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B for Buster
Nicknamed after his hometown of Kakabeka, Canada, Kak dreams of flying with the Allied bombers in World War II. So at 16, underage and desperate to escape his abusive parents, he enlists in the Canadian Air Force. Soon he is trained as a wireless operator and sent to a squadron in England, where he’s unabashedly gung ho about flying his first op. He thinks the night ops over Germany will be like the heroic missions of his favorite comic-book heroes. Good will vanquish evil. But his first time out, in a plane called B for Buster, reveals the ops for what they really are—a harrowing ordeal.
The bombing raids bring searchlights . . . artillery from below . . . and night fighters above hunting to take the bombers down. One hit, Kak knows, and B for Buster, along with him and his six crewmates, could be destroyed.
Kak is terrified.
He can’t confide his feelings to his crew, since he’s already worried that they’ll find out his age. Besides, none of them seem afraid. Only in Bert, the slovenly caretaker of the homing pigeons that go on every op, does Kak find an unlikely friend. Bert seems to understand what the other men don’t talk about—the shame, the sense of duty, and the paralyzing fear. As Kak seeks out Bert’s company, he somehow finds the strength to face his own uncertain future.
From the Hardcover edition.
The bombing raids bring searchlights . . . artillery from below . . . and night fighters above hunting to take the bombers down. One hit, Kak knows, and B for Buster, along with him and his six crewmates, could be destroyed.
Kak is terrified.
He can’t confide his feelings to his crew, since he’s already worried that they’ll find out his age. Besides, none of them seem afraid. Only in Bert, the slovenly caretaker of the homing pigeons that go on every op, does Kak find an unlikely friend. Bert seems to understand what the other men don’t talk about—the shame, the sense of duty, and the paralyzing fear. As Kak seeks out Bert’s company, he somehow finds the strength to face his own uncertain future.
From the Hardcover edition.
336 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 8, 2004
9 people are currently reading
126 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
August 8, 2018
2.5
I was so excited for this story! A WW2 Story about a young Canadian boy who works with the air force.
It was an interesting story with the direction that Ian Lawrence went with this story. I liked what he chose to focus on and how he went about it. I enjoyed how he showed the fear the men had and the paranoia that sets in after just the first mission. The symbolism with soldiers and birds was amazing. How they are seen as tools to be used till they're useless. The question of freedom within the military. etc. Lawrence was very real and grim with this story. There was no glorification of war or excitement of fighting and whatnot. It's a good book to teach young readers about the war without getting too much into it.
However, Review Continued Here
I was so excited for this story! A WW2 Story about a young Canadian boy who works with the air force.
It was an interesting story with the direction that Ian Lawrence went with this story. I liked what he chose to focus on and how he went about it. I enjoyed how he showed the fear the men had and the paranoia that sets in after just the first mission. The symbolism with soldiers and birds was amazing. How they are seen as tools to be used till they're useless. The question of freedom within the military. etc. Lawrence was very real and grim with this story. There was no glorification of war or excitement of fighting and whatnot. It's a good book to teach young readers about the war without getting too much into it.
However, Review Continued Here
July 15, 2013
12 July 2004 B FOR BUSTER by Iain Lawrence, Random House/Delacorte, June 2004, ISBN: 0-385-73086-1; ISBN Library: 0-385-90108-9
"In an upstairs room in Blackpool
By the side of a northern sea
The army had my father
And my mother was having me
Military madness was killing my country
Solitary sadness comes over me"
--Graham Nash "Military Madness"
As someone who couldn't kill another person for any reason, and who cannot condone governmental-sanctioned killing of any kind, World War II is an extremely complicated topic for me. The ongoing extermination of all those people by Hitler's forces would be something--if I had been alive at the time--I couldn't have just ignored. My response options wouldn't have been as simple as merely running away from the insanity, in the manner that I intended to avoid involvement in the Vietnam War, had it lasted a little longer.
"Is there anybody here who thinks, that
Followin' the orders takes away the blame
Is there anybody here
Who wouldn't mind a murder by another name
Is there anybody here whose pride is on the line
With the honor of the brave, and the courage of the blind
I wanna see him, I wanna wish him luck
I wanna shake his hand, wanna call his name
Put a medal on the man"
--Phil Ochs, "Is There Anybody Here"
Over the years I've gotten to know survivors and relatives of survivors of the Concentration camps, victims and relatives of victims of the Japanese Internment camps, as well as relatives and many family friends who fought for the US in The War.
