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Sunrise Over Fallujah
A powerful new novel about the heroics and horror of war from Walter Dean Myers, whose bestselling book FALLEN ANGELS celebrates its 20th anniversary.
Operation Iraqi Freedom, that's the code name. But the young men and women in the military's Civil Affairs Battalion have a simpler name for WAR.
In this new novel, Walter Dean Myers looks at a contemporary war with the same power and searing insight he brought to the Vietnam war of his classic, FALLEN ANGELS. He creates memorable characters like the book's narrator, Birdy, a young recruit from Harlem who's questioning why he even enlisted; Marla, a blond, tough-talking, wisecracking gunner; Jonesy, a guitar-playing bluesman who just wants to make it back to Georgia and open a club;
Operation Iraqi Freedom, that's the code name. But the young men and women in the military's Civil Affairs Battalion have a simpler name for WAR.
In this new novel, Walter Dean Myers looks at a contemporary war with the same power and searing insight he brought to the Vietnam war of his classic, FALLEN ANGELS. He creates memorable characters like the book's narrator, Birdy, a young recruit from Harlem who's questioning why he even enlisted; Marla, a blond, tough-talking, wisecracking gunner; Jonesy, a guitar-playing bluesman who just wants to make it back to Georgia and open a club;
304 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
367 people are currently reading
2724 people want to read
About the author
Walter Dean Myers
232 books1,183 followerspseudonyms:
Stacie Williams
Stacie Johnson
Walter Dean Myers was born on August 12, 1937 in Martinsburg, West Virginia but moved to Harlem with his foster parents at age three. He was brought up and went to public school there. He attended Stuyvesant High School until the age of seventeen when he joined the army.
After serving four years in the army, he worked at various jobs and earned a BA from Empire State College. He wrote full time after 1977.
Walter wrote from childhood, first finding success in 1969 when he won the Council on Interracial Books for Children contest, which resulted in the publication of his first book for children, Where Does the Day Go?, by Parent's Magazine Press. He published over seventy books for children and young adults. He received many awards for his work in this field including the Coretta Scott King Award, five times. Two of his books were awarded Newbery Honors. He was awarded the Margaret A. Edwards Award and the Virginia Hamilton Award. For one of his books, Monster, he received the first Michael Printz Award for Young Adult literature awarded by the American Library Association. Monster and Autobiography of My Dead Brother were selected as National Book Award Finalists.
In addition to the publication of his books, Walter contributed to educational and literary publications. He visited schools to speak to children, teachers, librarians, and parents. For three years he led a writing workshop for children in a school in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Walter Dean Myers was married, had three grown children and lived in Jersey City, New Jersey. He died on July 1, 2014, following a brief illness. He was 76 years old.
Stacie Williams
Stacie Johnson
Walter Dean Myers was born on August 12, 1937 in Martinsburg, West Virginia but moved to Harlem with his foster parents at age three. He was brought up and went to public school there. He attended Stuyvesant High School until the age of seventeen when he joined the army.
After serving four years in the army, he worked at various jobs and earned a BA from Empire State College. He wrote full time after 1977.
Walter wrote from childhood, first finding success in 1969 when he won the Council on Interracial Books for Children contest, which resulted in the publication of his first book for children, Where Does the Day Go?, by Parent's Magazine Press. He published over seventy books for children and young adults. He received many awards for his work in this field including the Coretta Scott King Award, five times. Two of his books were awarded Newbery Honors. He was awarded the Margaret A. Edwards Award and the Virginia Hamilton Award. For one of his books, Monster, he received the first Michael Printz Award for Young Adult literature awarded by the American Library Association. Monster and Autobiography of My Dead Brother were selected as National Book Award Finalists.
In addition to the publication of his books, Walter contributed to educational and literary publications. He visited schools to speak to children, teachers, librarians, and parents. For three years he led a writing workshop for children in a school in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Walter Dean Myers was married, had three grown children and lived in Jersey City, New Jersey. He died on July 1, 2014, following a brief illness. He was 76 years old.
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May 16, 2023
"It's hard to be brave when you can stumble across a world of hurt around any corner."
—Sunrise Over Fallujah, P. 125
This book really is tremendously impactful, and the story has reverberated in my mind long after I turned the final page. The war action did not seem as intense as in its predecessor Fallen Angels, but all in all I thought that Sunrise Over Fallujah was a better story. It also taught me a great deal about the ins and outs of what is happening to our soldiers over there on the streets of Iraq. In many ways, I would say that Sunrise Over Fallujah is vintage Walter Dean Myers: A fast-paced, fast-moving story with unexpected pockets of emotional resonance to really bring the events home hard. Spectacular.
"Maybe you have to be a hero type to deal with the bigger things that happen to you. At least you have to be bigger than life to fit all the things inside you that you didn't know you could absorb before."
—Robin Perry, Sunrise Over Fallujah, P. 280
—Sunrise Over Fallujah, P. 125
This book really is tremendously impactful, and the story has reverberated in my mind long after I turned the final page. The war action did not seem as intense as in its predecessor Fallen Angels, but all in all I thought that Sunrise Over Fallujah was a better story. It also taught me a great deal about the ins and outs of what is happening to our soldiers over there on the streets of Iraq. In many ways, I would say that Sunrise Over Fallujah is vintage Walter Dean Myers: A fast-paced, fast-moving story with unexpected pockets of emotional resonance to really bring the events home hard. Spectacular.
