Scan barcode
A review by librariandest
All the Broken Pieces by Ann E. Burg
3.0
It only took me an hour to read this, but it was intense. Between all the death, dismemberment, guilt, racism, violence and fear, there's baseball, piano playing, family dinners and lullabies. But that's what you get from books about the Vietnam War. Ann Burg's story doesn't shy away from gruesome details, but she also shows that life goes on.
I wasn't blown away by the writing (like I was by, say, [b:Out of the Dust|25346|Out Of The Dust|Karen Hesse|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1184485196s/25346.jpg|808243]). But it didn't make me roll my eyes (like, say, [b:Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba|6151004|Tropical Secrets Holocaust Refugees in Cuba|Margarita Engle|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255700915s/6151004.jpg|6330166]). I think the story was so moving because it rang true. It is difficult for most of us to imagine life as a Vietnamese boy adopted by a suburban American family in 1977. A boy who witnessed terrible things before being airlifted to a totally different world, a world where people blame him for the deaths of their loved ones. He tells his story as if he's just barely able to get through it. It's harrowing.
What age is this best for? That's a little tough. Matt, the narrator and main character, is 12 or so. There's no mature language, but there are enough disturbing scenes from war-torn Vietnam to make me think twice about giving this to a 10 or 11 year old. And the fact that the writing can be a little difficult to sort out makes me think it'd be best for 8th grade and up. It definitely requires a reader who is relatively skilled and mature.
Mock Newbery 2010
I wasn't blown away by the writing (like I was by, say, [b:Out of the Dust|25346|Out Of The Dust|Karen Hesse|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1184485196s/25346.jpg|808243]). But it didn't make me roll my eyes (like, say, [b:Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba|6151004|Tropical Secrets Holocaust Refugees in Cuba|Margarita Engle|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255700915s/6151004.jpg|6330166]). I think the story was so moving because it rang true. It is difficult for most of us to imagine life as a Vietnamese boy adopted by a suburban American family in 1977. A boy who witnessed terrible things before being airlifted to a totally different world, a world where people blame him for the deaths of their loved ones. He tells his story as if he's just barely able to get through it. It's harrowing.
What age is this best for? That's a little tough. Matt, the narrator and main character, is 12 or so. There's no mature language, but there are enough disturbing scenes from war-torn Vietnam to make me think twice about giving this to a 10 or 11 year old. And the fact that the writing can be a little difficult to sort out makes me think it'd be best for 8th grade and up. It definitely requires a reader who is relatively skilled and mature.
Mock Newbery 2010