After the war my father, who was fifteen when they dropped The Bomb, joined the Army, trained to operate heavy machinery, boarded with German families, and helped clean up the massive devastation wrought in defeating Hitler.
Schindler's List is one of my all-time favorite movies. The idea of successfully scamming the Nazis to save all those lives without resorting to violence--as Oskar Schindler is portrayed as having done--is certainly the kind of response to which I can relate.
In my search for great books about WWII, LEFT FOR DEAD, THE DIVINE WIND, THE ART OF KEEPING COOL, and THE LIFE AND DEATH OF ADOLF HITLER top my list of recently published YA literature relating to that period of history.
The latest YA tale set during World War II to intrigue me is Iain Lawrence's B FOR BUSTER, the story of a sixteen-year-old Canadian boy who has snuck away from his mother and abusive father, lied about his age and background, and finds himself in 1943 Yorkshire, England as a wireless operator in a squadron of the Canadian Air Force.
"I set the frequencies on my wireless. I fitted the screwdriver into the slot and turned it back and forth to match the numbers on my flimsy. It was a chore I had done so often, on so many [training] flights, that I found it hard to believe that I was doing it now on the way to Germany, astride a belly full of bombs. Then I grinned inside my mask to think that I was already on the battlefield, fighting in the boundless world of Superman and Buck Rogers, on a fabulous field that stretched in all directions and rose from the earth to the heavens. I imagined the people below turning their faces to the sky, telling each other, 'Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird, it's a plane. It's--the Kakabeka Kid!' "
By the time this first op (mission) is complete, "Kak" and his fellow trainees have a rather different view of what they've gotten themselves into.
"The waiting is the hardest part"
--Tom Petty
"When I was still in school I read a story about a boy who had to choose between two doors. Behind one of them was a beautiful princess who would love him forever. Behind the other was a tiger who would kill him.
"I didn't remember anything else about the story, only those two doors and the boy's terror as he stepped forward to open one of them. But in the morning, at breakfast, I knew exactly how he felt.
"I stared at my plate and waited for the loudspeaker to come on, for that English WAAF to tell me if I would fly or not."
The squadrons are sent out on bombing missions every night the weather is right. For Kak, nightmares follow missions follow nightmares as their patched-up Halifax, "B for Buster" repeatedly makes it to the various target cities and (barely) back while, one by one, other squadrons are blown out of the sky, leaving empty beds in the bunkhouse that are repeatedly refilled.
"And the battle's just begun
There's many lost, but tell me who has won?" --U2
The author is supremely successful in portraying the sights, sounds, smells, and sweat of the plane and the incredible danger Kak's squadron is up against, as well as the destruction for which they are responsible.
But Iain Lawrence's inspiration for writing this book involves the pigeons. Each of the Halifaxes carried homing pigeons who could be sent off to the base with a message, if a plane was fortunate enough to survive an "unexpected" landing, whether due to attack or to malfunction. And it is Kak's relationship with the slovenly, mysterious Burt the Pigeoneer that makes B FOR BUSTER an extraordinary tale. Taking refuge in the pigeon coop between ops, Kak comes to depend on the birds and their enigmatic keeper for his very sanity and survival.
"I stared at the pigeoneer. 'But what if lightning scared him so much that he couldn't fly home?'
" 'Wouldn't 'appen, sir. Not to good birds like 'im and Percy. They want to get 'ome so badly that they keep on going, scared or not. That's courage, sir.'
" 'No,' I said. 'Real courage is not being scared.'
" 'Oh, no, sir. Pardon me.' He tipped his head, as though saluting.
'Real courage is carrying on though you're scared to bits. It's doing what you 'ave to do. Birds are scared of lightning; men are scared of dying. Anything else wouldn't be proper, sir. But we all 'ave to carry on. Every little thing. Men and birds and fish and worms, we all just carry on.' "
Readers won't learn anything about the causes or large-scale troop movements of World War II, for it is Kak's very personal perspective that we are tracking here, from utterly naive boy--who witnesses horrific sights of death, destruction, and ghosts--to a young man whose every future day will be colored by the War.