"Maybe you have to be a hero type to deal with the bigger things that happen to you. At least you have to be bigger than life to fit all the things inside you that you didn't know you could absorb before."
—Robin Perry, Sunrise Over Fallujah, P. 280
September 28, 2008
Myers has introduced the realities of war with a book that could be considered a sequel or companion to his popular novel, Fallen Angels, which presented the story of one soldier's service during the Vietnam Conflict. Instead, this newer work brings readers to Operation Iraqi feeling along with Robin (aka Birdy), an African American who was influenced by his reaction to 9/11 to surpass college for now and join the Army.
As he arrives in Kuwait just prior to the American invasion, Birdy has been assigned to a Civil Affairs unit, which is assigned with trying to win over the hearts of the soon to be liberated Iraqis. While this means he and his companions are not on the front lines, they still find themselves in a number of very dangerous situations as they talk to be people after civilians are mistakenly killed, work with Iraqis to rebuild damaged infrastructure, and try to provide a positive image for Americans.
Birdy's role as narrator allows readers to experience the challenging mixture of excitement, patriotism, naivite, and horror as they become enmesshed in the difficult actions and sights they experience during battles and in between. In fact, Birdy is shocked by the fact that he probably has killed people, but the fact that his weapon shoots at such a distance protects him from the reality until he ends up shooting an enemy combatent at close range. In the process, his youthful innocences evolves in to a darkened adult hood that we hear so many of our soldiers now experiencing.
Myers has created a novel that highlights the issues of both going to war and what happened during the fighting while still staying a bit objective, allowing the reader to make his own opinions. He is able to do that because of Birdy's perspective as an 18-year-old young man who believes what he is doing, at least at the start.
The only flaw I really see in this novel is I found myself really wanting an Author's Note at the end of the work to explain why Myers made certain choices when including historical events and designing characters. It is also difficult to tell which characters are real historical figures versus characters created to push forward the story.
Even with that, this book is an extremely moving and interesting tale that will keep the readers engaged, particularly male readers. I know I have a lot of teen guy readers who eat up Vietnam novels, and I think this will fill a niche and bring the tale closer to something they know about.
As he arrives in Kuwait just prior to the American invasion, Birdy has been assigned to a Civil Affairs unit, which is assigned with trying to win over the hearts of the soon to be liberated Iraqis. While this means he and his companions are not on the front lines, they still find themselves in a number of very dangerous situations as they talk to be people after civilians are mistakenly killed, work with Iraqis to rebuild damaged infrastructure, and try to provide a positive image for Americans.
Birdy's role as narrator allows readers to experience the challenging mixture of excitement, patriotism, naivite, and horror as they become enmesshed in the difficult actions and sights they experience during battles and in between. In fact, Birdy is shocked by the fact that he probably has killed people, but the fact that his weapon shoots at such a distance protects him from the reality until he ends up shooting an enemy combatent at close range. In the process, his youthful innocences evolves in to a darkened adult hood that we hear so many of our soldiers now experiencing.
Myers has created a novel that highlights the issues of both going to war and what happened during the fighting while still staying a bit objective, allowing the reader to make his own opinions. He is able to do that because of Birdy's perspective as an 18-year-old young man who believes what he is doing, at least at the start.
The only flaw I really see in this novel is I found myself really wanting an Author's Note at the end of the work to explain why Myers made certain choices when including historical events and designing characters. It is also difficult to tell which characters are real historical figures versus characters created to push forward the story.
Even with that, this book is an extremely moving and interesting tale that will keep the readers engaged, particularly male readers. I know I have a lot of teen guy readers who eat up Vietnam novels, and I think this will fill a niche and bring the tale closer to something they know about.
December 17, 2016
There's a blurb in the front of this book that I really agreed with: "...Given the paucity of works on this war, this is an important volume, covering much ground and offering much insight." -Kirkus Review, starred review.
That's the biggest reason I bought it and put it on my goodreads shelf, my physical shelf, and my student shelf. I've kept it pretty high on my to-read list, but there are just so many books out there.
There are a lot of war books out there - both for YA readers, and readers in general. A LOT of European Theater WWII books. A lot of Holocaust books. But there aren't a lot of high quality Iraq books. Vietnam books. WWII Pacific Theater books.
There are also not nearly enough non-racial YA black books out there. There are plenty of books where a black protagonist is dealing with the effects of Jim Crow, or escaping slavery, or being the first: baseball player, basketball team... Etc... And there is an honored place for those books, but if the opportunity cost is displacing stories where people of color are dealing with conflicts other than those of color, we have a problem. If we're only reading stories of one type of experience by a collective group, it pigeonholes the group into that experience.
So the book gets double bonus points: an under-represented war, an under-represented protagonist.
Going into this, I didn't realize that Walter Dean Myers was black. And I didn't realize that the protagonist was, either. I read him as white for a good portion of the book. (I had actually conflated Myers with Roland Smith, probably because of the book Elephant Run.) Like a good author, Myers wasn't overly descriptive in dealing with the physical appearance of his characters, but he left pointed clues here and there. For instance, when Birdie was frisking some Iraqis, "I didn't like searching people. I had been stopped on 136th Street once, just outside the Countee Cullen Library, but two plainclothes cops who had searched me. I knew what it felt like. Embarassed that I had to stand there with my hands in the air while strangers patted me down and went through my pockets, humiliated because they were assuming power over me and I couldn't do a thing about it..."
