The young library: Hero is just a world

Author Walter Dean Myers dares to take on tough issues. At 70 years old with 85 books to his credit, he could rest on his considerable laurels. Instead, he's writing gripping stories about young-adult concerns. For the second time, he's focused on war and the notion that being in the military is heroic or romantic.

Twenty years ago, Myers wrote "Fallen Angels," a riveting novel about four young men from Harlem fighting in the steaming jungles of Vietnam. The novel, often challenged and even banned, was named one of the top 10 books of all time by the American Library Association.

Now, in "Sunrise Over Fallujah," Myers takes on the war in Iraq. This time the troops include women. It's the first novel for young adults about the current conflict. The novel is an in-your-face portrait of what life is like for grunt soldiers, a life Myers knows personally. He enlisted in the Army at 17. His brother died fighting in Vietnam. His son was stationed in Qatar during the first Gulf War, and his grandson served in Iraq recently.

To research "Fallujah," Myers interviewed veterans, read soldier and Iraqi blogs, and mined the Internet. That work enriches scenes like the two-day sandstorm and what it took to clean out the grit.

For "Fallujah," Myers portrays young soldiers who are streetwise and politically naive. He links the new story to the Vietnam War novel by making his 18-year-old narrator, Robin Perry, the nephew of Richie Perry from "Fallen Angels." Robin e-mails him regularly but with little substance about the horrors he's experienced. The time is March 2003, just as "shock and awe" begins.

Before the invasion, Pvt. Robin, dubbed "Birdy" by Cpl. Marla Kennedy in his Humvee unit, and his buddy Cpl. Charlie Jones, a.k.a. Jonesy, banter in their barracks in Kuwait about their military training and the war. Their clarity about why they enlisted ebbs as they learn about their mission in Iraq.

Their staccato conversations ring true with quips and teasing – all in street jargon. They are clear about their frustrations, like who's their target and what they might be dying for. They can't tell a Sunni from a Shiite; Iraqi soldiers often slip out of uniform to look like civilians; and coalition forces wear unfamiliar uniforms.

"We're over here talking about an enemy we can't identify and friends we're not sure about," one soldier complains.

The soldiers with Birdy don't expect to see much action. They are in the Civil Affairs unit and travel in a convoy behind the fighting units. They're assigned to "win the hearts and minds" of the locals. As one soldier puts it, their assignment is to "go out and kill the Iraqis and blow up their stuff. Then we help them find their arms or legs … and patch them back together. Then we all sit in a circle and sing campfire songs?"

Myers' black humor softens the story's hard edges. Readers come to know the men and women in Birdy's unit, their hopes and dreams for when they return, which not all do. In the end, Birdy finally understands why Uncle Richie never wanted to talk about his war experiences. Birdy doesn't want to talk, either.

Myers proves again he's a master storyteller. His realistic portrait of soldiers at war will capture young readers, especially those who are intent on joining the military. More than feed their curiosity about what soldiering is really like, they will get a chance to rethink the word "hero" and how war affects lives on both sides.

Readers will appreciate the eight-page glossary for terms like Al Jazeera – the Arabic news service, and acronyms, like FOB – Forward Operations Base.

An extensive reading group guide for "Sunrise Over Fallujah" and "Fallen Angels" is at www.scholastic.com; put the title in the search box.

Knowing your roots

Uri Shulevitz gives young readers quite a geography lesson with a story from his young life. In "How I Learned Geography," Shulevitz tells a simple version of how he and his parents run from war and wind up in a desert town in the Far East. They live in a small, drab room with another couple, and there is little to eat.

One day his father returns from the market with a map of the world instead of the bread the family needs. Shulevitz goes to bed hungry and angry. But he soon discovers that the map fills him in a way bread never could. He stares at it and travels the world in his imagination. He lands in deserts, runs on beaches, climbs snowy mountains and sees wondrous temples.

In an author's note, Shulevitz adds dates and places to his journey, but the essence of his tale lies in the power of imagination. His colorful illustrations are in pen and ink with watercolors.

About the writer:

• Judy Green can be reached at jgreen@sacbee.com.