B FOR BUSTER, is filled with action, and shows what It's really all about. (The reality Army recruiters like those in the Michael Moore movie couldn't begin to duplicate.)
Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.com
BudNotBuddy@aol.com
Moderator http://groups.yahoo.com/group/middle_... http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/people/facult...
"In an upstairs room in Blackpool
By the side of a northern sea
The army had my father
And my mother was having me
Military madness was killing my country
Solitary sadness comes over me"
--Graham Nash "Military Madness"
As someone who couldn't kill another person for any reason, and who cannot condone governmental-sanctioned killing of any kind, World War II is an extremely complicated topic for me. The ongoing extermination of all those people by Hitler's forces would be something--if I had been alive at the time--I couldn't have just ignored. My response options wouldn't have been as simple as merely running away from the insanity, in the manner that I intended to avoid involvement in the Vietnam War, had it lasted a little longer.
"Is there anybody here who thinks, that
Followin' the orders takes away the blame
Is there anybody here
Who wouldn't mind a murder by another name
Is there anybody here whose pride is on the line
With the honor of the brave, and the courage of the blind
I wanna see him, I wanna wish him luck
I wanna shake his hand, wanna call his name
Put a medal on the man"
--Phil Ochs, "Is There Anybody Here"
Over the years I've gotten to know survivors and relatives of survivors of the Concentration camps, victims and relatives of victims of the Japanese Internment camps, as well as relatives and many family friends who fought for the US in The War.
After the war my father, who was fifteen when they dropped The Bomb, joined the Army, trained to operate heavy machinery, boarded with German families, and helped clean up the massive devastation wrought in defeating Hitler.
Schindler's List is one of my all-time favorite movies. The idea of successfully scamming the Nazis to save all those lives without resorting to violence--as Oskar Schindler is portrayed as having done--is certainly the kind of response to which I can relate.
In my search for great books about WWII, LEFT FOR DEAD, THE DIVINE WIND, THE ART OF KEEPING COOL, and THE LIFE AND DEATH OF ADOLF HITLER top my list of recently published YA literature relating to that period of history.
The latest YA tale set during World War II to intrigue me is Iain Lawrence's B FOR BUSTER, the story of a sixteen-year-old Canadian boy who has snuck away from his mother and abusive father, lied about his age and background, and finds himself in 1943 Yorkshire, England as a wireless operator in a squadron of the Canadian Air Force.
"I set the frequencies on my wireless. I fitted the screwdriver into the slot and turned it back and forth to match the numbers on my flimsy. It was a chore I had done so often, on so many [training] flights, that I found it hard to believe that I was doing it now on the way to Germany, astride a belly full of bombs. Then I grinned inside my mask to think that I was already on the battlefield, fighting in the boundless world of Superman and Buck Rogers, on a fabulous field that stretched in all directions and rose from the earth to the heavens. I imagined the people below turning their faces to the sky, telling each other, 'Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird, it's a plane. It's--the Kakabeka Kid!' "
By the time this first op (mission) is complete, "Kak" and his fellow trainees have a rather different view of what they've gotten themselves into.
"The waiting is the hardest part"
--Tom Petty
"When I was still in school I read a story about a boy who had to choose between two doors. Behind one of them was a beautiful princess who would love him forever. Behind the other was a tiger who would kill him.
"I didn't remember anything else about the story, only those two doors and the boy's terror as he stepped forward to open one of them. But in the morning, at breakfast, I knew exactly how he felt.
"I stared at my plate and waited for the loudspeaker to come on, for that English WAAF to tell me if I would fly or not."
The squadrons are sent out on bombing missions every night the weather is right. For Kak, nightmares follow missions follow nightmares as their patched-up Halifax, "B for Buster" repeatedly makes it to the various target cities and (barely) back while, one by one, other squadrons are blown out of the sky, leaving empty beds in the bunkhouse that are repeatedly refilled.
"And the battle's just begun
There's many lost, but tell me who has won?" --U2
The author is supremely successful in portraying the sights, sounds, smells, and sweat of the plane and the incredible danger Kak's squadron is up against, as well as the destruction for which they are responsible.