There's quite a bit that ties in with my 7th grade social studies class. Maybe more than other books I've thought about reading.
We study The Middle East - modern and ancient. Mesopotamia gets brought up here. Ziggurats. 9-11. It's interesting how the book hints at WMDs, and 9-11 being... not pretense... but... part of the conversation. The Tigris and Euphrates. Modern political conflicts. Democracies and dictatorships.
I've almost convinced myself to get a classroom set with that last paragraph.
That's the biggest reason I bought it and put it on my goodreads shelf, my physical shelf, and my student shelf. I've kept it pretty high on my to-read list, but there are just so many books out there.
There are a lot of war books out there - both for YA readers, and readers in general. A LOT of European Theater WWII books. A lot of Holocaust books. But there aren't a lot of high quality Iraq books. Vietnam books. WWII Pacific Theater books.
There are also not nearly enough non-racial YA black books out there. There are plenty of books where a black protagonist is dealing with the effects of Jim Crow, or escaping slavery, or being the first: baseball player, basketball team... Etc... And there is an honored place for those books, but if the opportunity cost is displacing stories where people of color are dealing with conflicts other than those of color, we have a problem. If we're only reading stories of one type of experience by a collective group, it pigeonholes the group into that experience.
So the book gets double bonus points: an under-represented war, an under-represented protagonist.
Going into this, I didn't realize that Walter Dean Myers was black. And I didn't realize that the protagonist was, either. I read him as white for a good portion of the book. (I had actually conflated Myers with Roland Smith, probably because of the book Elephant Run.) Like a good author, Myers wasn't overly descriptive in dealing with the physical appearance of his characters, but he left pointed clues here and there. For instance, when Birdie was frisking some Iraqis, "I didn't like searching people. I had been stopped on 136th Street once, just outside the Countee Cullen Library, but two plainclothes cops who had searched me. I knew what it felt like. Embarassed that I had to stand there with my hands in the air while strangers patted me down and went through my pockets, humiliated because they were assuming power over me and I couldn't do a thing about it..."
There's quite a bit that ties in with my 7th grade social studies class. Maybe more than other books I've thought about reading.
We study The Middle East - modern and ancient. Mesopotamia gets brought up here. Ziggurats. 9-11. It's interesting how the book hints at WMDs, and 9-11 being... not pretense... but... part of the conversation. The Tigris and Euphrates. Modern political conflicts. Democracies and dictatorships.
I've almost convinced myself to get a classroom set with that last paragraph.
May 6, 2008
For some reason, Myers chose not to have someone edit this book, and that offends me. There are direct contradictions in action and thought within single paragraphs, not to mention descriptions, explanations, and dialogue that are repeated within just a few pages of each other. It's sloppy writing and nonexistant editing, and for someone who wrote something as good as Monster, it's inexcusable.
There are good things about the book. The main character and his unit are alternately funny, terrifying, and sad. The story points out the hypocrisy and willing naivete that accompanies American involvement not only in the Middle East, but in all other countries. The Iraquis are shown in a multi-focal, well-rounded way that in no way insults their culture or integrity. The American military personnel are shown as human beings instead of robots. There's a soccer game between some of the soldiers and a group of Iraqui village boys that is so well-written, it can make you laugh and groan from irony at the same time.
On the other hand, there's a lot of meaningless intermediary waffling, then no real ending to the book. Myers sets up a situation between the main character and his father that is never resolved. The unit completes a poorly-described, confusing undercover assignment, then are split up and reassigned for no apparent reason. And that's the end. It's OK in a way, though, because there was no plot or narrative structure to begin with.
There are good things about the book. The main character and his unit are alternately funny, terrifying, and sad. The story points out the hypocrisy and willing naivete that accompanies American involvement not only in the Middle East, but in all other countries. The Iraquis are shown in a multi-focal, well-rounded way that in no way insults their culture or integrity. The American military personnel are shown as human beings instead of robots. There's a soccer game between some of the soldiers and a group of Iraqui village boys that is so well-written, it can make you laugh and groan from irony at the same time.
On the other hand, there's a lot of meaningless intermediary waffling, then no real ending to the book. Myers sets up a situation between the main character and his father that is never resolved. The unit completes a poorly-described, confusing undercover assignment, then are split up and reassigned for no apparent reason. And that's the end. It's OK in a way, though, because there was no plot or narrative structure to begin with.
March 25, 2019
I really liked this.
Middle-school appropriate. Really gets at both the camaraderie and the confusion of war. Rang true to all the many adult war memoirs and stories I have read. Thumbs up.
Middle-school appropriate. Really gets at both the camaraderie and the confusion of war. Rang true to all the many adult war memoirs and stories I have read. Thumbs up.
