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World War II #2
Dead in the Water
Brothers in Arms
Hank and Theo are brothers who share everything: sense of duty, a love of baseball, and a healthy fear of their fierce little sister, Suzie. They have been inseparable for their entire lives. But when America is drawn into World War II, the young brothers find themselves fighting the same war on opposite sides of the globe.
As an airedale in the navy, hank now lives aboard an aircraft carrier, the USS [i]Yorktown[/i]. His job is to assist the pilots who soar off each day to engage Japanese forces in the Pacific Ocean. It is a crucial and terrifying duty in the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
As the days at sea be3come weeks and months, hank adapts to life apart from his family. He adapts to the fear of torpedoes and dive-bombers. But in an era of prejudice and segregation, it's Hank's choice of friends that might prove the most dangerous of all.
Hank and Theo are brothers who share everything: sense of duty, a love of baseball, and a healthy fear of their fierce little sister, Suzie. They have been inseparable for their entire lives. But when America is drawn into World War II, the young brothers find themselves fighting the same war on opposite sides of the globe.
As an airedale in the navy, hank now lives aboard an aircraft carrier, the USS [i]Yorktown[/i]. His job is to assist the pilots who soar off each day to engage Japanese forces in the Pacific Ocean. It is a crucial and terrifying duty in the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
As the days at sea be3come weeks and months, hank adapts to life apart from his family. He adapts to the fear of torpedoes and dive-bombers. But in an era of prejudice and segregation, it's Hank's choice of friends that might prove the most dangerous of all.
188 pages, Hardcover
First published September 30, 2014
46 people are currently reading
278 people want to read
About the author
Chris Lynch
61 books160 followersChris Lynch is the Printz Honor Award-winning author of several highly acclaimed young adult novels, including KILL SWITCH, ANGRY YOUNG MAN, and INEXCUSABLE, which was a National Book Award finalist and the recipient of six starred reviews. He is also the author of FREEWILL, GOLD DUST, ICEMAN, GYPSY DAVY, and SHADOWBOXER, all ALA Best Books for Young Adults; EXTREME ELVIN WHITECHURCH, and ALL THE OLD HAUNTS.
He holds an M.A. from the writing program at Emerson College. He mentors aspiring writers and continues to work on new literary projects. He lives in Boston and in Scotland.
He holds an M.A. from the writing program at Emerson College. He mentors aspiring writers and continues to work on new literary projects. He lives in Boston and in Scotland.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
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October 7, 2019good book
December 7, 2017
#3 The book World War II: Dead in the Water by Chris Lynch, is a very good book and very similar to the first book. Basically this young man named Hank, and his little brother (he loves to play baseball with) named Theo decide to join the war and fight. So Hank decides to join the navy and Theo decides to join the airforce. They split up and go on other sides of the world. I think that this book was a bit of a disappointment and I was expecting more out of it. This book was pretty much a cheap knock off of the first book. It had the same plot, and the part about sports was exactly the same. It was less interesting because I had already learned the basics of the book. I thought that it was cool to learn more about ships and planes though. I think that it had so much more potential. I wasn’t completely in love with the first one. So I thought it was just the first time he had written and he lacked, but no. A connection I can make with the book was this year I started tackle football. I had played flag before, for quite a few years before, and I was pretty good at it. So I didn’t become the star player on my team that everyone had anticipated. I was anticipating that this book was going to be good and I was and still am disappointed. I think a theme for this book is that most, I would even say all, of these soldiers sacrificed a lot. These two brothers left playing pro ball, a supportive family, and all the comforts of home to fight in miserable war. I enjoyed learning the history of the war, but I feel like the author didn’t captivate it as well as he could.
Want to read
October 11, 2021It was a lot about history which I like the most. It got really in detail what was happening in the book. I reamend that you guys read this book if you guys like history
May 13, 2015
Hank and Theo McCallum are about as close as brothers can be, so when it looks like war is inevitable, their plan is to enlist in the navy together. That way, they can look out for each other. Except their father isn't having any of that - his thinking is that it would only take one torpedo to kill both his sons. Before they even leave the house to enlist, it Hank for the navy, Theo for….the Army Air Corps.
