Honor Bound

Tides of War #2

by C. Alexander London

Based on a real military program! The US Navy's new breed of soldier is ready to make a big splash.

An action-packed, maritime military adventure from the author of Dog Tags.

A notorious Somalian pirate sails the Arabian Sea, leading a band of deadly thieves and mercenaries on an international crime spree. When they take American hostages aboard a cargo ship, they've finally gone too far -- and a special task force of Navy SEALs and Marines is called in to help. SEALs, Marines . . . and a talented sea lion named Sly.

As Sly's handler, young sailor Felix has two important jobs. Job one is to get Sly to plant a beacon so that the U.S. strike force can follow the pirates back to their haven. Job two is to keep the sea lion safe and out of combat. But when the mission goes wrong and the pirates get the upper hand, Felix and Sly end up right in the middle of the action . . . with dozens of innocent lives at stake.

Genres: War, Childrens, Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade

224 pages, Paperback

First published December 30, 2014

Reviews

[Carson Charves]

This book is about a young man named felix. I really like felix, he is like, always wanting to do it and finish his job with no excuses. He is in the Navy and apart of the animal part where he has a animal he has to train to be in different situations to help do stuff when they need him. Felix has a Seal named sly. Sly is a very trustworth animal and always does what he is suppose to do. Whenever he gets done with a job he always gets a fish to eat as a reward. They train and train until some pirates hijacked this cargo boat. usually they will just give them the money that they wont and they will give back the ship. This time they wanted to get this ship back with out them getting the money. Sly and Felix go threw many tasks that they have to do and tough situations they have to take on. With there ship blowing up and with the hijackers getting away, what else can go wrong. To find out what happens to Felix and Sly and the encounters read, Tides of war; Honor Bound by C. Alexander London.

[Justin.h · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a notorious pirate named Surfer Boy, roams the Arabian Sea with his crew of other deadly pirate thieves. But when they take over an American cargo ship and take hostages, they finally alerted the Americas Navy! With a well trained Sea Lion named Sly and his handler Felix get called him to help track down this destructive crew. All so the US strike force can follow these outlaws to their Haven. With the help of Seal Team Six, Marines, and the US Navy. Can Sly and Felix track down the pirates so the military can take out Surfer Boy and his deadly crew!
I recommend this book because when Sly and Felix work together with other military forces it becomes a action packed book that you can not put down.

[MATTHEW MEDINA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honor Bound is an exciting and interesting book about a man and his sea lion, Sly. The two are members of the marine mammal program for the navy. Felix, who is Sly's handler, and Sly are placed with a task of saving the whole Navy and Marines crew. They must stop a dangerous pirate named Surfer Boy to save the crew and thousands of Somalians that he has threatened. Honor Bound had me on the edge of my seat since the beginning of the book. This is the 2nd book that I have read in the "Tides of War" series and am currently reading the next book. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys action-packed books. This is a great story for people interested in the military, animals, or action.





-Written by: [Matthew Medina], {Period 6 Mr. Hopkins}

[Grayson Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book I gave it 5/5 stars because it was entertaining and keeps you wanting to read the whole time. ->SOPILERS AHEAD<- this book was about a guy named Felix and his sea lion sly and they are part of the marine mammal program in the military and they are deployed with a navy SEAL team for sly (the sea lion) to plant a tracking devise on a private ship while they are invading a ship and taking prisoners while they are doing that they cause a commotion and send a team (the pirates do) to plant a bomb on the ship that Felix and the crew arrived on and they blew that up while they were out planting the tracker and then their mission turned into search and rescue to find the rest of the living crew members and take them to safety and after that, they track down the pirate ship to a remote island that is owned by the head of the pirate crew beach boy (he is called that because of his blue eyes and blond hair) and they blow up the island and execute surfer boy so that him and his crew cant hurt any more innocent people.