June 9, 2011
There is little camaraderie in this novel. Birdy talks about the members of his battalion but I never got the impression that he was that chummy with anyone, except Jonesy. Jonesy was a well-developed character but everyone else mentioned (Captain Miller, Major Sessions, Ahmed, Marla) remained one dimensional. I wanted more interaction between characters and to get a grasp for their personalities. They all remained very closed-off and I don't think everyone in the army is tight-lipped, there has to be more than one fun-loving Blues man like Jonesy in a battalion. It was also really hard keeping everyone's rank straight but that's not the author's fault, it's my own slow brain. The story did seem a bit predictable to me concerning the death of a character, obviously a character is going to die and I thought who it was going to be was clear. I also didn't like the one-sided letters. Birdy told us what his mom said in emails but we only read his letters. I think it would have been interesting to read his uncle's responses to his letters, especially as a war veteran. Furthermore I wanted to know more about his father who was against Birdy entering the army. This is odd because it's a novel about war but I found it dull at parts which was unfortunate.
The story is exciting though even when no action is occurring. It's exciting and saddening to read Birdy's thoughts on war, exciting because he never really THOUGHT about what being in a war meant so it's nice to see him try and sort out his many different feelings but it's sad because it's WAR. Birdy asks good questions "When I was a kid, maybe eight or nine I wondered why God mad the insides of people. Why not just make solid people that could do the same things we did instead of all the little parts, veins, arteries, hearts and things that could go so wrong. Why didn't God just keep it simple?" (pg. 117), ones that I don't believe answers exist. The author does an excellent job of explaining what was going on in the early, tumultuous days of the Iraq War through the ideas of CA soldiers (well I think it's accurate but I wasn't there). This is vital for teen readers because most of us are too young to understand and remember the beginning of the United States' invasion of Iraq.
Sunrise Over Fallujah offers look at a war that has only recently ended (and some may argue is still going on) in a thoughtful, intriguing manner. The author remains satisfyingly neutral, simply reporting the facts, representing various perspectives through the group of soldiers we (briefly) meet. The only message the author has is that soldiers are courageous and deserve the utmost respect which no one would argue against. I also appreciated that the author shows how quick the enemy can change, it's not always obvious who/what is the enemy as much as the two sides going to war want to make it seem clear-cut. The story didn't always hold my interest, especially at the beginning and the ending wasn't that great either but the middle kept a steady pace that held my attention. I would have liked (well I don't think I could like a book about war) to better understand the backgrounds and motives of the characters, even the main character was a mystery which isn't interesting. Overall I just had a meh reaction to this book and it's hard for me to explain why, and for that I apologize.
The story is exciting though even when no action is occurring. It's exciting and saddening to read Birdy's thoughts on war, exciting because he never really THOUGHT about what being in a war meant so it's nice to see him try and sort out his many different feelings but it's sad because it's WAR. Birdy asks good questions "When I was a kid, maybe eight or nine I wondered why God mad the insides of people. Why not just make solid people that could do the same things we did instead of all the little parts, veins, arteries, hearts and things that could go so wrong. Why didn't God just keep it simple?" (pg. 117), ones that I don't believe answers exist. The author does an excellent job of explaining what was going on in the early, tumultuous days of the Iraq War through the ideas of CA soldiers (well I think it's accurate but I wasn't there). This is vital for teen readers because most of us are too young to understand and remember the beginning of the United States' invasion of Iraq.
Sunrise Over Fallujah offers look at a war that has only recently ended (and some may argue is still going on) in a thoughtful, intriguing manner. The author remains satisfyingly neutral, simply reporting the facts, representing various perspectives through the group of soldiers we (briefly) meet. The only message the author has is that soldiers are courageous and deserve the utmost respect which no one would argue against. I also appreciated that the author shows how quick the enemy can change, it's not always obvious who/what is the enemy as much as the two sides going to war want to make it seem clear-cut. The story didn't always hold my interest, especially at the beginning and the ending wasn't that great either but the middle kept a steady pace that held my attention. I would have liked (well I don't think I could like a book about war) to better understand the backgrounds and motives of the characters, even the main character was a mystery which isn't interesting. Overall I just had a meh reaction to this book and it's hard for me to explain why, and for that I apologize.
May 16, 2011
Robin "Birdy" Perry feels compelled to leave Harlem, forego college, and join the Army in the aftermath of 9/11. He does just that--without his father's support. In Sunrise over Fallujah, the 2008 young adult novel by acclaim writer Walter Dean Myers, Birdy finds himself in Iraq and attached to a Civil Affairs unit, a group of soldiers assigned the dubious honor of testing the waters in various "hearts and mind" situations with local Iraqis conceived by higher ups who say they are intent on establishing peace and building democracy. Birdy soon learns the people he can trust are the men and women soldiering right alongside them. Beyond this small group, nothing's for sure.
Because soliders who participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom had not only to defeat an enemy but also to build relationships with locals whose loyalties might by lie with the old regime or with some other religious faction or with some other tribe, knowing where to point the gun and when to soot becomes a nightmarish challenge. The Rules of Engagement change from day to day. Nothing is clear. Nobody can be trusted. Everyone has an agenda. And some lies are very convincing.
Myers's novel takes the reader on a journey through the desert, the streets of Baghdad, and other parts of Iraq that are as mysterious as they are ancient and sometimes incomprehensible to the young man from Harlem and his friends--a tough gunner who bounced around in foster care, a wannabe blues musician, a dad--in uniform. Moving forward from day to day with limited information to do job after job on which depends the future of a war-ravaged country about as unlike the US as a country could be turns Birdy and his friends into adults who understand the power and eloquence of silence to speak for the soul from that place deep down where words have no place.
