Purple Heart [NOOK Book]

NOOK Book (eBook)
$8.99
BN.com price

Available on NOOK devices and apps

  • Nook Devices
  • NOOK
  • NOOK Color
  • NOOK Tablet
  • Tablet/Phone
  • NOOK for iPad
  • NOOK for iPhone
  • NOOK for Android
  • NOOK for Android (Tablet)
  • NOOK Kids for iPad
  • PC/Mac
  • NOOK Study
  • NOOK for PC
  • NOOK for Mac

Need a NOOK? Explore Now

Overview

When Private Matt Duffy wakes up in an army hospital in Iraq, he's honored with a Purple Heart. But he doesn't feel like a hero.

There's a memory that haunts him: an image of a young Iraqi boy as a bullet hits his chest. Matt can't shake the feeling that he was somehow involved in his death. But because of a head injury he sustained just moments after the boy was shot, Matt can't quite put all the pieces together.

Eventually Matt is sent back into combat with his squad—Justin, Wolf, and Charlene—the soldiers who have become his family during his time in Iraq. He just wants to go back to being the soldier he once was. ...

See more details below

Overview

When Private Matt Duffy wakes up in an army hospital in Iraq, he's honored with a Purple Heart. But he doesn't feel like a hero.

There's a memory that haunts him: an image of a young Iraqi boy as a bullet hits his chest. Matt can't shake the feeling that he was somehow involved in his death. But because of a head injury he sustained just moments after the boy was shot, Matt can't quite put all the pieces together.

Eventually Matt is sent back into combat with his squad—Justin, Wolf, and Charlene—the soldiers who have become his family during his time in Iraq. He just wants to go back to being the soldier he once was. But he sees potential threats everywhere and lives in fear of not being able to pull the trigger when the time comes. In combat there is no black-and-white, and Matt soon discovers that the notion of who is guilty is very complicated indeed.

National Book Award Finalist Patricia McCormick has written a visceral and compelling portrait of life in a war zone, where loyalty is valued above all, and death is terrifyingly commonplace.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly
In this suspenseful psychological thriller, 18-year-old Matt Duffy, a private with memory problems following a traumatic brain injury, receives the Purple Heart in Iraq and gradually unravels the contradictory events that led to the honor. McCormick (Sold) sharply draws the culture of the Green Zone hospital, the camaraderie of the enlisted men and (via phone calls and letters) the gulf between life at home versus on the front. Friendship, bravado and juvenile antics counteract the soldiers' guilt, paranoia and unease around Iraqis (“ 'Enemy' was the official term. 'Insurgents' was okay, too. Everybody called them hajis, though”). Strong characters heighten the drama, especially likable Matt, but also the sympathetic hospital psychiatrist who balances complicated allegiances and legal obligations, and flinty Charlene, the sole female member of Matt's squad. As Matt remembers more and more, tension builds and he becomes confused about interpretations of the truth (and when to reveal them) within the chain of command. McCormick raises moral questions without judgment and will have readers examining not only this conflict but the nature of heroism and war. Ages 12–up. (Sept.)
From The Critics
Matt awakens dazed and confused in a hospital in Baghdad. He cannot recall what happened but he has a nagging feeling that it was not good. As he is treated for what proves to be Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) caused by an RPG attack, Matt experiences memory loss, motor planning issues, and word retrieval problems. Aside from these physical and cognitive concerns, Matt is also troubled by what might have happened in the firefight that he took part in. Over time Matt discovers that a child was killed in the fight that nearly killed him as well. When Matt returns to his unit and goes back on the dangerous streets he must patrol, he struggles to understand and remember just what happened. On a patrol Matt returns to the scene of the firefight and discovers the truth. Sadly, Matt's discovery is not what he hoped it would be and it comes on a day marked by even worse terror and loss. Purple Heart is a novel of the Iraq War. It tells the story of a handful of American soldiers serving in a place where nothing seems certain or clear cut. Through Matt's experiences the reader comes a little closer to understanding the plight of American soldiers and the Iraqi civilians they encounter in a war that has no clear boundaries. Purple Heart is a compelling book that features a gritty narrative, sometimes profane dialog, and character development that makes the young men and women in Matt's squad come to life in a touching way. Reviewer: Greg M. Romaneck

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780061948763
  • Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
  • Publication date: 9/1/2009
  • Sold by: HARPERCOLLINS
  • Format: eBook
  • Pages: 224
  • Sales rank: 59,313
  • Age range: 13 years
  • File size: 203 KB
  • Items ship to U.S, APO/FPO and U.S. Protectorate addresses.

Meet the Author

Patricia McCormick is a former journalist who has won much acclaim for her compassionate approach to hard-hitting subjects. To research Purple Heart, she traveled all around the country interviewing soldiers as well as the families of soldiers who went to Iraq and never returned.

Patricia is also the author of the National Book Award Finalist Sold and the bestseller Cut. She lives in New York City.