But Iain Lawrence's inspiration for writing this book involves the pigeons. Each of the Halifaxes carried homing pigeons who could be sent off to the base with a message, if a plane was fortunate enough to survive an "unexpected" landing, whether due to attack or to malfunction. And it is Kak's relationship with the slovenly, mysterious Burt the Pigeoneer that makes B FOR BUSTER an extraordinary tale. Taking refuge in the pigeon coop between ops, Kak comes to depend on the birds and their enigmatic keeper for his very sanity and survival.
"I stared at the pigeoneer. 'But what if lightning scared him so much that he couldn't fly home?'
" 'Wouldn't 'appen, sir. Not to good birds like 'im and Percy. They want to get 'ome so badly that they keep on going, scared or not. That's courage, sir.'
" 'No,' I said. 'Real courage is not being scared.'
" 'Oh, no, sir. Pardon me.' He tipped his head, as though saluting.
'Real courage is carrying on though you're scared to bits. It's doing what you 'ave to do. Birds are scared of lightning; men are scared of dying. Anything else wouldn't be proper, sir. But we all 'ave to carry on. Every little thing. Men and birds and fish and worms, we all just carry on.' "
Readers won't learn anything about the causes or large-scale troop movements of World War II, for it is Kak's very personal perspective that we are tracking here, from utterly naive boy--who witnesses horrific sights of death, destruction, and ghosts--to a young man whose every future day will be colored by the War.
B FOR BUSTER, is filled with action, and shows what It's really all about. (The reality Army recruiters like those in the Michael Moore movie couldn't begin to duplicate.)
Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.com
BudNotBuddy@aol.com
Moderator http://groups.yahoo.com/group/middle_... http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/people/facult...
February 14, 2017
Tony L.
Bombs Away
Bombers have been used in warfare since the great WW1, and have been used and improved upon ever since, but they have just not appeared in real wars. They have been shown in movies and added in many war books, but have you ever read a book or seen a movie where they put you in the shoes of an operator in the belly of the gigantic beast?
I have read many war books and they are the only book genre I read, so I am quite critical for them, and since WW2 books are probably the most collective type of war books, it’s hard to be original. B for Buster is one of a kind in which it is very original and one of the best books I have read.
Kakabeka is a 16 year old kid that lives in Kakabeka, Canada. With parents that don’t care about him and his dad (when he notices he is there) beats him. Soon he escapes from Kakabeka to join the air force with dreams of being a hero pilot that at the end of the war is rewarded with his very own Spitfire, so he lies about his age and told the air force he was an orphan. When he is enrolled and transported to an airfield in Europe he falls in love with flying in the massive Halifax called the B for Buster as a wireless radio operator, but soon when it comes time for the real thing; he is scared. Traumatized by the flak, searchlights, and the sight of bombers bursting into flames, he turns into the rest of the airmen; sad and miserable. Kak soon finds a friend, Bert the pigeoneer, a large, muscular, lonely pigeoneer who cares so much for the pigeons used in the bombers that he gave names to all of them, and weeps for ones who don’t come home. What will happen to Kakabeka, will he get so scared that he goes to his CO (Commanding Officer) and tell him the lies of his age? Why did Bert become a pigeoneer? Find out when you read this mysterious, realistic, book that keeps you on the edge of your seat with each bombing run.
B for Buster is a great book for people who like adventure and thrillers, or enjoy stories of WW2. This book is comparable to No Man’s Land by Susan Campbell Bartoletti in which the main character is underage kid who joins a war and is scared. This book keeps you reading with so much detail. I really recommend it to middle school students to high school students.
Bombs Away
Bombers have been used in warfare since the great WW1, and have been used and improved upon ever since, but they have just not appeared in real wars. They have been shown in movies and added in many war books, but have you ever read a book or seen a movie where they put you in the shoes of an operator in the belly of the gigantic beast?
I have read many war books and they are the only book genre I read, so I am quite critical for them, and since WW2 books are probably the most collective type of war books, it’s hard to be original. B for Buster is one of a kind in which it is very original and one of the best books I have read.