As I turned the pages of this novel about teenagers at war, I found myself muttering, "No way, no way, no way...." because I liked the kids in this story. I could see the students in my classroom becoming these soldiers--and hopefully knowing before it's too late that life is about the person alongside you and the only moment you have is right now.
Because soliders who participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom had not only to defeat an enemy but also to build relationships with locals whose loyalties might by lie with the old regime or with some other religious faction or with some other tribe, knowing where to point the gun and when to soot becomes a nightmarish challenge. The Rules of Engagement change from day to day. Nothing is clear. Nobody can be trusted. Everyone has an agenda. And some lies are very convincing.
Myers's novel takes the reader on a journey through the desert, the streets of Baghdad, and other parts of Iraq that are as mysterious as they are ancient and sometimes incomprehensible to the young man from Harlem and his friends--a tough gunner who bounced around in foster care, a wannabe blues musician, a dad--in uniform. Moving forward from day to day with limited information to do job after job on which depends the future of a war-ravaged country about as unlike the US as a country could be turns Birdy and his friends into adults who understand the power and eloquence of silence to speak for the soul from that place deep down where words have no place.
As I turned the pages of this novel about teenagers at war, I found myself muttering, "No way, no way, no way...." because I liked the kids in this story. I could see the students in my classroom becoming these soldiers--and hopefully knowing before it's too late that life is about the person alongside you and the only moment you have is right now.
February 8, 2012
My wife Stacy recommended this to me last year - now I wish I had started this back then.
Walter Dean Myers did a great job of capturing the war in Iraq - I could feel the sun beating on the back of my neck and the sand worming it's way into every nook and cranny of my equipment.
The book is aimed at young adults, but it should be read by anyone who is even faintly curious about what it was like to be in Iraq in 2003, right near the beginning of the war.
War is hell, and this book doesn't flinch from that fact, glorify it or try to sugar coat it.
Instead it humanizes the participants, Americans and Iraqi's alike, in a thought provoking manner.
So now I'm putting Walter Dean Myers book about Vietnam, Fallen Angels, on my must read list.
Thanks Stacy!
Walter Dean Myers did a great job of capturing the war in Iraq - I could feel the sun beating on the back of my neck and the sand worming it's way into every nook and cranny of my equipment.
The book is aimed at young adults, but it should be read by anyone who is even faintly curious about what it was like to be in Iraq in 2003, right near the beginning of the war.
War is hell, and this book doesn't flinch from that fact, glorify it or try to sugar coat it.
Instead it humanizes the participants, Americans and Iraqi's alike, in a thought provoking manner.
So now I'm putting Walter Dean Myers book about Vietnam, Fallen Angels, on my must read list.
Thanks Stacy!
March 23, 2017
Sunrise Over Fallujah is a fairly simple read that gives a realistic description of war, including its complexity and uncertainty. Birdy discovers many hard truths about war and being a player in this fight for democracy and peace. He does not cover his emotions for the reader and also brings in many important aspects, such as women in war and how children and civilians are affected by the war. These topics are only lightly touched on, however, leaving the reader much to think about and opportunity to further explore the issues that stand out to them.
July 27, 2014
This book was good look at the "Boots on the Ground" War in Iraq.
Great thanks to all those in the Service who have served and are serving.
Reminded me of my service days and the comradeship of the brotherhood in arms day to day life.
Great thanks to all those in the Service who have served and are serving.
Reminded me of my service days and the comradeship of the brotherhood in arms day to day life.
January 23, 2022
This book did not captivate me much. Felt like I was forcing myself to finish it. Pity because Fallen Angels by this same author is one of my favorite books so I was hoping this one would be a winner as well. Oh well.
November 17, 2021
This book is about a young adult in the army who is fighting in the Iraq war before the army was withdrawn. Robin is a new army recruit that isn't sure why he joined the army in the first place but through this story, there are funny and sad parts such as when his friend ordered a small monkey but got a truly stuffed monkey instead and a sad part is when his best friend died in the battle. I fell like it is a 3 out of 5.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 26, 2014
Many novels seem to describe war and its effects on those who participate in the exact same way, by showing that war is simply bloody and brutal, while not actually giving any thought to how it changes people over the course of the story. Then there are those that offer insight to the emotions and thoughts of the participants themselves, often evolving throughout. Sunrise over Fallujah, for the most part, falls into the latter category. This novel is considered to be the tie-in and companion, if not a sequel, to Walter Dean Myer's Fallen Angels. Despite this, Sunrise over Fallujah distances itself from that novel in the sense that it takes place in a very different war.
Robin Perry is a young man from Harlem who, after the events of September 11th, 2001, enlists in the United States Army. Robin, who is soon dubbed "Birdy" by his fellow soldiers, finds himself in Iraq during the events of of Operation: Iraqi Freedom. The story starts off innocently, as Robin is assigned to a civil affairs unit, not a front line unit that will participate actively in combat. It is soon revealed that simply helping civilians is not as simple as one would guess. The conflict soon reaches Robin's unit and they end up seeing a fair amount it.
The novel shows a fair amount of evolution in the protagonist over the course of the story, which proves to be an admirable quality that most readers would enjoy. Robin arrives in Iraq, overly curious as to what war is really like. This curiosity could have been created by his uncle's own tour of duty decades earlier in Vietnam, which provided the basis of the plot in Fallen Angels. The evolution of Robin is showed by the numerous letters within the story that he wrote to various family members. After a period of time, curiosity is replaced sheer terror while knowing that, in war, no one is truly safe.
