Soldier Boys

by Dean Hughes, Kim McGillivray

Spencer Morgan and Dieter Hedrick are on opposite sides of the war and fighting for the same thing.

At the age of fifteen, Dieter's blind devotion gets him promoted from Hitler Youth into the German army. Dieter's determined to prove his allegiance and bravery at all costs.
Spence, just sixteen, drops out of his Utah high school to begin training as a paratrooper. He's seen how boys who weren't much in high school can come home heroes, and Spence wants to prove to his friends and family that he really can be something.
Their worst fear was that the war would end too soon -- that they wouldn't get the chance to prove themselves. But when they finally see the action they were hoping for, it's like nothing they could have ever imagined.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, War, Fiction, World War II, Historical, Military Fiction

240 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Dean Hughes is the author of more than eighty books for young readers, including the popular sports series Angel Park All-Stars, the Scrappers series, the Nutty series, the widely acclaimed companion novels Family Pose and Team Picture, and Search and Destroy. Soldier Boys was selected for the 2001 New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age list. Dean Hughes and his wife, Kathleen, have three children and six grandchildren. They live in Midway, Utah.

Reviews

[Jamey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was one of the best I’ve read. Today I was planning on reading only a chapter, but I ended up finishing it instead. The ending was so amazing and shocking that it actually made me cry! It makes one wonder if there are more books similar to this, either fiction or nonfiction. Stories like this showcase our history, and people should read about it. Whether it’s fiction or nonfiction, it should still be a relevant topic for books. I highly recommend this book!

[Hunter Kimball · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really good book. It was annoying I couldn't read ahead because it was the in class reading. I definately say anyone that likes world war 2 book that this is a good book showing the sides of the germans and the american through 2 different people.

[John Carron · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was great! It was about two young boys in World War II, German Dieter Hendrick and American Spence Morgan. They both join their armies because they want the chance to prove themselves on the battlefield. They both think that the war will end to soon and they wont get their chance. But what they don't realize is what happens on the battlefield.

[Ethan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about 2 people, named Spencer, and Dieter. Spencer wants to go in the war but his dad doesn't want him to yet. Dieter is already preparing for the war. This book is one of the best historical fiction books i've ever read. I would recommend this book to almost anyone.

[Keann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty good book. I liked how it was about two soldiers and their time in war. I also liked how they were on different sides of the war so it talked in different perspectives. Another thing I like was how they were both fighting each other or they were against each other, but still helped each other out. I liked this book because it shows bravery, kindness, sadness, happiness, and so much more. I thing if you like war you would like this book. This is what I thought about Soldier boys.

[Ally C · Rating 2 out of 5]

First go all it is such a bad book in my opinion , the book would be good for people that like historical fiction (not me). Overall the book is confusing if you are like me you didn't understand that the 2 main characters were on the opposite side. It was really daunting to read because of the german word that are in it. I would have never picked this book up and i suggested if you don't like historical don't choose this book. There are other book s and I don't think i am going to read them.

[Hillari Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

(The beginning of this book made me nervous as it started out quite slow. However, after about 40 or 50 pages, I started to notice my interest level changing and my desire to put the book down became less and less).

This is such a great dual-perspective story about a boy named Spence and a boy named Dieter. As the story progresses, you come to care greatly for both of the characters, even when you want to shake some sense into Dieter.

Dean Hughes did an incredible job weaving a tale that ultimately leaves you sad and heart-wrenched but with just the right amount of distress. It is not hard to imagine that tales like this happened over and over again in WWII and that gives this text a feeling of authenticity.

I would absolutely recommend this book to both adults and young adults, and specifically those who don't typically like historical fiction. I feel as though this text could [ever so slightly] change their mind.

[Danny Gerdes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It is definitely one of the saddest books I have ever read. I like how the author wrote the book so you would know that Spencer and Dieter would eventually meet but you didn't know how they would meet. I like how she had them meet but did not tell you so you had to make an inference that the German soldier Spencer was helping was Dieter. I did not expect them to meet like that and I definitely did not expect Spencer to sacrifice himself for Dieter. Like other reviewers on goodreads said it was the most heartbreaking part of any book I have ever read. This book shows the story of two young men on different sides of WWII. This book was written so well and had so much suspense that I wanted to keep reading and could not put it down. It was hard to read after Spencer was killed and it was even sadder when you read about Dieter's side of the story. He knew Spencer was trying to help him but he could not say anything. Overall I loved this book but it was so sad.

[Susannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had a really profound effect on me. Spencer demonstrated what it means to be a true Christian. The fact that a 16 year old boy is willing to show such humanity towards his "enemy" is very touching. I cried when I read the last page. Spencer started out as an innocent young boy who wanted to become an illustrious and famous soldier to impress a girl. He died as a much more remarkable hero - the type that doesn't win every honor that the army has to offer, the type that doesn't get remembered in history books. He died showing humanity to his fellow man. That is what true bravery is.

All in all, an excellent book.

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't think I've ever read a more heartbreaking story in my life. This book was absolutely beautiful, following the tale of two young boys (one 15 and German, and the other 16 and American) who are on opposite sides during WWII. I enjoyed every minute of this amazing novel and Dean Hughs truly captures the essence of war and its effect on people. the ending was something I never would have expected and the way he wrote it had me sobbing my heart out - and I rarely ever cry when reading. It was just so bittersweet and touching. I absolutely LOVED it. 5 stars and one of the best books I've ever read. :D

[Nick Luce]

i think that the book was good. The beginning was a little slow but once i got into the middle of the book it got really good really fast. The end of the book was a plot twist.

[Cody · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good book but hard to understand the peoples different stories until you get farther in the book, but over all it wasn't a bad book.

[Paige · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was pretty good although I didn't love the ending overall it wasn't bad.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

When one reads a war book, it's always nice if the book is in first person. It gives the reader a hope that the narrator will survive the horrible events that you know will unfold. Unfortunately this book is in third person.

Actually, it's two third person stories interwoven. One, that of Dieter, a young German boy swept up into the Hitler Youth, and the other of Spencer, a young Mormon boy, who quits high school in order to enlist in the paratroopers.

Both boys come to see behind the glamour of war to the dirty, awful, soul killing business that it really is.

Novels like this are necessary. Particularly those that might be read by impressionable young men, giving them a glimpse into just what being a soldier might mean. Perhaps Spenser's christian act of heroism toward the end of the book will be seen, appreciated and possibly even emulated by those most in need of the example.

This novel is a fast read and for the most part an easy one. And yet, it's worth the time. This book doesn't dwell on the misery as Erich Maria Remarque did in his WWI tome but the message still gets through. I would highly recommend it.

[Melia · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I learned from this book is to never give up and to quote from this book...
" It is okay to pass out, just never stop on purpose.So run until you drop."

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought that it was fairly good . It was well written I just wish the end didn't end the way it did.

[Hailey Crabtree · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it was a pretty good book! I liked how it kinda explained to you what the men had to go through before and during the war. I didn't like it at times because I thought it was kinda graphic when the kids or the men got shot and it explained how they looked after the shot. I was surprised and kinda disappointed on how the book ended but other then that it was a good book!

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a really good book

[Caitlin Kolb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!!! Short & sweet

[Anh Nguyen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Soldier Boys, a fictional book was written by Dean Hughes, This book is actually awesome although the cover of it looks boring, but because my friend suggested it to me and I also like reading about war and fiction books so I picked it up. In my opinion, it wasn’t a good book in the first time I read me feel that I was staying in the war.
By the way, this story talks about 2 young men came from 2 other countries which were an enemy in the World War II, they are America and Germany. Spence Morgan, who was an American boy wanted to prove himself to his family and his friends, Spence was 16 when he decided he wanted to go into military, he was excited, thinking he'd be a hero, especially since he was joining the paratroopers which were thought to be the bravest and the best. He couldn't until he was 17, and he still legally needed his parents to permit him to until he was 18, and surprisingly his dad lets him. About Dieter, he is a young German was affected by the war while he was a little kid. “Hitler Youth”, the program that forced kids to become part of the war, they made the kids dig out trenches on the war front. Dieter aspired to go up the ranks of Hitler youth and eventually go into the military, which he did.
In the book, author interspersed story between two characters but at the end of the story, he connected two of them back in an ingenious way, I think he did it because he wants to attract readers, don’t make them feel boring when they are reading it. Also while I was reading it, I could imagine that I was in the war, I could hear the sound of the guns and tanks were fighting together on the snow and a lot of people were killed. Throughout this book, Dean shows us the tragic of the war that a lot of people were killed just because they want to protect their country, their home, their family. The war also took away their dream, they have a lot of things need to do in the future it’s gone because of the war. This story also shows us the personality of the people, the soldier in the war. They don’t care there are an enemy or not, but they give together the compassionate just because in their soul, they don’t want to kill people, they just want to protect their country but the war forced them to do it. The end of the story made me surprised because it is way different what I was thinking and I still have some disappointed but it is still a good book.