Kakabeka is a 16 year old kid that lives in Kakabeka, Canada. With parents that don’t care about him and his dad (when he notices he is there) beats him. Soon he escapes from Kakabeka to join the air force with dreams of being a hero pilot that at the end of the war is rewarded with his very own Spitfire, so he lies about his age and told the air force he was an orphan. When he is enrolled and transported to an airfield in Europe he falls in love with flying in the massive Halifax called the B for Buster as a wireless radio operator, but soon when it comes time for the real thing; he is scared. Traumatized by the flak, searchlights, and the sight of bombers bursting into flames, he turns into the rest of the airmen; sad and miserable. Kak soon finds a friend, Bert the pigeoneer, a large, muscular, lonely pigeoneer who cares so much for the pigeons used in the bombers that he gave names to all of them, and weeps for ones who don’t come home. What will happen to Kakabeka, will he get so scared that he goes to his CO (Commanding Officer) and tell him the lies of his age? Why did Bert become a pigeoneer? Find out when you read this mysterious, realistic, book that keeps you on the edge of your seat with each bombing run.
B for Buster is a great book for people who like adventure and thrillers, or enjoy stories of WW2. This book is comparable to No Man’s Land by Susan Campbell Bartoletti in which the main character is underage kid who joins a war and is scared. This book keeps you reading with so much detail. I really recommend it to middle school students to high school students.
May 11, 2018
I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this book! Generally, wartime stories aren't interesting to me, no matter how well they are written, but this one was great! I especially liked the pigeoneer storyline and was genuinely invested in those birds. :)
October 13, 2014
It was a good book, nothing more, nothing less.
October 30, 2023
B for buster is a fictional book about a young boy nicknamed “kakabeka” which he got because that is the name of his home town which he ran away from to enlist in the Air Force, but because of his age, he is not able to legally enlist. This is when he decides to run away from his home to travel hundreds of miles to enlist in the Air Force, “I traveled half the world to get to a lonely airfield.'' This is what Kakabaka says as he arrives at the airfield base that he traveled so far to get to.
One of the most interesting aspects of the book is its ability to be so realistic on how times of war were back then, every young kid wanted to join the war. This was because kids think they are invisible to everything and another thing the book points out is people also joined the army because it was a way for people to travel the world, during this time transportation wasn't very popular, people would maybe only go a few miles from their house, “that's why I joined, to see Berlin, no lie.” says on of the Air Force pilots. There is also to say that Kids in general just don't look at all the dangers of war, “go home, Tell them you wanna go home.” This is what one of the main characters named Donny says after he finds out that Kakabaka was enlisting into the Air Force. Donny was a few years older than Kakabeka and he lived in the same town as him and he knows that he is no were close to 18 yet, so he warns him that he has to leave because war isn't as fun as he thinks it is. This does not change Kakabakas mind right away though because a few chapters in and almost everyday since he learned how to fly, all he wanted to do was to go on missions, “I wanted her to say we were on for the night, I was sick of being stood up.” This opinion would change throughout the entire book and by the end of the book he was praying they didn't have to go on missions, “I think of flying, and I get scared.”
In my opinion I do think that B for Buster is a very good book and also very well written. There are still some things about the book that I don't really like and that is that the book is kind of weird. It starts off very good and interesting because it is about a young kid who illegally joined the Air Force and is fighting in a war, but this changes as the book goes on and he starts to get obsessed with hanging out around the Pigeoner. This is someone who takes care of pigeons, the reason this is weird is because he wanted to become a pilot so badly but once he starts hanging out around the pigeons, he starts to lose interest in flying and the book totally changes its plot.
The strengths of the book is of course the plot in the beginning and the characters in the book are very interesting, they consist of mostly 3 people, Kakabaka, Donny, and Burt, which is the Pigoner. The 3 main characters in this book are very interesting because of the stories they tell from the experiences of war and their knowledge. The one weakness I would say for the book again, is when it starts to go from all this fighting and how Kakabeka wanted to be a pilot so badly, to him taking care of pigeons all day and then that becomes the main plot of the book.
If I were to recommend this book to people, it would have to be people who like fiction war books about world war 2. This book would also be good for people who like plot changes in the book and not the same thing that is happening throughout the whole entire book.
In conclusion, I would recommend this book to mainly anyone who likes fiction war books, but if you are not into people hanging out around pigeons and learning about them, then this probably wouldn't be a book you would like to read. I would give this book a ⅗ of because even though it is written very well, the middle part of the book to the end of the book was very boring and I just did not like it.
