Hobbs

World at War:
Stories about Young People and War

Sixteen-year-old Jimmy Staples and his older brother, Frank, have always been close—after moving to Florida as boys, both became surfers and spent hours together enjoying the ocean and escaping their angry, drunk father, who took his rage out on his sons, but especially on Frank.

Jimmy is unhappy when Frank decides to enlist in the Army and go to Vietnam, but he understands his brother’s need to escape their overbearing, abusive father and their weak mother. He welcomes letters from Frank, and looks forward to the contact.

But soon the letters home reveal a darker side of the Vietnam War, and Frank reveals that he’s turning to drugs to escape the horror and senselessness of the war.

He keeps this information from his parents, but shares it with a girl he meets at the beach, and she soon becomes his closest confidant and a source of strength as he faces Frank’s growing problem and the threat he—and the war—pose.

This thoughtful, simply told book offers yet another glimpse into the Vietnam War and its impact on the people who did not go, but instead were left to deal with its effects. Readers who enjoyed Sonny’s War by Valerie Hobbs will appreciate Crist-Evan’s thoughtful portrayal of a close relationship between brothers.

It’s 1973, and Kristen’s world is a confusing mix of war, puberty, and family trouble. In her diary, she records some of the difficulties she is facing.

The one she doesn’t write much about, however, is the most roubling: her family is changing, and not for the better, following her brother, David’s return from the Vietnam War. Badly injured in the war, David lives upstairs, behind closed doors, out of sight of his family, suffering from physical and mental trauma. David’s illness is the main stressor in the lives of Kristen’s parents, whose marriage seems to be crumbling under the strain.

What Kristen does write about, however, are the other stresses in her life: her changing body, her other brother’s growing (and not unfortunate) involvement with the Unitarian Church, and perhaps more disturbingly for Kristen, her former best friend, who happens to be a boy, is trying to be more than just friends…

Kristen’s voice is funny and irreverent, and her diary will appeal to readers of other diary fiction, including The Princess Diaries and Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging, as well as more serious diary fiction, like Perks of Being a Wallflower. The details about the Vietnam era—both political and especially, pop culture, are entertaining and really show what the U.S. was like for teenagers at that time. Highly recommended—a sweet story.

Cory’s life is shaken the year she turns 15 when her father dies suddenly and her adored older brother, Sonny, enlists in the Army and goes to serve in Vietnam.

Left behind with her mother, Cory helps her start up the café she used to run with Cory’s father, to limited success. Cory’s mother is fragile and recovering slowly from her widowhood, and newly worried about Sonny’s safety overseas. She waits anxiously for letters from him.

Cory is impacted by a new teacher at her school, the hippie-ish Lawrence, who raised concerns with the school board for his untraditional teaching methods and his outspoken opposition to the war. His lunchtime protests attract larger and larger crowds, and Cory develops a huge crush on him. Her idealistic view of him is shattered, however, when she sees him commit an uncharacteristic act of opposition at a weekend protest.

Although the Vietnam War ended 20 years before most of today’s teens were alive, this story will have special relevance to any readers concerned about the U.S. activity in Iraq and the effects of that war on the soldiers fighting it, their families, and people protesting it.