Unconventional Warfare

Special Forces #1

by Chris Lynch

Discover the secret missions behind America's greatest conflicts.

Danny Manion has been fighting his entire life. Sometimes with his fists. Sometimes with his words. But when his actions finally land him in real trouble, he can't fight the judge who offers him a choice: jail... or the army.

Turns out there's a perfect place for him in the US military: the Studies and Observation Group (SOG), an elite volunteer-only task force comprised of US Air Force Commandos, Army Green Berets, Navy SEALS, and even a CIA agent or two. With the SOG's focus on covert action and psychological warfare, Danny is guaranteed an unusual tour of duty, and a hugely dangerous one. Fortunately, the very same qualities that got him in trouble at home make him a natural-born commando in a secret war. Even if almost nobody knows he's there.

National Book Award finalist Chris Lynch begins a new, explosive fiction series based on the real-life, top-secret history of US black ops.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, War, Military Fiction, Historical, Adventure, School

176 pages, Hardcover

Published November 27, 2018

About the author

Chris 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.

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first in a new series entitled Special Forces, this one features a damaged young man with anger management issues. Danny Manion finds himself at the end of the road after a series of bad decisions and fights. When he faces the choice of enlisting in the army or being incarcerated, he opts for the former, and as the cliche goes, it makes a man of him. Danny ends up in the unit where his former wrestling coach and mentor, Col. Macias, and becomes part of a team of Special Operatives whose work takes them under the grid as the conflict in Vietnam heats up. Some of the characteristics that made him struggle as a civilian turn out to be advantages in his new role. But parts of Danny also soften as he falls in love with the beauty of the land and its animals, most notably elephants, and begins to photograph that beauty. Although he engages in shocking acts of violence along with his compatriots, including slaughtering a female road crew repairing a road for the other side, he also seems to have grown a conscience and question some of what is happening around him and to which he is a party. Through it all, even as he comes close to death, his father keeps writing letters of encouragement. The book's conclusion is somewhat shocking, but readers will be riveted throughout the book due to the detailed descriptions of warfare fought in unconventional ways by unconventional men. Fans of this author and his World War II-themed books will certainly want to pick this one. But its contents are not for the fainthearted.

[American Mensa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Danny Manion cannot help misbehaving; after his mother left, his father has trouble managing his gaggle of sons, of which Danny is the most troublesome and violent. He beats people up to release his anger, and one day, after getting caught stealing (“borrowing”) a motorcycle, a judge offers him the choice to join the army in the Vietnam War or go to prison. Danny, of course, chooses the former. Because of his wrestling coach’s position in the military, he and his camera join an elite unit, the book detailing both the operations of the unit and the tragedies that come with sneaking away with a camera. At one point, Danny’s friends are killed on a photo expedition. At the end of the book, he ends up going home, having served. The key issue here comes from the treatment of war. Although many other books in this genre are explicit in the horrors of war and violence, this book does not really deal with that, leaving Danny a much unchanged, extremely violent boy. He has not absorbed the inhumanity of all he has experienced, and in truth, many characters talk about Americans being in Vietnam solely to kill without any indication that this is bad. With so many other books in this genre covering war in a more interesting and impactful way, it would be a shame to read this because it does not deal with the moral and psychological effects of all this death, particularly on an already violent person like Danny.
Nathan P, age 16, Delaware Valley Mensa

[Brenda Kahn]

While I have not read everything Chris Lynch has written, I am a fan. He excels at portraying angry young men and exploring toxic masculinity. This one was a bit of a miss for me. Too brief, too much left unexplained and no real resolution. I kept thinking I had skipped pages and frequently turned back to reread. Certain aspects strained credulity: would a judge actually give a juvenile that choice? Did the dad actually sign off on that? Special forces are extremely difficult to get into. Other than Danny's propensity to fight, he had no real skills. What made him so special that he got in? And photography? In special forces? Hm. Then, there's there's Mr. Macias. That's one dedicated teacher! With some pull, I guess. In what world would he re-enlist and get assigned to command/ train his student let alone get him into special forces? Perhaps young readers will not question these incongruities. The length is sure to attract struggling readers but the insertion of the letters from Danny's dad supposedly written in calligraphy but typeset with cursive font might be a deal breaker. Students are still taught cursive at our school, but many struggle with both reading and writing it. I thought I'd check out the next book in the series to find out if Danny's story continues but it appears that book two deals with a different special force and mc.

[Stephanie Bange · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: Reviewed from an ARC

Joining his series of fictional books about WWII and Vietnam, comes Special Forces. This high-low book will especially appeal to video gamers.

It is the story of Daniel Manion, a young man with a big chip on his shoulder. Not knowing how to channel his anger and frustration with life, he abuses his younger brothers. One day he is caught beating up another boy; the judge gives him a choice: jail or joining the army. He chooses the latter. Told in first person point of view, the story jumps over basic training, putting Danny right in the middle of the jungles of 1963 Cambodia, where he is a photographer for an elite squad of dark ops soldiers that is led by his former wrestling coach.

