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kelseyjobrien 's review for:
Fallen Angels
by Walter Dean Myers
*4.5 stars
"Lord, let us feel pity for Private Jenkins, and sorrow for ourselves, and all the angel warriors that fall. Let us fear death, but let it not live within us. Protect us, O Lord, and be merciful unto us. Amen."
In the morning, in the mess tent, I asked Lieutenant Carroll why he had called Jenkins an angel warrior.
"My father used to call all soldiers angel warriors," he said. "Because usually they get boys to fight wars. Most of you aren't old enough to vote yet."
"How old are you?"
"Twenty-three," he said.
"How come you aren't retired?"
I love this book. Absolutely love this book. I usually don't read YA books, but this one doesn't read as YA. Not really. The story is told from Richard Perry's point of view. He has just graduated high school and entered the Vietnam war, because he didn't know what else to do with his life. The story follows his squad, which consists of Peewee, his best friend, Monaco, Brew, Brunner, Lobel, Jenkins, Johnson, and Walowick, all from different backgrounds of life, all brought together during the war. The characters are written so in depth that you become really attached to them, and it almost breaks your heart when somebody gets injured, or worse. The guys feel like your own friends, and the sense of camaraderie they have between them is something that's actually quite beautiful.
The character of Peewee is absolutely hilarious, and I found myself literally laughing out loud at some of his dialogue. Perry is also pretty funny too. What I think I liked most about this book was that you get a chance to see that. There's action, sure, but half of the book consists of the guys in their hooch talking, making jokes, almost falling in love a little bit (though not romantically, more brotherly) and sitting around waiting for something to do, and I think it really captures what war is all about. There are days of action where people get killed and you kill people, but it doesn't happen every single day.
Another thing I also really liked about this book was the fact that, the things that haunted the characters also haunt you. You can feel what they feel, and understand how war messes with their minds. The descriptions of everything are great.
My one complaint about this book was that the ending felt a bit rushed. It stands at 320 pages, which may be a little too much for a YA book, but up until the end it was so well written that I think it could have stood to have a couple of more pages. For instance, *spoiler* we don't really find out what Peewee's wound is, and we don't learn exactly what happened to Perry's leg. They're in the hospital getting treated, and all of a sudden, they're on their way home. I also thought the last fight was a little rushed too. The squad just gets ambushed, and we don't really find out what happens to the other characters in the squad either, besides Monaco, and the fact that he said everyone was alright. That's my only complaint. And it's a shame because the book is so good and the ending just lost it a little bit.
Other than that, this book is an amazing insight into the psychology of war and what it does to the young men who fight in it, how they become friends, almost brothers and somewhat lovers, really, and how the act of war haunts soldiers, no matter if they kill anyone or not. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes historical fiction.
"Lord, let us feel pity for Private Jenkins, and sorrow for ourselves, and all the angel warriors that fall. Let us fear death, but let it not live within us. Protect us, O Lord, and be merciful unto us. Amen."
In the morning, in the mess tent, I asked Lieutenant Carroll why he had called Jenkins an angel warrior.
"My father used to call all soldiers angel warriors," he said. "Because usually they get boys to fight wars. Most of you aren't old enough to vote yet."
"How old are you?"
"Twenty-three," he said.
"How come you aren't retired?"
I love this book. Absolutely love this book. I usually don't read YA books, but this one doesn't read as YA. Not really. The story is told from Richard Perry's point of view. He has just graduated high school and entered the Vietnam war, because he didn't know what else to do with his life. The story follows his squad, which consists of Peewee, his best friend, Monaco, Brew, Brunner, Lobel, Jenkins, Johnson, and Walowick, all from different backgrounds of life, all brought together during the war. The characters are written so in depth that you become really attached to them, and it almost breaks your heart when somebody gets injured, or worse. The guys feel like your own friends, and the sense of camaraderie they have between them is something that's actually quite beautiful.
The character of Peewee is absolutely hilarious, and I found myself literally laughing out loud at some of his dialogue. Perry is also pretty funny too. What I think I liked most about this book was that you get a chance to see that. There's action, sure, but half of the book consists of the guys in their hooch talking, making jokes, almost falling in love a little bit (though not romantically, more brotherly) and sitting around waiting for something to do, and I think it really captures what war is all about. There are days of action where people get killed and you kill people, but it doesn't happen every single day.
Another thing I also really liked about this book was the fact that, the things that haunted the characters also haunt you. You can feel what they feel, and understand how war messes with their minds. The descriptions of everything are great.
My one complaint about this book was that the ending felt a bit rushed. It stands at 320 pages, which may be a little too much for a YA book, but up until the end it was so well written that I think it could have stood to have a couple of more pages. For instance, *spoiler* we don't really find out what Peewee's wound is, and we don't learn exactly what happened to Perry's leg. They're in the hospital getting treated, and all of a sudden, they're on their way home. I also thought the last fight was a little rushed too. The squad just gets ambushed, and we don't really find out what happens to the other characters in the squad either, besides Monaco, and the fact that he said everyone was alright. That's my only complaint. And it's a shame because the book is so good and the ending just lost it a little bit.
Other than that, this book is an amazing insight into the psychology of war and what it does to the young men who fight in it, how they become friends, almost brothers and somewhat lovers, really, and how the act of war haunts soldiers, no matter if they kill anyone or not. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes historical fiction.