As a whole, Sunrise over Fallujah proved to be an interesting read. The story did combine moments of boredom of boredom with those of conflict and violence, as Robin is involved in numerous fights, all seemingly unexpected. The story shows how war can both create and destroy relationships. A few likeable characters were also introduced along the way, such as Jonesy, the strange blues musician turned soldier. Apart from the few main characters, the rest seem to lack the evolution of other characters, such as the protagonist. It seems almost as some people were completely unchanged by their own experiences. Overall, Sunrise over Fallujah is relatively enjoyable, despite its shortcomings.
Robin Perry is a young man from Harlem who, after the events of September 11th, 2001, enlists in the United States Army. Robin, who is soon dubbed "Birdy" by his fellow soldiers, finds himself in Iraq during the events of of Operation: Iraqi Freedom. The story starts off innocently, as Robin is assigned to a civil affairs unit, not a front line unit that will participate actively in combat. It is soon revealed that simply helping civilians is not as simple as one would guess. The conflict soon reaches Robin's unit and they end up seeing a fair amount it.
The novel shows a fair amount of evolution in the protagonist over the course of the story, which proves to be an admirable quality that most readers would enjoy. Robin arrives in Iraq, overly curious as to what war is really like. This curiosity could have been created by his uncle's own tour of duty decades earlier in Vietnam, which provided the basis of the plot in Fallen Angels. The evolution of Robin is showed by the numerous letters within the story that he wrote to various family members. After a period of time, curiosity is replaced sheer terror while knowing that, in war, no one is truly safe.
As a whole, Sunrise over Fallujah proved to be an interesting read. The story did combine moments of boredom of boredom with those of conflict and violence, as Robin is involved in numerous fights, all seemingly unexpected. The story shows how war can both create and destroy relationships. A few likeable characters were also introduced along the way, such as Jonesy, the strange blues musician turned soldier. Apart from the few main characters, the rest seem to lack the evolution of other characters, such as the protagonist. It seems almost as some people were completely unchanged by their own experiences. Overall, Sunrise over Fallujah is relatively enjoyable, despite its shortcomings.
March 23, 2011
I read this book for two reasons. First, Meyers is an influential Young Adult author, and I wanted to know if and how to recommend this book to any of my middle school students interested in war. Second, I admit that, after 8 years (and counting) of military involvement in Iraq, it's all too easy to allow the societal, moral, and political ramifications of the war recede in my consciousness. The novel helps humanize the issues and evokes in me more of an emotional response than I get from the periodic news updates.
No novel can possess all virtues, since some are mutually exclusive. This novel trades the intimacy of being in a character's head for the objectivity of seeing everything around that character without any authorial intrusions. The author kind of straps up a video camera to the head of the 1st person narrator. That point-of-view character doesn't ever let us see himself, though. Like viewing a family photo album in which we never see the dad, because he's holding the camera. Ironically, this main character is the person we end up knowing the least and caring about the least. If the protagonist experiences a change across the novel, it's very understated--maybe a loss of innocence. The up shot is that there wasn't much editorializing or sentimentality, just a panoramic view of a military detachment's experiences.
No attempt is made to glamorize war. This is not a jingoistic treatment. Nor does the author seem to have an agenda in delegitimizing the war, either. It seems like a pretty even-handed perspective. No one is demonized in the book, neither Americans nor Iraqis, and the author tries to show the multi-layered complexities of the situation. The author lost a brother in Vietnam, where he himself also served, so when a character dies in this story, there's an interesting blend of reverence for the sacrifice, but also questioning the premises upon which the rationale for the war is founded, as well as more existential questions. Overall, not a heavy book, but Meyers gives the subject the gravitas it deserves.
No novel can possess all virtues, since some are mutually exclusive. This novel trades the intimacy of being in a character's head for the objectivity of seeing everything around that character without any authorial intrusions. The author kind of straps up a video camera to the head of the 1st person narrator. That point-of-view character doesn't ever let us see himself, though. Like viewing a family photo album in which we never see the dad, because he's holding the camera. Ironically, this main character is the person we end up knowing the least and caring about the least. If the protagonist experiences a change across the novel, it's very understated--maybe a loss of innocence. The up shot is that there wasn't much editorializing or sentimentality, just a panoramic view of a military detachment's experiences.
No attempt is made to glamorize war. This is not a jingoistic treatment. Nor does the author seem to have an agenda in delegitimizing the war, either. It seems like a pretty even-handed perspective. No one is demonized in the book, neither Americans nor Iraqis, and the author tries to show the multi-layered complexities of the situation. The author lost a brother in Vietnam, where he himself also served, so when a character dies in this story, there's an interesting blend of reverence for the sacrifice, but also questioning the premises upon which the rationale for the war is founded, as well as more existential questions. Overall, not a heavy book, but Meyers gives the subject the gravitas it deserves.
February 15, 2015
I'm not going to lie to you, fellow reader, I struggled through this book. The language is in no way elevated, the plot is not at all complicated, and yet, I struggled. I had such a hard time reading this book, especially towards the end.
