Grenade by Alan Gratz

How I Heard About It:  Alan Gratz has written some of my favorite middle-grade novels.  One of my class' favorite read aloud from this past school year was Refugee.  His newest novel, Grenade, will be released in October of 2018.  I received an ARC from my #bookexpedition Twitter group.  

What It Is About:  Alan Gratz takes the reader on another incredible historical fiction journey.  Within this story, he takes us to the island of Okinawa.  The first character we meet is Hideki.  He is a student during WW11.  When the fighting begins on his island, he and the other young boys, are drafted into what is known as Blood and Iron Student Corps.  These new young soldiers are going to fight for the Japanese army.  They are given a grenade and sent on their way.  Hideki is afraid to be on his own for the first time and separated from his family members.  Our second character is Ray.  He is an American soldier from the farm lands of Nebraska.  He has never seen war, but has experienced the aftermath of it through his father.  Ray and the other Marines land on Okinawa and are faced with situations they never could have imagined.  As the story progresses, Hideki and Ray each make their way across the lands of the island, make incredibly difficult decisions, and eventually come face to face.  

What I Thought Of It:  I absolutely LOVED this book.  I read it in one day which would be what Donalyn Miller calls #bookaday.  To be honest, I didn't know much about the war on the island of Okinawa.  Gratz did a tremendous job of telling an interesting and intriguing story while giving pertinent information about the "situation" in this part of the world.  I immediately felt drawn to both Hideki and Ray.  They journey to each other was suspenseful, mysterious, and powerful.  What I appreciate about Alan Gratz and his writing is he doesn't sugar coat the story.  He is able to present a difficult topic with being sensitive to the intended audience.  This novel was a complete page-turner, had plenty of surprises, and broke my heart on more than one occasion.  

Who Should Read It:  As I mentioned earlier, last year I used Refugee during our historical fiction unit.  While I was reading this new story, I kept thinking how I could use the book during that same unit with my new group of fourth graders.  Some might think it is a stretch to use with fourth graders, but mine handled it just fine.  Overall, fifth and sixth grade readers would be perfect for the book.  Of course it should also be used with middle-school readers along with high-school readers.  Happy reading!  

Rating:  5 STARS out of 5 Stars!