The team is small, so the characters are limited, but fleshed out well. Note the violence is graphically described (p. 42, p. 43) and they play mindgames. Danny at times talks to himself like a madman – the type of desensitized soldier often seen in contemporary war films. Scattered throughout, the letters from his father who is at back in the US, not where is his son is, are poignant.

A good title to suggest for young men considering enlisting in the military.

OPTIONAL PURCHASE for grades 7-12

[Jones Samol · Rating 3 out of 5]

In my opinion, this novel was alright. This book is the first of a military series written by Chris Lynch. This novel is about Danny Manion, a who's faced with incarceration or joining the military through bad decisions and fighting. He joins the Army and becomes apart of a Special Forces team sent to Vietnam. I didn't really like this book because there wasn't much depth within the characters. The readers are thrown a set of characters with the mindset of just killing. Besides that, I will compliment Danny's growth. At the start, he's a violent person but as the story continues, he begins to show his fascination and love for Vietnam's nature and animals through photography. The book is just too short to give any of the characters depth and development. As for the organization of this book, it's all over the place. Personally, I got lost with this book extremely easy because of the sudden changes in pace of the book. The transitions weren't the best because fights battles happened extremely suddenly, but I can say one thing. Lynch does a decent job at creating battles/fights. He makes it easy to visualize and imagine the warfare that's happening through detailed compact fights. I would not recommend this book because I believe it is boring.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book in the Spring 2019 Scholastic Book Fair preview pack. All opinions are my own.

To be 100% honest, I debated only giving this 1 star. In the end, I went with two because it did get somewhat better towards the end, and mainly because I do have some kids that I could imagine handing this book to in my building. My main concerns: it didn't seem very well written. There is a lack of character development, and the backstory part at the beginning of the story was rushed and not very believable. BUT, for a book that deals with a soldier in the Vietnam War, it was actually still appropriate for a middle school reader (there is some violence since it takes place in war, but there is no language or anything exceedingly graphic).

In the end, this is a story about a kid who has made some bad choices and is told to either enlist in the army or to go to jail. He chooses the army and ends up in the Special Forces, an elite squad that doesn't officially exist where they are in the world. Between the lies and the secrets, he has to decide how to be a soldier when he doesn't always agree with the expectations placed on him.

[Valerie McEnroe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adult rating: 3 stars
Kid rating: 3 stars

Danny has anger management issues. When he steals and crashes a motorcycle, the judge sentences him to military service in Vietnam. He becomes an elite Army Ranger with a recon unit tasked with stopping North Vietnam's supply route. He is his unit's photographer, as well as a soldier. As angry as he can get over normal squabbles, he has a difficult time killing innocent animals and women.

I expect young people interested in the military to really go for this book. Except for the part where the Colonel takes Danny on a special mission to kill an elephant, just to prove a point, I thought the war action was realistic. A little gory at times, but no where near as bad as it could have been. I didn't really get the source of Danny's anger or his annoyance with his father and brothers. I also didn't understand how his coach ended up being his commanding officer. Coach/Colonel is the biggest influence in Danny's life and their relationship is well developed. I wish some of the other characters were developed a little more, but it is a short book.

[Tyler Heavey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Note: Sorry I wasn't updating my progression and page count I honestly forgot.

Unconventional Warfare (Special Forces, #1) by Chris Lynch is a book about a boy named Danny Manion. Danny as a boy struggled with the law and didn't give his father respect. As a result, the court gave a unique sentence, to serve in the military. when Danny joined the military he loved it. Danny became bonded with his brothers in arms and learned brotherhood respect and leadership. He changed into a new man and stayed in the military voluntarily. I really liked this book I thought it was interesting and relatable as I may want to join the military someday. I gave the book Unconventional Warfare (Special Forces, #1) by Chris Lynch a rating of 5/5 stars because I thought it was an awesome book that lacked nothing. I felt this book was well deserving of a perfect score. I think the theme of this book is that you can do better no matter what your past is.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Special Forces by Chris Lynch is an explosive fiction series. This book is about a young man who beats up his brother very often and his single father doesn't know how to handle it. His father has to work but it seems he can't leave the boys at home alone because a fight will break out. The boy, Danny, got in trouble for stealing a motorcycle and is faced with a choice. Danny has to pick between going to prison and serving in the army special forces. Obviously the title of the book tells you what he chose to do, but it is so much more than that.

I did not like this book as much as I thought I would. It was a little hard to follow along because there was a lot of back and forth and not a lot of organization. If you like organized chaos then you might be able to grasp what is going on. The story line is very good, the book was interesting but it just wasn't for me. I rate this book 3 out of 5 stars because I like the story line just not the format it's written in.