Myers is writing through an adolescent voice, and I wonder if that is why the writing is so adolescent. I also wonder how this book would have been if Myers had focused on just a few tragic events instead of SO MANY! The book was so fast paced, and the hits just kept coming, there was no time to recover, no time to connect to the characters in times of peace. Too many things happened in this book, that I honestly can't remember what happened. I know the general idea- a young man from Harlem joined the army and went to Iraq as part of mission Iraqi Freedom. Beyond that general idea, I can't name any of the finer plot points.
I think that if Myers had spent more time on certain scenes in the book, I would have been able to connect better to the characters, and I would have better understood what was going on in the book. I enjoyed Myers' writing style, and would have loved if the tragic scenes were further expanded on so that I could been further exposed to his writing style.
I really wish I had more to say about this book. I went into this book wanting so desperately to like it, I've been meaning to read this one for years. Unfortunately, I was completely underwhelmed by this book. I did everything I could to avoid reading it, and I actually skimmed the last 30 pages. If you haven't read this book, proceed with caution.
Myers is writing through an adolescent voice, and I wonder if that is why the writing is so adolescent. I also wonder how this book would have been if Myers had focused on just a few tragic events instead of SO MANY! The book was so fast paced, and the hits just kept coming, there was no time to recover, no time to connect to the characters in times of peace. Too many things happened in this book, that I honestly can't remember what happened. I know the general idea- a young man from Harlem joined the army and went to Iraq as part of mission Iraqi Freedom. Beyond that general idea, I can't name any of the finer plot points.
I think that if Myers had spent more time on certain scenes in the book, I would have been able to connect better to the characters, and I would have better understood what was going on in the book. I enjoyed Myers' writing style, and would have loved if the tragic scenes were further expanded on so that I could been further exposed to his writing style.
I really wish I had more to say about this book. I went into this book wanting so desperately to like it, I've been meaning to read this one for years. Unfortunately, I was completely underwhelmed by this book. I did everything I could to avoid reading it, and I actually skimmed the last 30 pages. If you haven't read this book, proceed with caution.
April 21, 2013
Sunrise Over Fallujah by Walter Dean Myers tells the story of Robin Perry, a normal guy who faces many challenges in his life. He was given the nickname "Birdy" by his loving family. Robin builds relationships throughout his adventure despite the pain all around him. Against his father’s wishes, Robin decides to go into the military over going to college. He is deployed to Iraq in 2003 during the days of fight to remove Saddam Hussein. Birdy becomes more and more delusional with the whole mission. He is struggling to understand who he is and what he is doing there. Birdy makes friends on the battlefield with several members of his unit. Jonesy, a blues man from Georgia, becomes Birdy's best friend. He develops a crush on Marla Kennedy, a streetwise girl from Long Island. They realize that back in the United States, they likely would not be as close of friends as they are now. However, their bonds between one another form absolute trust and dedication. Not only is Robin facing the literal, deadly conflict of warfare, but there is the internal fight he is trying to win. I highly recommend it to anyone that is interested in war and self-accomplishment. I really enjoyed reading this book and would read it again.
July 12, 2009
I haven't read one of his books in some time, but this one makes me realize what a great author he is. This is not a book I would normally pick up, but I'm working on reading all the Tayshas books for '09-'10. However, I did read Tamarfrom this last year's Tayshas list and I liked it, too. The story follows a Civilian Affairs squad in the beginning of the Iraq war. In particular, you get to know the main character, Robin. The story really gave me some insight into what our soldiers continue to experience in this war. It provides a glimpse into that experience, and perhaps a better understanding of why things have drawn out as they have. I appreciate that Meyers didn't attempt to give a particular opinion of the conflict or cast judgment on the right or wrong of it, but rather has given us a story of things being what they are. I would highly recommend this book both as a good read and a good war story.
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October 23, 2009This book is one of my favorites because it has action that constantly keeps you on the edge of your seat. During parts of this book I cried, and in others i had a huge grin on my face. This book has many more great characteristics than bad. Anyone who reads this book will find it heartwarming and action packed.
My favorite character in this story was "Birdy," the main character. He is from New York and a member of the U.S. Army.towards the end of the book one of his friends Charles or "Jonesy," as his friends call him, get closer and upsetting news comes down the pike.Birdy was wounded during combat in Iraq, and received a purple heart for his efforts. birdy is just a good person following his dreams.
I would recommend this book to anyone in middle school and older. The reason that some kids wouldn't want to read this, is because it has a lot of violence and curse words.
My favorite character in this story was "Birdy," the main character. He is from New York and a member of the U.S. Army.towards the end of the book one of his friends Charles or "Jonesy," as his friends call him, get closer and upsetting news comes down the pike.Birdy was wounded during combat in Iraq, and received a purple heart for his efforts. birdy is just a good person following his dreams.
I would recommend this book to anyone in middle school and older. The reason that some kids wouldn't want to read this, is because it has a lot of violence and curse words.
August 10, 2008
Just out of high school, Robin joins the service and is sent to Iraq. I think Myers does a good job here of teaching young readers about life during wartime Iraq, and in writing a suspenseful and compelling story. There's a little bit of repetition (women as caregivers, things happening when someone is using the bathroom) as well as Myers pet topics (Harlem and the blues) shoehorned into the story. However, it's still a compelling, contemporary war story, and I think readers will enjoy it. Interestingly, I have a friend who is currently an embedded journalist in Afghanistan, and his most recent email echoed some of the writing in this book so closely, I felt it must have a good deal of accuracy.
October 25, 2012
The book is about a solider who recently joined the army and went to Iraq. It's about what he thinks of what's going on. He descibes the things that they do. I gave it two stars as I didn't think it was that good. A lot of it's very dull and there's not much action or anything. He's in the civialian affaris unit, so they're just like searching Iraq homes. "I could feel my heart beat faster as we crossed the border into Iraq. Marla's pointing out the body bags didn't help it slow down." (Myers 42). This just shows his thoughts entering the war, as this was really about the average solider, and his point of view. I would reccomend this to anyone joining the army as its about the average solider.
June 11, 2013
This book was more-or-less interesting. It follows a newly in listed man named Robin Perry that is assigned to a civic affairs battalion. It gives the reader a realistic taste of what it was like in Iraq for the enlisted men and women of the US Army during time of war. Robin or as people referred to him “birdy” learns lessons about life in the army. He learned that people that you are closely associated with can die in a flash and there is pretty much nothing that one can do about it. It was tough life lesson but all that you can do is move on. Overall it was easy and good book to read. It makes one think how hard the men and women overseas are working to protect the freedoms that we enjoy every day.
June 15, 2009
Sunrise Over Fallujah is about a young man named Robin who is based on the frontlines of Iraq. He witnesses some horrible things in Iraq that are unfortunatly real life things.
I can connect this book to Red badge of Courage because both books are about war. I an also connect this book to real life because unfortunatly these things happen in real life.
I would give this book a 5 star rating because I have an interest in books about war. I like to read books about war because you always wonder what it must be like. I would recomend this book to anybody from the ages of 12-anyone because this book is a very intense book about real life events.
I can connect this book to Red badge of Courage because both books are about war. I an also connect this book to real life because unfortunatly these things happen in real life.
I would give this book a 5 star rating because I have an interest in books about war. I like to read books about war because you always wonder what it must be like. I would recomend this book to anybody from the ages of 12-anyone because this book is a very intense book about real life events.
January 28, 2016
Robin Perry is an army recruit from Harlem and doesn't know why he joined the army but he is sure of one thing that is that he is headed to Iraq. He gets his name "Birdy" from the other army recruits and he didn't like them calling him that but he learns that it is a nickname. Robin and the others are supposed to interact with the Iraqi people fully. But something goes wrong and makes the Operation Iraqi Freedom name turn into a lot simpler name for it War. Will this war come to an end? Will Robin be okay? Does anyone die? Well you will see.
I recommend this book to people who like books with conflict or about the army. I hope you enjoy it!
I recommend this book to people who like books with conflict or about the army. I hope you enjoy it!
September 27, 2009
The character who changed the most from beginning of the book to the end is Jonesy because he was the guy that always sing the blues and he would always wish that he wanted to have a joint in town to make his own blues club and wanted everyone in the army to join but during the army, their were lots of difficult task at hand and when jonesy does his task, he is very serious and hard working at the objective. Jonesy doesn't survive the war in fallujah. Instead he sacrifice himself to save others lives.
November 17, 2010
An excellent YA novel about a young man, Birdy, who decides to enlist after 9/11 rather than go to college. I'm glad my nephew had to read this for school, or I never would have picked it up.
"Mama said that I shouldn't be the hero type. I don't know. Maybe you have to be a hero type to deal with the bigger things that happen to you. At least you have to be bigger than life to fit all the things inside that you didn't know you could absorb before. I never thought I would see the things I have seen." (p. 280)
"Mama said that I shouldn't be the hero type. I don't know. Maybe you have to be a hero type to deal with the bigger things that happen to you. At least you have to be bigger than life to fit all the things inside that you didn't know you could absorb before. I never thought I would see the things I have seen." (p. 280)
September 26, 2008
I picked this one up at the library because we buy books for a boys middle school.
9/26/08 I have to say I find this a bit slow going, perhaps because I am reading about the start of a war that is still ongoing. We may buy this just cause the boys like this author and because they can certainly benefit from some of the emotions of war's reality.
I don't plan to finish it myself, at least now.
9/26/08 I have to say I find this a bit slow going, perhaps because I am reading about the start of a war that is still ongoing. We may buy this just cause the boys like this author and because they can certainly benefit from some of the emotions of war's reality.
I don't plan to finish it myself, at least now.
June 1, 2015
I was less impressed with this book after finishing Fallen Angels and having the same expectations for this one. The plot just didn't get interesting at one specific point. There were small ups and downs of the plot, but not one major scene that sticks out to the reader. I still enjoyed reading it because of the setting it was written in, but it didn't impress me in the way I was hoping for.
May 28, 2015
I thought that Sunrise Over Fallujah, by Walter Dean Myers was overall a good read. It gives good perspective on how war affects anyone, even a civil affairs unit whose mission is to simply help people. After reading this book I now have a different perspective on war and how rough and inhumane it still is in today's society.
November 17, 2016
This book is great. It really is like this book book actually happend. I recommend this book to anyone Who likes sad books but intense. This book is sad it has lots of people dying. It is a really great book.
April 27, 2015
I think that this is a good book if you like to listen to people talk about war. It also move your fellings.
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