[Jackson W · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about a sea lion named Sly and his handler, Felix. Felix and Sly are part of a Navy Seal unit. The unit they are part of gets called into action to help take back a cargo ship that is attacked by Somalian pirates. The Somalian pirate group is led by Surfer Boy. Felix and Sly need to recapture some of the people that the pirates have captured and also try to eliminate Surfer Boy.
Sly is supposed to plant a beacon on the pirates boat so that the U.S. can follow the pirates back to their home base. Unfortunately things don't go as planned. Sly is able to plant the beacon but then things get crazy. People are injured and so is Sly. Felix feels very guilty about Sly being hurt so he questions if animals in the Marine animal program is good for the animals.

[Hudson Turbyfill · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book Honor Bound by C. Alexander London is a great action packed book. This book is about a sea lion named Sly that helps the Navy Seals and Marines plant a beacon, but why is this all happening. Well, a Somalian pirate sails the sea with dangerous thieves on a crime mission. The Marines, Navy Seals, and sly are now trying to stop these bad pirates.

My opinion on the book is that it is a very action packed book. It is very interesting the more you read and think about whats happening. I thought it could have been a little longer of a book.

I recommend this book to 5-7 grade because it is not long but have some real life things in the book.

[Sean Phan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a really nice selection. It is about this group of the US Navy that utilizes seals to help track vessels. This pirate that runs a part of the sea in and around a third world country by the name of Surfer Boy terrorizes sailors and it is the Navy team's job to help and try to stop the pirate activity.

[Christine D · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good second book of this series (although I am more partial to dolphins...) and again I enjoyed the marine mammal/handler relationship and their assisting of SpecOps. But, be warned this was much more violent than the first book.

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was a great book liked it a lot

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING

[Debbie Merrill · Rating 5 out of 5]

not as good as first one

[Walter Madondo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this a long time ago,don't have much to say. But it's story is really interesting although you would benefit much from it terms of new vocabulary

[Kian Moe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great ending! I'm glad "Surfer Boy" was finally brougth to Justice! I wish C. alexander london had made more of these books! They're great!!!

[Travis Christensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plot: Felix is a seal trainer of the real animal and they are in the navy the seals name is sly and they go and do everything together. One day Felix and Sly go to an anti piracy boat to help out. They go on a mission and Sly puts a tracker on one of the pirates boats to track them and all of a sudden the pirates start shooting in the air for a distraction. the pirates create a distraction and the boat that the navy were on blew up and so they called in the navy seals to help capture the pirates that did that to them.

Three words: one word that i did not know was admirable but the sentence was pretty easy to figure it out with ¨you did admirable, creative and brave work.¨ so here it is saying that they basically did good work
equivocate and the sentence was You did not equivocate, you made your point uncompromisingly.
if figured it meant to not be able to decide on anything and go back and forth.
the final word it expeditionary the sentence is this The Ritland could hold an entire US Marine Corps expeditionary force if it had to and the ritland was the boat they were on it is like the marines that go to other countries and fight instead of guarding there home.

Theme: Sometimes in life you find yourself in a situation were it may be hard to keep going and you think you just have to quite but you must keep going. Sometimes the hard thing to do is the right thing to do even if it endangers yourself or others. In the book Honor Bound Felix shows lots of bravery and his commanding officer says this to him after they got done with the mission ¨you did admirable, creative and brave work.¨ We all know that at some point in our life we will have to show lots of bravery even if it is a life or death situation we must be brave.

Opinion: I really liked this book I like book like this it was very interesting and a really good and pretty short book. Unlike other books this book did not go on for forever this book kinda got right to the point. This book had lots of action and adventure once one fun part ended another began and it was good. The only thing that i did not like about this book was that they had lots of military words but i eventually figured them out and that was it it was a good book overall.

[zapkode · Rating 5 out of 5]

{My Thoughts} – Felix is Sly’s trainer in the US Navy’s Marine Mammal Program. Sly is a well trained Sea Lion that has a lot of potential. Felix is a trainer that is willing to stop at almost nothing to prove how well Sly has been trained and how useful their program is to the US Navy.

Felix and Sly are deployed on a mission to help catch some real live pirates that are hiding out in Somalia Seas. Sly has one purpose to put a tracker on the pirates skiff during their mission. The object of the tracker is to make it near to impossible for the pirates to get away with the hostages and hide from the US Navy.

