Sheryl O. (Everett-Reader) reviewed on + 216 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Excellent chapter book for young readers. The recommended age is 12+, but my kids enjoyed this series of books a bit younger then that - mroe like 10 and up. This one is the tale of a young soldier on Omaha beach.
ANNOTATION
A seventeen-year-old soldier from central Virginia records his experiences in a journal as his regiment takes part in the D-Day invasion of Normandy and subsequent battles to liberate France.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Each harrowing day of battle in France convinces seventeen-year-old Scott Pendleton Collins that he may not survive. In desperation, he records his thoughts, fears, and hopes in a journal he has carried since his first days as a soldier in Basic Training at Fort Dix.
FROM THE CRITICS
School Library Journal
Gr 7-10-When Private Scott Collins's journal begins, he is preparing, along with thousands of other young men, for D-Day, less than five weeks away. When it ends, Scott, now 18, is again waiting to cross the English Channel; he has been wounded in France and has been promoted to sergeant-not simply because he is a good soldier, but also because he has proven to be a "survivor," when so many others have been killed. Readers observe Scott lose both his belief that the Allied invasion will end the war quickly and his innocence-he has seen hundreds die, some by his own hand. While no more graphic than the subject demands, this brief novel presents an accurate depiction of the horror of battle. The narrative voice is engaging and believable, with only a few lapses that sound like explanations provided for today's readers. Scott emerges as a likable and realistic character, one who grows from youth to manhood in a matter of weeks. Young teens who appreciated Saving Private Ryan and The Thin Red Line ought to be moved and drawn to the Journal as well. A short epilogue gives thumbnail sketches of the major players' lives after wartime, and a photographic gallery helps set and expand the historical situation.-Coop Renner, Coldwell Elementary-Intermediate School, El Paso, TX Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
In the My Name Is America series, Myers (Monster, p. 725, etc.) writes of Scott Collins, who, on June 6, 1944, has no idea what awaits him on Omaha Beach. Within minutes after hitting the beach, Collins changes from a naive high school graduate who'd like to marry Ann Miller to a bewildered young man facing the strong probability that he won't live to see his 18th birthday. Scott's daily struggle and courage contrast with his memories of home; an affecting touch is the inclusion of Scott's thoroughly ordinary life after he returns to his small Virginia town. Although the diary and Collins are fictional, Myers conceals his inventions with utterly convincing writing; this volume would work well as a companion to Cynthia Rylant's I Had Seen Castles (1993). (Fiction. 12+)
ANNOTATION
A seventeen-year-old soldier from central Virginia records his experiences in a journal as his regiment takes part in the D-Day invasion of Normandy and subsequent battles to liberate France.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Each harrowing day of battle in France convinces seventeen-year-old Scott Pendleton Collins that he may not survive. In desperation, he records his thoughts, fears, and hopes in a journal he has carried since his first days as a soldier in Basic Training at Fort Dix.
FROM THE CRITICS
School Library Journal
Gr 7-10-When Private Scott Collins's journal begins, he is preparing, along with thousands of other young men, for D-Day, less than five weeks away. When it ends, Scott, now 18, is again waiting to cross the English Channel; he has been wounded in France and has been promoted to sergeant-not simply because he is a good soldier, but also because he has proven to be a "survivor," when so many others have been killed. Readers observe Scott lose both his belief that the Allied invasion will end the war quickly and his innocence-he has seen hundreds die, some by his own hand. While no more graphic than the subject demands, this brief novel presents an accurate depiction of the horror of battle. The narrative voice is engaging and believable, with only a few lapses that sound like explanations provided for today's readers. Scott emerges as a likable and realistic character, one who grows from youth to manhood in a matter of weeks. Young teens who appreciated Saving Private Ryan and The Thin Red Line ought to be moved and drawn to the Journal as well. A short epilogue gives thumbnail sketches of the major players' lives after wartime, and a photographic gallery helps set and expand the historical situation.-Coop Renner, Coldwell Elementary-Intermediate School, El Paso, TX Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
In the My Name Is America series, Myers (Monster, p. 725, etc.) writes of Scott Collins, who, on June 6, 1944, has no idea what awaits him on Omaha Beach. Within minutes after hitting the beach, Collins changes from a naive high school graduate who'd like to marry Ann Miller to a bewildered young man facing the strong probability that he won't live to see his 18th birthday. Scott's daily struggle and courage contrast with his memories of home; an affecting touch is the inclusion of Scott's thoroughly ordinary life after he returns to his small Virginia town. Although the diary and Collins are fictional, Myers conceals his inventions with utterly convincing writing; this volume would work well as a companion to Cynthia Rylant's I Had Seen Castles (1993). (Fiction. 12+)
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