One of the most interesting aspects of the book is its ability to be so realistic on how times of war were back then, every young kid wanted to join the war. This was because kids think they are invisible to everything and another thing the book points out is people also joined the army because it was a way for people to travel the world, during this time transportation wasn't very popular, people would maybe only go a few miles from their house, “that's why I joined, to see Berlin, no lie.” says on of the Air Force pilots. There is also to say that Kids in general just don't look at all the dangers of war, “go home, Tell them you wanna go home.” This is what one of the main characters named Donny says after he finds out that Kakabaka was enlisting into the Air Force. Donny was a few years older than Kakabeka and he lived in the same town as him and he knows that he is no were close to 18 yet, so he warns him that he has to leave because war isn't as fun as he thinks it is. This does not change Kakabakas mind right away though because a few chapters in and almost everyday since he learned how to fly, all he wanted to do was to go on missions, “I wanted her to say we were on for the night, I was sick of being stood up.” This opinion would change throughout the entire book and by the end of the book he was praying they didn't have to go on missions, “I think of flying, and I get scared.”
In my opinion I do think that B for Buster is a very good book and also very well written. There are still some things about the book that I don't really like and that is that the book is kind of weird. It starts off very good and interesting because it is about a young kid who illegally joined the Air Force and is fighting in a war, but this changes as the book goes on and he starts to get obsessed with hanging out around the Pigeoner. This is someone who takes care of pigeons, the reason this is weird is because he wanted to become a pilot so badly but once he starts hanging out around the pigeons, he starts to lose interest in flying and the book totally changes its plot.
The strengths of the book is of course the plot in the beginning and the characters in the book are very interesting, they consist of mostly 3 people, Kakabaka, Donny, and Burt, which is the Pigoner. The 3 main characters in this book are very interesting because of the stories they tell from the experiences of war and their knowledge. The one weakness I would say for the book again, is when it starts to go from all this fighting and how Kakabeka wanted to be a pilot so badly, to him taking care of pigeons all day and then that becomes the main plot of the book.
If I were to recommend this book to people, it would have to be people who like fiction war books about world war 2. This book would also be good for people who like plot changes in the book and not the same thing that is happening throughout the whole entire book.
In conclusion, I would recommend this book to mainly anyone who likes fiction war books, but if you are not into people hanging out around pigeons and learning about them, then this probably wouldn't be a book you would like to read. I would give this book a ⅗ of because even though it is written very well, the middle part of the book to the end of the book was very boring and I just did not like it.
Read
January 1, 2020The book B for Buster is about a 16-year-old boy from Kakabeka, Canada, which is also where he gets his nickname, Kak. Kak enlists in the Canadian airforce to get away from his drunken father. He has to lie about his age to get in, and he becomes a directional assistant with his crew.
The book talks a lot about the real terror there is while serving in the military field.
While the book was meant to bring attention to the true anxiety that fighting in a war really brings. Through this book, Lawrence tried to convey that the battlefield isn’t a Hollywood set, and that I really is the most terrifying thing to young people.
While the book was a good read and raised a lot of issues about serving your country, and how scary it really is, it wasn’t the easiest read. I started reading the book confused, almost as if 50 pages a the start of the book were removed. The beginning of the book just throws you into the middle of one of Kak’s trains of thought and you are clueless as to who is who, and why Donny Lee is important to Kak. I also thought the style of writing was a little all over the place, this made it hard to keep up. When I tried to understand what I was reading I only got more confused. It was very hard to read this book slowly because whenever I tried to ponder over the deeper meaning of the words, I only ended up wanting to know what his real intention was when writing this book. The book also skipped around in unpredictable ways. This made it hard to understand where you really were in the book, half the time I believed Kak was still flying somewhere but he was really landed and refueling and I had to reread the last 5 or so pages just trying to understand what happened. This type of style of writing would work better if the author had a less confusing choice of words, and could easily be fixed by adding new chapters whenever he lands or changes his pace. Overall the book desperately needs a revision over the words to really make it feel like you are either a spectator or really in Kak’s mind, not in the middle of both.