The mission doesn’t exactly go the way it was planned to go. There is a lot of action, a lot of battle and a lot of re-evaluating of current situations. The question however, is, Sly successful? Are they able to track the pirates? Is the mission carried out from start to finish how they wanted it to be? What happens that makes them have to re-think their position in terms of the outcome of the mission? Do Felix and Sly live to partake in another mission in the future?

The whole time I was reading I kept having more and more questions running through my mind. I am rather pleased with this book as it lived up to the expectations that the first book had left me with. I think that any child that is interested in marine animals and or the military will find this book as well as the first in the series a very nice read. I look forward to seeing what my own son thinks about this book once I let him read it!

[Payton Heller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read the book Tides of War Endurance by C. Alexander London. This book is part of a several book series. This book takes place between a member a Navy seal and his sea lion Hansel. Everyday they work and train together for several hours. After doing this every day for years they have come to build a very strong relationship. They were deployed to sea to search for any bombs they suspect the russians planted. They were compromised by some mercenaries and Hansel bit one of them. They were forced to put Hansel down. Ryan could not live with that fact so he jumps in the boat and starts to drive away, but his boat was shot and sinking fast. That is when the book gets good.

One of my favorite parts of this book is how Ryan really relates to me. He likes his sea lion more than most people, where I like my dog more than most people. They always get along and are there for each other. I really like this book because the author never fails to throw in some good details to make it even harder to put down.

Another great example of him throwing in fun details is when he describes the scene and two of the mercenaries are playing xbox. I play xbox once in awhile so I enjoyed that detail. I also thought it was funny how they' re on a huge mission and their concerned about video games.

I am very glad i read this book. It is packed with action and with great detail, yet he managed to do it without dragging on and on. I believe the theme here is friendship. Without they both would have been dead. I would certainly recommend it to a friend.

[Jacob Missbrenner]

It was another great book by Alexander London that focused less on taking action in combat but taking action to help end or not cause combat as our main character Felix is working with his Sea Lion named Sly to help get some electronics and drones back and running to track and stop a notorious pirate named Surfer Boy. During one of the engagements Felix and Sly look and tag mines to rescue hostages on a Boat taken hostage by Surfer Boy but it went wrong as they made a distraction and sunk the Rittland with a bomb killing one of their chiefs and many SEALs and sailors. Felix has a moral dilemma as he doesn't want to take his best friend into such a dangerous fight but wants justice for the many deaths of the Rittland. As Felix and Sly tag mines the SEALs and marines move in and proceed to take down pirates and rescue the hostages from the take over of the boat earlier. But Surfer Boy uses a little boy to scout out the Marines and they engage injuring Gutiererez and Adams and many others but lead to the success of the mission and death of Surfer Boy and the other pirates. Sly is shot while attacking surfer boy and is given medical aid as what Felix thought to be Sly's last moments but he survives and they are sent back to San Diego California and they lead a normal life in their program to help like they always did. It was a good book showing the morality and bond between Felix and Sly and showing their care for one another to keep eachother safe through whatever they face, even if the program might be shut down (which it wasn't) and or dangerous or life treating missions.

[Jtimko · Rating 4 out of 5]

When a notorious Somalian pirate boards an American ship and takes hostages, the Navy SEALs and US Marines are called in to track and eliminate the group. Accompanying them is a young marine (Felix) and his tracking seal (Sly) whose special assignment is to attach a tracking device on the pirate ship. But the mission gets complicated when the group comes under fire. Will Felix risk the life of Sly in order to complete the mission?
This is the second story on the Tides of War series by Scholastic. It introduces a program that was little known to civilians- that of sea animals being used as reconnaissance and aides to the Marines. They were especially used in harbors to patrol for underwater devices. The book is a stand-alone so it can be read independent of the first volume in the series. The nature of the book is realistic so queasy readers should not attempt to read this book. There are some graphic war scenes and descriptive text which is relevant to the story. Not recommended for the elementary collection. Recommended for the mature reader. Recommended for grades 6 and up.