A few weeks later, Hank and Theo are off to the Navy and Army, and it isn't long after boot camp that Hank finds himself on the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown, heading to the Pacific Ocean after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. On board the Yorktown, Hank is an airedale, which means his duties are plane-handling on the flight deck, doing everything except flying the aircraft he takes care of. But Hank also has a reputation for always wanting to throw a little ball. Before the Navy, Hank and Theo were all about baseball, and when they left for the war, Theo gave his well-used glove to Hank. Now, with two gloves and a ball, Hank was always looking for someone to throw with during down time.
Once in the Pacific, the Yorktown doesn't see any real action until after a visit to Pearl Harbor. Seeing the aftermath of the attack there, however, finally makes the war real for Hank, but he has absolute faith that the US will win. Meantime, he meets a throwing partner, who actually has a few baseball tricks he can teach Hank, who is pretty good himself. Mess Attendant First Class Bradford had played in the Negro Leagues before the war, but now he is generally stuck below deck, serving the pilots, sleeping far down in the ship, even below the torpedoes, because of the Navy's policy of racial segregation.
Hank and Bradford soon become friends and throwing buddies, often joined by two of the pilots whose planes Hank services whenever they fly missions. At first, the Yorktown and its partner ship the Lexington still don't see much action, but a bad attack on the ships causes the Lexington to sink and the Yorktown to have to limp back to Pearl Harbor for repairs.
With time on their hands, Hank, Bradford and their two pilot friends decide to head to Waikiki Beach, even though Bradford isn't allowed to be there because he is African American. When two policemen try to get them to leave, they refuse and they prevail.
Soon the Yorktown is really to sail again, headed for Midway Island and a life and death battle with the Japanese. Once again, the Yorktown is hit, and sinks. Can Hank survive a sinking ship?
Dead in the Water is narrated by Hank and although he and Theo are close, we don't really ever know how Theo is doing. This is Hank's story (Theo is book 3). Lynch always manages to make his narrators so believable and so historically real sounding, and Hank is no different. He has a real 1940s way of speaking. My only complaint is that there is too much baseball involved. On the other hand, Lynch doesn't overdo it on the military stuff, including combat details. There's just enough description and not too, too detailed on that front.
At first, I was afraid that taking on the racism that black sailors faced in the Navy (in fact, in all the Armed Forces in WWII), might be a bit over the top in a book like this, but it really works and he manages to make his points quite nicely, the beach incident is packed with tension. I did find it a little surprising that Hank, baseball obsessed as he is, never heard of the Negro Leagues, and the Newark Eagles, for which Bradford played.
Dead in the Water is the third Chris Lynch book I've read, and I have to be honest and say they have all been very good. The story flows nicely, they are historically correct, and most important to me, Lynch doesn't glorify war.
And, of course, now I am curious to know what happened to Hank and his friends.
This book is recommended for readers age 11+
This book was an EARC received from NetGalley
This review was originally posted on The Children's War
A few weeks later, Hank and Theo are off to the Navy and Army, and it isn't long after boot camp that Hank finds himself on the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown, heading to the Pacific Ocean after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. On board the Yorktown, Hank is an airedale, which means his duties are plane-handling on the flight deck, doing everything except flying the aircraft he takes care of. But Hank also has a reputation for always wanting to throw a little ball. Before the Navy, Hank and Theo were all about baseball, and when they left for the war, Theo gave his well-used glove to Hank. Now, with two gloves and a ball, Hank was always looking for someone to throw with during down time.