[Riley Schopf · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite book this whole year! The whole book was centered around to teenagers that join the army during World War 2. Dieter is one of the boys, and he is a German. And Spence is the other boy and he is American. The conflict is the trails they face and how meet while fighting. What happens when they meet, it's so unpredictable. Dieter is injured, and crying for help, on the bottom of a hill. The Americans hear him, but because he's German, they order their men to leave Dieter to die. But Spence disobeys orders. He goes down the hill. Finds a dead medic and takes his supplies, and goes to the crying Dieter laying on the ground. And he saves his life. But more Germans show up. I don't want to spoil it , but know that it was so sad, and depressing, but so heartwarming, I almost cried. It's just amazing how the author can just use both characters so cohesively to tell the brilliant story.

[Isaac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall I thought the book was pretty good. I like how in one chapter it was about one character, and in the next chapter, it was about another character. I thought the book used quite a bit of detail and I think it was written very well. That is until the end. The way the book ended made me very disappointed. It happened way to fast and when I was reading it, it felt like the author was rushing to finish it quickly so they shortened it. Even with the ending, the rest of the story was written well so the book deserves a 4 star rating. I would recommend this book to a friend!

[Jacob_Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great story line but could be hard to follow at times.

[Kyle G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I liked how it switched from person to person, but at times it was kind of confusing. Usually I stay away from historical fiction but it was still really good

[Jaidin Downs]

I would say that this book is pretty good, it got boring at some parts, but then others it would have a lot of action. I liked this book because I love world war 2 books. My favorite character is Spence, he is a young man that enlists in the airborne for the wrong reasons. The main reason why he enlists is to impress a girl, but later on he finds out that he had made a mistake because he sees what war is really like. He sees his friend get shot and he goes to save an enemy soldier, instead of shooting an injured soldier. When he tries to save the soldier he is shot and killed on the battlefield, his dad knows why he would try to help the enemy because he was a preacher in the army and they didn't like to kill others. There is also another main character, his name is Dieter. He is a young man that was taught the nazi ways, but in the end he finds out that Hitler wasn't really the good guy at all. He is told the truth by a friend that has heard that the russians are winning and the germans can't win and that the germans are doing horrible stuff to the Jews. The main idea of the story is that young people shouldn't try to rush into the military without thinking, and that you can't always think that you will be a hero because if you do that on the battlefield then you will get killed.

[Jacob Ellis · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first I didn't like the book. It was very confusing from the start. After I got a couple chapters in I stared to like the book. When one of the main characters named Spence was trying to convince his dad to let him join the army it reminded me of some times when I argue with my dad over things. The book I found out is about 2 diferent people. The other character's name was Deiter and he was a german solider. When Diters story stared it was very suspence full. His story startes with watching one of the people in his unit go cought for diserting. I felt like I was there when he was decribing it and cringed a little bit when the guy was exicuted. The part I didn't understand about the book was that all of the sudden we was waliking into this mysterious building. I was very suprised when it was Hitlers office and he was getting awared the silver cross.

[Corey Butler]

I liked the book, I think part of it is that I am interested in WWII. I think that it was one of the better historical fiction books that I have read. I would recommend it to any who likes historical fiction or WWII, or history in general.

[Zach · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was good, it gave a perspective from both sides of World War II. I really liked it, but it was still sad.

[Machina · Rating 4 out of 5]

i need a fcking cigarette

[Brandon Simental · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was good.