[Theo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well I really didn't understand how this was supposed to be a teen's book.Seriously. How graphic was this overall? Why was I gagging when it said he looked at a picture of a woman screaming when she has like five bullets in her body? Why WHY did it have to be so graphic. Dude Chris Lynch. WTF. Danny is a robot. he has no feelings. For example ladies and gentlemen. When the guy crawls up the mountain and he's climbing up a rope to a helicopter. It says "Danny felt a bullet tear through his leg and he kept crawling."
Sounds like this guy doesn't give a f*** about anything in the world. He does not feel pain.
Ladies and Gentlemen... I Present to you! SUPERMAN!!!
But to all you world war two scrubs out there screaming from happiness. The setting of vietnam in a vietnam war was cool. The theme was good too. read this book if you're not scared

[Rodney Robinson]

I picked this one up after finishing a book earlier today.... just to read the first couple of pages. Yeah, that didn't happen. After the first couple of pages and getting into the meat of the book it held me there. I have met some special forces guys while I was active duty and from some of the stories they told me this is pretty true to form. In fact, one friend, who came home on leave just to come to my wedding party had only three people know exactly where he was. They take their job seriously for sure. This book conveys that message. This author has done some good research on the subject, and I look forward to his book coming out in December. I would highly recommend this to anyone who likes military stories.

[BrOdy WhIDdoN · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a great book, it has lots of interesting parts to it. The reason I gave it a four of our five rating is because it needs more real life details for the book, the book over all is a fantastic book. If you are really into military training, camps, and doing hard work then, this book is definitely for you. Some of the stories are like some of the ones that my grandpa told me when I was younger. This book kinda made me sad because right be for my grandpa passed he always told us he supported us in everything we did.In the book there were people that did allways believe in the people, and sometimes had to push through things on there own. He used to tell us things that happened while he was at war, and sometimes he only has a wall to talk to. If think your lonley you will never be as lonley as he was in the war, how this messages corilates to what im said is me basically tell you that militery can be a great learning opportunity but can also cost you your life, but allways give everything 110%.

[Maxxwel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave it four out of five stars because it was great but it wasn't the best it could have had a bit more detail and action. And I didn't give it a lower rating because it had more action and detail than most books I've read. I would recommend this book to my friends or to anyone who likes war and action.

I liked this book because it had many characters that are all important and I learned many things that I didn't know like new words and weapons. The part I didn't like is that it sounds a little like all the other war books I've read. This book would have been better if it was a little more unique like I had a battle I've never heard of before.

[Braedan M · Rating 3 out of 5]

I almost gave this book a two star review. The initial characterization and exposition is pretty bad and doesn't do a lot for the likability of the characters. The only saving grace for this story is that it had me thinking about humanity and the validity of orders. The message of the story made me think even though the main character doesn't seem to learn it. I don't regret reading it, there were a couple lessons (especially about how to improve my own writing) but I definitely wont read it again.

[Lisa Kizer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am still in shock after completing this book. Not trying to give anything away but I keep wondering why did Danny/Bug have to kill the elephant? I am assuming that this is a metaphor for the craziness of the Vietnam War. I just don't know what to think about that or Mr./Col. Macias who is Danny's teacher in the real world and his c.o. in Vietnam. Confusing definitely.

[Seth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Danny Manion is the main character. the genre is adventure and it told in first person. Danny Manion is in the army because the other was to go to jail. The setting somewhere in USA bases. people that would like this book are people who like warfare. A good part he launched a bullet into a person's head

[Ms. Mc]

This book was really good in my opinion. I rate this book 4.5 out of 5.
This book is about a kid named Danial who is very bad because he fights to basically kill his brothers, stole a motorcycle, and ends up in a judge room. The judge sent him to a specialized fighter team so he can fight for his nation. I recommend reading this book because of all the action, plot, and suspense.

[Juliana B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unconventional Warfare was interesting and action-packed. It was mostly fast paced and exciting but it was a bit slow paced at times. I would recommend Unconventional Warfare to anyone who likes historical fiction, especially about wars, and adventure.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Historical fiction during the Vietnam War that jumps around without a lot of development. The father's letters in cursive print (which the storyline kept calling calligraphy, but was not) were difficult to read and will be a deterrent to those reluctant readers who may actually pick up this book.

[Squad5]

this was a good book...👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀🐺🐶🐕🔝🔝🔝🔝🔝🔝🔝🔝🔝🔝🔝🔝🗽🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[Bryan Borgman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the war story I was expecting but it was decent. I work in a middle school, where this book’s audience is, and I’m surprised to see so much handwriting “calligraphy “ type font used throughout as I’m not even sure most of my students could even read it.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written novel of the Vietnam war that includes graphic gore that helps one know why service people struggle with PTSD. I would not recommend this for middle grade readers. It is full of suspense, but also, the horrors of war.

[Sharie · Rating 3 out of 5]

MC: graphic violence from Vietnam

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unrealistic and jumpy. A criminal brother-beater does not automatically become a great soldier because he's in the service.

[Chrissy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t care for the start, but once he was in the war, the story was more compelling.

[Levi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Behind the Scenes book on Black OPS.

[Tyrous Conner 8A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

[Aaron Colwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

very good 10/10 would read agen

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book diffrent and good

[Logan B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book over war. Very interesting, Very action like. This book is 5 stars.