Once in the Pacific, the Yorktown doesn't see any real action until after a visit to Pearl Harbor. Seeing the aftermath of the attack there, however, finally makes the war real for Hank, but he has absolute faith that the US will win. Meantime, he meets a throwing partner, who actually has a few baseball tricks he can teach Hank, who is pretty good himself. Mess Attendant First Class Bradford had played in the Negro Leagues before the war, but now he is generally stuck below deck, serving the pilots, sleeping far down in the ship, even below the torpedoes, because of the Navy's policy of racial segregation.
Hank and Bradford soon become friends and throwing buddies, often joined by two of the pilots whose planes Hank services whenever they fly missions. At first, the Yorktown and its partner ship the Lexington still don't see much action, but a bad attack on the ships causes the Lexington to sink and the Yorktown to have to limp back to Pearl Harbor for repairs.
With time on their hands, Hank, Bradford and their two pilot friends decide to head to Waikiki Beach, even though Bradford isn't allowed to be there because he is African American. When two policemen try to get them to leave, they refuse and they prevail.
Soon the Yorktown is really to sail again, headed for Midway Island and a life and death battle with the Japanese. Once again, the Yorktown is hit, and sinks. Can Hank survive a sinking ship?
Dead in the Water is narrated by Hank and although he and Theo are close, we don't really ever know how Theo is doing. This is Hank's story (Theo is book 3). Lynch always manages to make his narrators so believable and so historically real sounding, and Hank is no different. He has a real 1940s way of speaking. My only complaint is that there is too much baseball involved. On the other hand, Lynch doesn't overdo it on the military stuff, including combat details. There's just enough description and not too, too detailed on that front.
At first, I was afraid that taking on the racism that black sailors faced in the Navy (in fact, in all the Armed Forces in WWII), might be a bit over the top in a book like this, but it really works and he manages to make his points quite nicely, the beach incident is packed with tension. I did find it a little surprising that Hank, baseball obsessed as he is, never heard of the Negro Leagues, and the Newark Eagles, for which Bradford played.
Dead in the Water is the third Chris Lynch book I've read, and I have to be honest and say they have all been very good. The story flows nicely, they are historically correct, and most important to me, Lynch doesn't glorify war.
And, of course, now I am curious to know what happened to Hank and his friends.
This book is recommended for readers age 11+
This book was an EARC received from NetGalley
This review was originally posted on The Children's War
October 28, 2014
hank and his brother Theo voulenteered to be in the war. they also both love baseball and play everyday. hank is an airdale on a ship called the yorktown. hank made alot of friends like . hank and play baseball everyday on the ship with other people. the war finially started and the japaneese were dropping bombs on them. one of the bombs smashed through six layers on the ship. they were shooting at the japaneese and the japaneese were shooting back at them. it is complete chaos until the war was over.
March 17, 2025
The book I read, “World War 2, Dead In The Water”, by Chris Lynch is an interesting war book. I found it very entertaining because of the events that occur in the book. The book talks about and shows the experience of a young soldier going through war. Chris Lynch shows the readers the fear and moral complexties of war. It also shows the readers the harsh realities of going to war.
I thought this book was pretty decent. It seemed interesting to me because it was about war and World War 2 which are topics that interest me. I like how Lynch wrote the battle scenes “Sirens blare all over the ship, guys are jumping up and bumping into each other, and gearing up and running off” (113 Lynch). It seems really realistic and it kind of makes the readers be able to picture what he is describing in the book in our heads. For me, Hank is my favorite character because of what his job is. He works on an aircraft carrier and helps planes takeoff and land while having to worry about kamikazes and torpedoes. The book was kind of addicting and made me want to keep turning and reading the pages about halfway through the book. I had the feeling because you never knew what was gonna happen next.
I don't really have anything that I disliked about the book that much. It was pretty good all in all. I kind of wish it was a longer book because of how interesting it was. I wish it would include more scenes like this “The whole ship breaks out in madness as every last body runs to his assignment” (117 Lynch). I liked these scenes in the book, but there weren’t that many of them. They did go into decent detail though. For me the scenes like this made the book more interesting so to have more of them would’ve made the book even better.
