute in their faith that the U.S. will triumph. A harrowing but not particularly substantive story of war and survival. (Historical fiction. 12-17)

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July 1, 2017

Gr 7 Up-Fifteen-year-old Henry Forrest lost his mother when he was seven. Since then, even Henry's grandfather can't convince Henry's father to stop beating the teen. The grandfather and Henry sneak off to a Marines recruitment office, where the boy lies about his age. It's 1941, and the United States is about to face its most shocking attack, at Pearl Harbor, and Henry is right in the middle of it. He's been stationed in the Philippines, which has been bombed by Japan. His gunnery sergeant, McAdams, and his good friend Jamison have his back. But Henry's courage and maturity are truly tested when the Japanese capture his regiment and he, his friends, and hundreds of other American soldiers are forced into an internment camp on a tiny island in the Pacific. Henry's temper and his reaction to injustice earn him more than his share of beatings and a reputation. As days turn into months, and then years, the protagonist fights to stay grounded. Full of graphic detail and horrific scenes, this novel neither shies from nor glorifies Henry's story. VERDICT Sensitive readers may find the portrayal of violence excessive, but the reality of war is realistically presented. An engaging addition to a history of World War II unit as well as a powerful read.-Carol Connor, Cincinnati Public Schools

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