Heroes: A Novel of Pearl Harbor
| Modern Age |
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 Heroes: A Novel of Pearl Harbor
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| Content Warning |
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| extreme peril, descriptions of dead bodies |
American History > Modern Age > WWII
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Refugee, Ground Zero, and Two Degrees comes this heart-pounding, inventive, and powerful new novel about the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor... as only Alan Gratz can tell it!
December 6, 1941: Best friends Frank and Stanley have it good. With their dads stationed at the Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii, the boys get to soak up the sunshine while writing and drawing their own comic books. World War II might be raging overseas, but so far America has stayed out of the fight. There's nothing to fear, right?
December 7th, 1941: Everything implodes.
Frank and Stanley are touring a battleship when Japanese planes zoom overhead, dropping bomb after bomb. As explosions roar and sailors screa, Frank and Stanley realize the unthinkable is happening: Japan is attacking America! The war has come to them.
Frantically, the boys struggle to find safety. But disaster and danger are everywhere--from torpedoes underwater to bullets on the beach... to the shocking cruelty that their friends and neightbors show Stanely. Because his mom is Japanese-American, Stanely is suddenly seen as the "enemy." And Frank, who is white, cannot begin to understand what his friend is now facing.
If the boys make it through this infamous day, can their friendship--and their dreams--survive? Or has everything they know been destroyed?
Told with the immediacy, high-stakes action, and inventive storytelling that make Alan Gratz (Refugee,Ground Zero) one of today's biggest authors, this riveting look at the attack on Pearl Harbor explores themes of prejudice, power, and what it truly means to be a hero.
Plus: The book ends with an all-original, 10-page black & white comic that brings to life the comic book idea that Frank and Stanley brainstorm in the novel. The comic is written by Alan Gratz and illustrated by Judit Tondora.
Emily's Reivew
What I love about Alan Gratz's books is that they pull you in on page one and don't let go the rest of the book. He really puts you right in the middle of the action.
We meet Frank and Stanley, best friends who live at Pearl Harbor. They love comics and are working on writing their own. But while Frank loves the idea of superheroes like Captain America, he's terrified of everything and freezes up whenever danger arises. The morning of December 7th, they are visiting one of the battleships with a family friend when the Japanese attack. Will Frank be able to make it to safety or will he freeze and get himself and everyone around him killed?
This story is non-stop. I thought he did a great job of putting you in the middle of everything. I also appreciated the sub-plot about Stanley being a Japanese American character and what that would have looked like. I also really enjoyed how he wove superheroes and comics into the story, even including a comic written by Frank and Stanley at the end!
I think this book is an excellent introduction to the topic and would be even better paired with something like History Smashers: Pearl Harbor.
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