All together this book was pretty good. I liked it especially since it was about war. It made me want to keep reading the more I read it. Other readers that don’t like war may not find this book as interesting or as good as I thought it was. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes war history and if they are above the age of 13. If they are too young of a reader then they probably wouldn’t understand what's going on. I rate this book a 7.5 out of 10.
I thought this book was pretty decent. It seemed interesting to me because it was about war and World War 2 which are topics that interest me. I like how Lynch wrote the battle scenes “Sirens blare all over the ship, guys are jumping up and bumping into each other, and gearing up and running off” (113 Lynch). It seems really realistic and it kind of makes the readers be able to picture what he is describing in the book in our heads. For me, Hank is my favorite character because of what his job is. He works on an aircraft carrier and helps planes takeoff and land while having to worry about kamikazes and torpedoes. The book was kind of addicting and made me want to keep turning and reading the pages about halfway through the book. I had the feeling because you never knew what was gonna happen next.
I don't really have anything that I disliked about the book that much. It was pretty good all in all. I kind of wish it was a longer book because of how interesting it was. I wish it would include more scenes like this “The whole ship breaks out in madness as every last body runs to his assignment” (117 Lynch). I liked these scenes in the book, but there weren’t that many of them. They did go into decent detail though. For me the scenes like this made the book more interesting so to have more of them would’ve made the book even better.
All together this book was pretty good. I liked it especially since it was about war. It made me want to keep reading the more I read it. Other readers that don’t like war may not find this book as interesting or as good as I thought it was. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes war history and if they are above the age of 13. If they are too young of a reader then they probably wouldn’t understand what's going on. I rate this book a 7.5 out of 10.
June 11, 2021
p.4 "There is either a brand-new wisdom about his whole manner since I left him on that Baltimore street, or a brand-new ability to approximate it. I don't suppose there's a significant difference, as far as I am concerned."
p.22 "Any man at war (italics) who loves his enemies is insufficiently interested in coming home again."
p.128 "This is war. This, is war."
I surprisingly well render story within plenty of quality author's moves. Throughout the novel, there are bursts of quality prose, alliteration, and images to drive the pace of the story. While a portion of the text features letters to and from the family of the main character, Hank, it is not an epistolary novel. Instead the letters help connect the reader to both the family and brother, the latter to set the scene for the next installment. During the course of the story, the reader follows the trials and travails of the aircraft carrier USS Lexington. As a sidelight, the book lightly touches upon the idea of segregation in the military and the United States. Overall, it is a surprisingly good story about the war in the Pacific from the imagined perspective of a young sailor.
p.22 "Any man at war (italics) who loves his enemies is insufficiently interested in coming home again."
p.128 "This is war. This, is war."
I surprisingly well render story within plenty of quality author's moves. Throughout the novel, there are bursts of quality prose, alliteration, and images to drive the pace of the story. While a portion of the text features letters to and from the family of the main character, Hank, it is not an epistolary novel. Instead the letters help connect the reader to both the family and brother, the latter to set the scene for the next installment. During the course of the story, the reader follows the trials and travails of the aircraft carrier USS Lexington. As a sidelight, the book lightly touches upon the idea of segregation in the military and the United States. Overall, it is a surprisingly good story about the war in the Pacific from the imagined perspective of a young sailor.
July 15, 2017
I grew up as an Army brat crawling all over tanks, helicopters, and jungle Camo jeeps. For that reason I felt a real connection to Roman in book 1. I asked my dad a gagillion questions via text as I read.
I married a Navy man who was stationed aboard CV-64 USS Constellation, aircraft carrier, for several years. He even ended his career as an airedale. I've seen the might of Naval vessels up close and I've climbed around the inside of a carrier. Growing up Army in Cold War Era West Germany I am even something of a student of WWII. But this book absolutely took my breath away.
Perhaps it was only because of my experience with having a loved one aboard a carrier, but I think Lynch really drove home the horror of the situation.
