Operation Oleander

January 21, 2013
Soon-to-be ninth-grader Jess lives by the code her Army father taught her, holding his words of honor and duty close while he is serving in Afghanistan. She and her best friends Meriwether and Sam, who live on the same Florida Army base as Jess, are collecting school supplies and donations for a girl’s orphanage in Kabul; Jess, who was adopted, feels a special connection to the orphaned girls. When a bomb goes off near the orphanage, Jess’s father is badly injured and Meriwether’s mother is killed, sending shockwaves through Jess’s close-knit community. Her devastation is compounded by Meriwether blaming her for the tragedy, but Jess still believes in the work they were doing. Full of detail about Army life, Patterson’s (The Other Side of Blue) elegant prose brings readers deep inside Jess’s conflicted point of view and the many stresses she is under, as she reevaluates her role as a member of a military family. The conclusion is uplifting but retains the complexity of Jess’s struggle to act in a way that reflects her convictions. Ages 12–up. Agent: Sarah Davies, Greenhouse Literary Agency.

May 1, 2013

Gr 5-9-Ninth-grader Jess and her family live on a military base in the U.S. She and her friends Meriwether and Sam collect donations for an orphanage in Kabul, where her father and Meriwether's mother are stationed. When the orphanage is bombed and reports reach the U.S. almost immediately that American military personnel were present, the all-but-unbearable waiting for official notification of casualties and injuries begins. Rumors are rampant, and the entire base holds its collective breath while the television shows seemingly never-ending reruns of the explosion. Patterson has an amazing ability to convey the tension and fear that families and friends of deployed soldiers bear every day and the heart-stopping terror when news programs show violence against troops that may result in one of their loved ones being wounded or dead. The story doesn't have a happy ending-there is grief, anger, blame, and guilt, emotions that are universal in the wake of tragedies. It is unfortunate that the characters are one-dimensional and show little growth.-Nancy P. Reeder, Heathwood Hall Episcopal School, Columbia, SC

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