Customer Reviews
Average Rating 4.5
( 16 )

Rating Distribution

  • ( 10 )
  • ( 3 )
  • ( 2 )
  • ( 0 )
  • ( 1 )
If you've bought this product, tell the world how you liked it.
Write a Review
Sort by: Showing all of 16 Customer Reviews
  • Posted April 5, 2011

    For school

    The book, Purple Heart, captivates your attention not only on the plot but also the way in which it is told. Patricia McCormick not only focuses your reading on the many aspects of war but also, the drama that goes along with being in battle. I think the author could have added e a little bit more detail about the action and more detailed flashbacks to the alley where Matt was wounded and killed the little boy. Also McCormick could have focused more on the fact that Matt wanted to recover faster from his injury. I think that Patricia could have added another chapter at the end to extend on the story a little bit more. The author did a great job describing the relationship between Matt and the psychiatrist. She also could have gone into more detail about where the hospital was exactly in Sadam's palace. Over all my rating for this book would be an eight point seven.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  No   Report this review
  • Posted January 19, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    Book review for Purple Heart

    Purple Heart is a wonderful book that keeps you hooked the whole way through. Its based on the men and women who serve in Iraq. Many of the soldiers in Iraq were are yet teenagers when this war began. What they and the children of Iraq are experiencing is not a political issue-it is a human issue. Purple Heart is a visceral and affectiong portrait of their world. I highly recommend this book. Though Patricia McCormick does use some strong laungage at many times it show the realism that goes on every day in Iraq.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  No   Report this review
  • Posted May 27, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com

    Going to war wasn't a first choice for Matt Duffy, but it seemed like the most sensible. He hadn't done that great in school, so college for him didn't really make sense. On the other hand, his little sister was a good student, and joining the Army would provide the necessary funds to send her to college when the time came.

    Whatever his reason for joining up, Matt found himself in the middle of Iraq doing the patriotic thing for his country. Even though they warned the young soldiers during basic training, he was surprised by the heat, the noise, and the people. There were slow days with routine missions; welcome days after some of the scary attacks Matt had witnessed. Recently, they'd lost their squad leader, a fellow named Benson.

    Amazing that this fact is one of the few things Matt can remember as he wakes up and finds himself in a hospital, answering questions from a man in scrubs standing at the foot of his bed.

    When Matt begins to ask questions of his own, he learns that when he and his partner, Justin, followed an insurgent into a dead-end alley, there was an explosion and he suffered a TBI (traumatic brain injury). With the exception of a weakened right leg, everything else seems to be in working order. Doctors are prescribing rest and saying he'll be back with his unit in no time.

    With time to think, Matt is trying to remember just exactly what happened. As events of the attack begin to come back to him, he realizes he may have been responsible for something terrible. How can he bring back the memories - and does he really want to remember?

    Patricia McCormick shares the life of an American soldier in Iraq. YA novels dealing with the Iraq War are beginning to appear on bookstore shelves, and PURPLE HEART offers readers a chance to experience the war through the eyes of a young soldier trying to make sense of why he is fighting and whose lives he is effecting in this controversial war.

    McCormick reveals not only the point-of-view and mindset of American troops, but also a glimpse of the life of the regular Iraqi citizen trying to cope in a country at war. Teens thinking about military service, teens that have family and friends stationed in Iraq, or teens just curious about the distant place they hear about on the news will all benefit from and appreciate the service and story of Matt Duffy.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  No   Report this review
  • Posted January 21, 2012

    My 13 year old LOVES THIS

    My son who is in 7th grade and 13 LOVED this book. In fact, he is on his third time reading through the book.

    Heartwarming story and educational in the fact of a different perspective of war from a teenagers point of view.

    Great read!

    Was this review helpful? Yes  No   Report this review
  • Posted September 27, 2011

    DO NOT READ THIS BOOK!

    This book is one of the worst I have ever read in my life! I had to stop reading the book early, because of the bad language. If you want to keep your mind clean, do not read this book.

    0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  No   Report this review
  • Posted August 15, 2011

    Amazing

    I could not put it down. I brought it every were. Its a page turner thet you never want it to end.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  No   Report this review
  • Posted February 27, 2011

    understanding

    this book gives a clear understanding of what can happen to people in war. A great book.

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  No   Report this review
  • Posted January 19, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    Purple Heart... Vision of Iraqui Life

    This book was amazing because of the realism and truth. The story is a very good look into the real life situations that American soldiers are facing over in Iraq, Iran, and Afgan. It is a great read for any war fan or anyone considering joing the military. Great eye-opener.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  No   Report this review
  • Anonymous

    Posted September 29, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted November 22, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted May 25, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted July 4, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted February 21, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted November 4, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted December 28, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted May 4, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

Sort by: Showing all of 16 Customer Reviews

If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble
Why is this product inappropriate?
Comments (optional)
500 character limit