I married a Navy man who was stationed aboard CV-64 USS Constellation, aircraft carrier, for several years. He even ended his career as an airedale. I've seen the might of Naval vessels up close and I've climbed around the inside of a carrier. Growing up Army in Cold War Era West Germany I am even something of a student of WWII. But this book absolutely took my breath away.
Perhaps it was only because of my experience with having a loved one aboard a carrier, but I think Lynch really drove home the horror of the situation.
November 8, 2019
Dead in the Water by Chris Lynch is a book about two brothers going into the military. Hank and Theo love baseball. They both have a healthy fear of their younger sister Suzie. Once they are in the military they are sent to different sides of the world. We follow Theo in his adventure on Yorktown.
Dead in the water by Chris Lynch in a fantastic book. I think that this book was easy to follow and could be read by anyone. This book is very exciting and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Something that made this book a pleasure to read that the setting was easy to picture and that made it easy to understand. This book is an all-around good book all the way to its fantastic conclusion.
I would recommend this book to any with a heartbeat.
Dead in the water by Chris Lynch in a fantastic book. I think that this book was easy to follow and could be read by anyone. This book is very exciting and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Something that made this book a pleasure to read that the setting was easy to picture and that made it easy to understand. This book is an all-around good book all the way to its fantastic conclusion.
I would recommend this book to any with a heartbeat.
January 13, 2020
This has got to be one of the greatest books i have ever read, the way it describes the action and what's going on in the book makes you feel like you are in the position of Hank. Not only that but there is a little bit of drama between friends and family. Great book all in one i suggest people interested in war or World war 2 and such to read this book.
January 14, 2020
This book made you always want to know what next. Somedays I would just read it to find out what was going to happen and I hate reading he also was fighting in the war but before he played baseball he was sad when he had to stop his brother went with him to war but they got split to different parts so they not together.I would recommend this book to people that like baseball and war
January 26, 2021
It is awesome all the way to the part where they have be rescued and are in the YORKTOWN after they had been rescued. He is in the Cafeteria and he sees his baseball glove and Thoe’s and the speaker comes on and says Jap sub spotted when the destroyer is hit it stops does not go on any more just stops. Why is my question.
November 8, 2017
I didn't like this book as much because it started off making zero sense and was like that for the hole book. Also I didn't like it that much because it was boring and did not talk a lot about what I thought it would.
January 22, 2024
I liked this one better than the first, but what happened at the end? I don’t have the next two books, so I’m assuming he survives, but does he reunite with his family? In my head, he does. Idk about the rest of his friends. I wish there was more of a conclusion.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 17, 2017
it was ok
February 6, 2018
Truly amazing book! The fight for baseball continues as two of Romans friends join the fight for freedom and for baseball.
May 17, 2018
Read at the request of my grandson. Good for young boys interested in WWII.
December 10, 2018
For young readers interested in history, The First Yorktown in WWII
June 30, 2019
Pretty good
July 3, 2019
Pretty good. At first I couldn't figure out the ending. I thought it was a cliff hanger until I started reading the next in the series. Now, I won't say more and spoil it for anyone else.
November 17, 2019
I LIKE THIS BOOK.
December 1, 2020
amusing book
because it was great
it cant get better
because it was great
it cant get better
March 8, 2017
I didn't really enjoy this book, because I felt like it dragged out, and focused more on the brothers relationship and not about something else in the book, like baseball or the war. Overall I just felt like there could've been more action going on and more interesting things happening.
March 8, 2017
i think it was a good book and that it was very informational
and other people should read it beacause it is a very informational book and teaches you more about world war 2
what would make it better is if the book had pictures
and other people should read it beacause it is a very informational book and teaches you more about world war 2
what would make it better is if the book had pictures
November 26, 2014
Dead in the Water is a companion book to the Right Fight. Both books are new 2014 releases. Both books feature baseball-loving heroes. In The Right Fight, readers meet oh-so-briefly two brothers: Hank and Theo.
