Sunrise over Fallujah

by Walter Dean Myers

Overview

Robin "Birdy" Perry, a new army recruit from Harlem, isn't quite sure why he joined the army, but he's sure where he's headed: Iraq. Birdy and the others in the Civilian Affairs Battalion are supposed to help secure and stabilize the country and successfully interact with the Iraqi people. Officially, the code name for their maneuvers is Operation Iraqi Freedom. But the young men and women in the CA unit have a simpler name for it:WAR

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545232029
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	02/01/2010
Sold by:	Scholastic, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	765,889
Lexile:	780L (what's this?)
File size:	387 KB
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

The late Walter Dean Myers was the 2012-2013 National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. He was the critically acclaimed New York Times bestselling author of an award-winning body of work which includes Somewhere in the Darkness, Slam!, and Monster. Mr. Myers has received two Newbery Honor medals, five Coretta Scott King Author Book Awards, and three National Book Award Finalist citations. In addition, he was the winner of the first Michael L. Printz Award.

Editorial Reviews

Birdy and his fellow soldiers find themselves in a perplexing hall of mirrors, and we as readers are embedded with them…This is an astonishing book.
—The New York Times

Leonard S. Marcus

In 2003, in the early days of Operation Iraqi Freedom, young Robin Perry already wonders about "an enemy we can't identify and friends we're not sure about." Myers dedicates this novel to the men and women who serve in the United States Armed Services and to their families, and he offers a powerful study of the strange war they have been sent to fight, where confusion and randomness rule. Why are they fighting? Whom are they fighting? When will they be hit next? Narrated by Robin, nephew of Richie Perry, the main character of the landmark Fallen Angels (1988), this companion expertly evokes the beauty of Iraq and the ugliness of war. Given the paucity of works on this war, this is an important volume, covering much ground and offering much insight. Robin's eventual understanding that his experience was not about winning or losing the war but about "reaching for the highest idea of life" makes this a worthy successor to Myers's Coretta Scott King Award-winning classic. (map, glossary) (Fiction. 12+)

Kirkus Reviews

A young man on a quest for patriotism and honor reevaluates his life and his mission as the reality of war tests his idealism. As is the case in the real-life Operation Iraqi Freedom, the soldiers, both male and female, who come together to serve are from many parts of the United States, and JD Jackson does an especially good job characterizing each one. The story is told mostly through emails and letters home, as well as through dialogue, and Jackson performs each accent to provide the listener with instant recognition of who is speaking. Jackson's portrayal is haunting and memorable. Young adults, and adults as well, will appreciate the honest face of war conveyed by both author and narrator. D.L.M. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

NOVEMBER 2008 - AudioFile