A review by evamadera1
Heroes: A Novel of Pearl Harbor by Alan Gratz

4.0

Thankfully, this Alan Gratz novel worked a lot better for me than the last one that I read, Two Degrees. This one still had to contend with the over-saturation of WWII related books which diminished my enjoyment of the reading experience just a little bit. Gratz still managed, though, to tell a compelling story that dealt with hard issues that some in this category may glass over. The main character lives on Pearl Harbor Naval Base along with his best friend who is half-Japanese. Both of their dads fly military plans in the Navy. (At this time, the Air Force did not exist as a separate branch of the military.) He wishes that he weren't so afraid of everything, likely a trauma response to an incident that occurred at a previous base. When faced with the attack on Pearl Harbor, the events of which take up the majority of the narrative, the main character must confront his often immobilizing fear to survive and to help those around him, to become a "hero." He also sees - and is disgusted by - the immediate distrust of his mixed race friend and his Japanese mother and starts to learn how to be an ally rather than fall into the "white savior" trap. Overall though, Gratz did a really good job with this narrative.