The book opens with both brothers ready to join the Navy. However, only Hank ends up serving in the Navy. Their parents feel strongly that Theo should serve his country elsewhere. If both sons were stationed on the same ship, and it went down, they'd be devastated. That is their reasoning, for better or worse. So Theo enlists in the Army Air Service. This book barely mentions Theo again after the boys ship out. (We do get one letter from Theo, I believe.) This is Hank's story. (Will Theo get his own story later?)
Hank is assigned to the USS Yorktown, an aircraft carrier sailing in the Pacific. He is an airedale. The book chronicles his time on ship and off. He makes a few friends among the pilots. He makes one good friend among the mess attendants. He becomes close to a mess attendant named Bradford who played in the Negro League. He is a much better ball player than Hank, this is very hard for Hank to admit, and I'm not sure he ever does. But Bradford teaches or coaches him, and the two bond over the love of the game. Readers can also discern that life isn't easy for Bradford, that prejudice is a problem.
There is plenty of action in this one. If you know what happened to the real USS Yorktown, you can guess how this ends.
The book opens with both brothers ready to join the Navy. However, only Hank ends up serving in the Navy. Their parents feel strongly that Theo should serve his country elsewhere. If both sons were stationed on the same ship, and it went down, they'd be devastated. That is their reasoning, for better or worse. So Theo enlists in the Army Air Service. This book barely mentions Theo again after the boys ship out. (We do get one letter from Theo, I believe.) This is Hank's story. (Will Theo get his own story later?)
Hank is assigned to the USS Yorktown, an aircraft carrier sailing in the Pacific. He is an airedale. The book chronicles his time on ship and off. He makes a few friends among the pilots. He makes one good friend among the mess attendants. He becomes close to a mess attendant named Bradford who played in the Negro League. He is a much better ball player than Hank, this is very hard for Hank to admit, and I'm not sure he ever does. But Bradford teaches or coaches him, and the two bond over the love of the game. Readers can also discern that life isn't easy for Bradford, that prejudice is a problem.
There is plenty of action in this one. If you know what happened to the real USS Yorktown, you can guess how this ends.
April 23, 2015
Dead in the water was not a very good book the main character angel was very scared throughout the book. He was very proud-full when he was playing baseball, he would brag about how good he was but Bradford always proved him wrong. Angel was a Airedale which meant he had to help with the planes when taking off. He didn't like it as a Airedale he was always being laughed at because he made less pay compared to everyone else on the aircraft.
Angel was starting to get better at paying attention near the end of the book he usually didn't listen to the commanders or captains. Angel only listen to one person the whole time during the battles and that was Bradford. Angle looked to Bradford as a brother. Bradford thought angle how to throw a curveball really good. Angel and Bradford always played catch on the deck when they had free time which wasn't a lot but they would sneak up on the deck when they wanted to play catch.
I would recommend this book to people who like history books or have a love for adventure. For the people who like adventure there is lots of traveling from island to island going on throughout the book people die from shark attacks. For the people who like history then they're in luck the scene takes place at Paul harbor there are times and dates in the book it tells of the heartache and sadness.
Angel was starting to get better at paying attention near the end of the book he usually didn't listen to the commanders or captains. Angel only listen to one person the whole time during the battles and that was Bradford. Angle looked to Bradford as a brother. Bradford thought angle how to throw a curveball really good. Angel and Bradford always played catch on the deck when they had free time which wasn't a lot but they would sneak up on the deck when they wanted to play catch.
I would recommend this book to people who like history books or have a love for adventure. For the people who like adventure there is lots of traveling from island to island going on throughout the book people die from shark attacks. For the people who like history then they're in luck the scene takes place at Paul harbor there are times and dates in the book it tells of the heartache and sadness.
