rhganci 's review for:

Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers

4.0

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It’s a very emotional story about the Vietnam war. I spent most of the last 100 pages hoping earnestly that Peewee wouldn’t die, then, after I was finished, spent time wondering how (and maybe even why) he didn’t. The images and the emotions of what combat in Vietnam (and, most likely, in Iraq) must be like are the reason to read this book, to teach it, and to recommend it to others. The hint at what flashbacks must be like for those who have seen human atrocity was chilling: Monaco, rolling out of bed and shooting at the open door of the hooch was a ghostly scene, and it made me think back to Mr. Kremin and the small amount of information he shared with us about his experiences in Vietnam. Perry’s narrative and viewpoint were just the right way to tell the story based on what genre of war novel it was, and I really appreciated his thoughts on things. The book made me sad, but happy for Perry as it were, because he got to go home. I was really left wondering if a whole other war was just starting for him on his way back to “the World.”