[Will Kaster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did you ever think a seal could fight in a war? In "Tides of War", you will read about a seal fighting a terrorist to get back a cruise ship. I really enjoyed this book because it was full of action. This book took us from the smooth waters in California to tides of war in Somalia.

My first point about this book is that it is full of action and adventure, for example, Sly, and Felix go into a war zone with flying hot lead also known as gunfire flying through the air. The story was also humorous along with being adventurous such as when Felix was playing basketball with a seal and falls in the pool unexpectedly while trying to make a basket.

My second point is that it is relatable to real life because many things in this book could happen to anyone. For example, in the story, they were considering closing down the marine mammal program which has happened in other parts of our country.

I recommend this book to all readers, but especially those who like action, adventure, and a little bit of humor. This book was well written and is good for all ages of readers.

[Travis W · Rating 5 out of 5]

November Book Review
Honor Bound
C. Alexander London
Honor Bound is an amazing book about a seal handler named Felix and his seal named Sly. They are both in the Navy's Marine Mammal Program. They get a top secret mission to find their fellow Navy SEALS that were captured by Somalian pirates. While on their mission the U.S.S Ritland is bombed which was caused by a distraction. They need to kill a pirate warlord named Surfer Boy. They find him on a beach and have a battle with him a his pirate gang. Sly was sent after Surfer Boy and he was caught by him and then shot.

The theme of this book is to never give up. Felix had to go through his ship exploding with most of his friends still inside. He still powered through and completed his mission. His seal was shot and couldn't move onto the boat and Felix still tried to get him on and eventually did. His boss was stuck under a control desk while the U.S.S Ritland was sinking and he tried with all of hin might and got him out.

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will the seal be able to prove himself to the navy to save its program. Your about to find out when the ship goes under. I would recommend Honor Bound, by C. Alexander London to anybody who likes war books.

[Tyler W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tides of War Honor Bound by C. Alexander London tells a story about a man named Felix and his seal, Sly, in the US Navy Marine Mammal Program. Together they help show the Navy they do need the MMP ( Marine Mammal Program). “They distracted us while they planted a bomb,” Felix said (pg. 80). When a bomb detonates off the side of a US navy's ship, the USS Ritland, Felix and Sly must get back to the ship and save as many sailors as possible by sending Sly into the sinking ship. Will Sly make it out before the ship sinks?
Can they get the sailors out in time? You can find out in Tides of War Honor Bound by C. Alexander London. I would recommend this book to someone that likes action and suspense books and doesn’t like to read books difficult to follow.

[CONOR TOBINHEALY · Rating 5 out of 5]

The name of the book I read was Tides Of War Honor Bound. The book was a realistic fiction. I chose to read the book because I have read other books in the series, and they were good.

The story takes place in San Diego and Somalia. The main characters are Felix and Sly (a sea lion). Felix and Sly (part of the MK6 team in the U.S. Navy) go to fight pirates. All the pirates die, but Sly gets shot.

It made me feel sad and excited. The plot seemed real. I really liked the book, because the characters seemed real. I think that the recommended age level is 12-14. I give the book a solid 8/10.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was intriguing and adventurous. It had a-lot of exciting parts. One of the adventurous and exciting parts are when they rescue the hostages. It is also sad because in the end Felix, the trainer, thinks he loses Sly, sea lion partner. He goes in in the end to take out the pirate captain and find Sly. In the end Sly and Felix are reunited but one of them comes out with injuries. Read more to find out who survives the attack.

[Justin Baccho · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book was really good and i liked how that all these characters are always working hard for their next mission. Also cool how the navy has a mammel program and uses a sea lion to help on their missions. I really like this book and would like to read more of these kinds of books.I'm also sure others would like it to.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 8yo son devoured this book. This series has brought 2 of his long standing interests - marine mammals and combat - together in fast paced narrative.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for 4th - 6th graders. Realistic fiction made very interesting for kids today.

[Giorgio Labriola]

May someone please add me on kik and give me a summary of this book

[Katelyn Zuehlke · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was awesome

[Cmdr Bly]

very difrent to get used to after book one look foward to book 3