February 5, 2016
This is the second book in the World War II series and is tied to book one in that sailor Hank McCallum is a baseball rival of Roman Bucyk, the main character in the first installment. Hank’s job as a Navy airedale is to service and maintain the fighter planes assigned to the USS Yorktown. The setting is the Pacific Theater and the many combat missions of the Yorktown, culminating with the Battle of Midway and the sinking of the war-scarred carrier. But secondary to the combat is the relationship between Hank and Bradford, a fellow sailor who plays in the Negro Leagues. Their friendship is kindled with their love of the game. But Hank sees firsthand the bigotry African American sailors endure, on board the ship where Bradford is not allowed on the flight deck and later in Hawaii where Bradford is not even allowed on the beach. Another thread running through this title is the close-knit McCallum family and Hank’s bond with his brother Theo. Since this one ends rather ambiguously, and Theo is featured in Book 3, one hopes the two brothers will somehow connect once again. Lynch pulls no punches when writing about war. The battle scenes are realistic and riveting and there is plenty of action. As with the Vietnam series, this is a solid war story that is ideal for intermediate readers and beyond. Boys especially will appreciate this volume.
October 3, 2017
Personal Response
I personally thought the author did a great job of balancing tense and unexpected moments. Also the author made sure that there was enough ,but not too much, action to the book. I do have a question though:What happened to Hank after his aircraft carrier went down in the Battle of Midway?
Plot
First Theo and Hank are on the baseball team the Federalsburg A's and after that they join the military Theo in the Army Air Corps and Hank in the Navy. Then Hank ships off to be on the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown. After that Hank participates in the Battle of the Coral Sea the USS Yorktown is damaged but is fixed in a Herculean 72 hour repair effort. After that they participate in the Battle of Midway and Hank's ship is heavily damaged and lists to port but Hank was able to escape and get onto a destroyer. Which because they couldn't sink the Yorktown they wanted to try to get it back to port but the destroyer providing power to the ship is torpedoed and so is the Yorktown and Hank is listed as missing in action but his family does not think he has lived.
Recommendation
I would recommend this to Middle and High School boys because they usually like the action and tense moments this book provides. I would not recommend this to girls and Elementary School boys because they would not understand it and girls usually do not like action and tense moments.
I personally thought the author did a great job of balancing tense and unexpected moments. Also the author made sure that there was enough ,but not too much, action to the book. I do have a question though:What happened to Hank after his aircraft carrier went down in the Battle of Midway?
Plot
First Theo and Hank are on the baseball team the Federalsburg A's and after that they join the military Theo in the Army Air Corps and Hank in the Navy. Then Hank ships off to be on the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown. After that Hank participates in the Battle of the Coral Sea the USS Yorktown is damaged but is fixed in a Herculean 72 hour repair effort. After that they participate in the Battle of Midway and Hank's ship is heavily damaged and lists to port but Hank was able to escape and get onto a destroyer. Which because they couldn't sink the Yorktown they wanted to try to get it back to port but the destroyer providing power to the ship is torpedoed and so is the Yorktown and Hank is listed as missing in action but his family does not think he has lived.
Recommendation
I would recommend this to Middle and High School boys because they usually like the action and tense moments this book provides. I would not recommend this to girls and Elementary School boys because they would not understand it and girls usually do not like action and tense moments.
December 29, 2014
Baseball-loving brothers, Theo and Hank enlist in the armed forces after Pearl Harbor. The brothers are close and have never been separated before, but their father insists that they join different branches of the military. Hank becomes an Airedale in the U.S. Navy with the responsibility for getting the pilots into the air and then back aboard the USS Yorktown, the ship that carries this massive fleet representing the nation's aerial assault. While the early parts of the book have a playful, wide-eyed innocence about what happens during war, the latter portion reveals the violence, death, and bloodshed that occurs. While Hank still loves playing baseball, he sees first-hand the impossible-to-understand restrictions that are place against one of the African-American pilots, Bradford, when the crew goes on leave in Hawaii. This brief glimpse of the Jim Crow laws that were enforced during that time even while war was being waged to stamp out prejudices abroad is certainly enlightening for young readers. This is a great title from a fine series to include in a classroom social studies library.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews