Sink or Swim

September 1, 2017

Gr 4-6-Twelve-year-old Colton steals his brother Danny's enlistment papers and joins the Navy. (Danny was badly hurt when a German U-boat hit their fishing boat and is in a coma.) Colton, surprisingly, survives boot camp and is soon on a ship in the Navy. Through his time at sea, Colton promises to take care of his family and fight the Germans that hurt his brother. Although the premise seems unbelievable, it is based on a true story of the youngest U.S. soldier to fight in Word War II. Colton is a strong character who allows younger readers to get a glimpse into combat life during the Second World War. The book is full of action, adventure, and history. Watkins explains enough aspects of the Navy to engage readers, but keeps it brief so as not to take attention away from the main plot. VERDICT As little context is explored, this novel will be best appreciated by readers with a basic knowledge of World War II history.-Maeve Dodds, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, NC

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2017
The experiences of a 12-year-old in the Battle of the Atlantic are chronicled in this engrossing historical novel. When a surfacing U-boat destroys their fishing boat and severely injures his older brother, Danny, off the North Carolina coast, Colton assumes his older brother's identity and enlists in the U.S. Navy. After surviving the brutal trials of boot camp, Colton is assigned to a patrol craft, designed primarily for anti-submarine warfare. Colton's ship first patrols American coastal waters looking for U-boats preying on merchant vessels, then is assigned to escort convoys traversing the North Atlantic. Operating in intensely adverse weather conditions, Colton's ship battles "wolf packs" of several U-boats attacking convoys. In one action, the patrol craft is rammed and sunk by a U-boat. Colton's closest shipmate is killed, and the surviving crew remain at sea in a lifeboat until rescued. A leg wound lands Colton in a hospital stateside and gains him an ensuing discharge from the Navy. The narrative is full of action but short on character development. If the idea of a 12-year-old enlisting in the Navy seems blatantly implausible, there is historical precedent. In an afterword, Watkins explains that his inspiration for the novel is the real-life experience of 12-year-old Calvin Graham, who enlisted in the Navy and served in the Pacific theater. A briskly paced, action-packed, surprisingly realistic war story. (Historical fiction. 10-14)

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