B for Buster reminded me of the book One Long Night by Andrea Pitzer. Both books really reminded us how truly scary World Wars were, and how exposed most people were during those times. It really was a horrible time if you got dominated by a superpower, or if you were being persecuted. Both books really aggravate a lot of thought-provoking topics about how cruel and petrifying being on either side of the war was.
B for Buster really makes me think about how lucky I am to be in the US. But it also brings to my attention how oppressed some countries are because of the war, and some countries still are being oppressed heavily. This puts a lot of pressure on smaller countries that are struggling to be a successful country.
I wondered a lot about how I would react during the war if I was drafted. Do you know if you would hide your fear and serve faithfully? I really don't think most of the world would be able to do that. A quote I really like is, Michael Hopf. “Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men.” Do you think that we are all weak now? Will we be able to protect our precious rights when people come to take them?
In conclusion, the book B for Buster was a good read, even though it was difficult to understand what was going on. I suggest if you are to read the book, to not think so hard on what the words say, and just understand what your head tells it is trying to convey.
The book talks a lot about the real terror there is while serving in the military field.
While the book was meant to bring attention to the true anxiety that fighting in a war really brings. Through this book, Lawrence tried to convey that the battlefield isn’t a Hollywood set, and that I really is the most terrifying thing to young people.
While the book was a good read and raised a lot of issues about serving your country, and how scary it really is, it wasn’t the easiest read. I started reading the book confused, almost as if 50 pages a the start of the book were removed. The beginning of the book just throws you into the middle of one of Kak’s trains of thought and you are clueless as to who is who, and why Donny Lee is important to Kak. I also thought the style of writing was a little all over the place, this made it hard to keep up. When I tried to understand what I was reading I only got more confused. It was very hard to read this book slowly because whenever I tried to ponder over the deeper meaning of the words, I only ended up wanting to know what his real intention was when writing this book. The book also skipped around in unpredictable ways. This made it hard to understand where you really were in the book, half the time I believed Kak was still flying somewhere but he was really landed and refueling and I had to reread the last 5 or so pages just trying to understand what happened. This type of style of writing would work better if the author had a less confusing choice of words, and could easily be fixed by adding new chapters whenever he lands or changes his pace. Overall the book desperately needs a revision over the words to really make it feel like you are either a spectator or really in Kak’s mind, not in the middle of both.
B for Buster reminded me of the book One Long Night by Andrea Pitzer. Both books really reminded us how truly scary World Wars were, and how exposed most people were during those times. It really was a horrible time if you got dominated by a superpower, or if you were being persecuted. Both books really aggravate a lot of thought-provoking topics about how cruel and petrifying being on either side of the war was.
B for Buster really makes me think about how lucky I am to be in the US. But it also brings to my attention how oppressed some countries are because of the war, and some countries still are being oppressed heavily. This puts a lot of pressure on smaller countries that are struggling to be a successful country.
I wondered a lot about how I would react during the war if I was drafted. Do you know if you would hide your fear and serve faithfully? I really don't think most of the world would be able to do that. A quote I really like is, Michael Hopf. “Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men.” Do you think that we are all weak now? Will we be able to protect our precious rights when people come to take them?
In conclusion, the book B for Buster was a good read, even though it was difficult to understand what was going on. I suggest if you are to read the book, to not think so hard on what the words say, and just understand what your head tells it is trying to convey.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 8, 2021
This book gave me a great understanding of what pilots feel like during wars. In the book, the main character named “Kaka” joined the Royal Air Force at the age of 16 to get away from his abusive father. He has to lie about his age and say that he is 18 to be able to join the RAF. It is obvious that he is less mature and less experienced compared to the other fighter pilots and it adds character to him. Kaka and his squad go on different operations where they just fly over cities and bomb them. One of the characters that was influential in the story was “Bert”. He was the owner of all the pigeons and he was Kaka’s best friend. Him and Kaka bonded with each other by training the pigeons together.
I feel like the book could’ve been more eventful though, it seems like it's the same situation
happening over and over again until the end scene. This is also why I believe that the “rising action” stage was dragged on forever, and the climax and resolution were jammed into the last few pages. If the author spaced the time out better and made a better resolution I think this book would be a 5 star for me.
Some of the quotes from the book that stuck out to me were, “Our beds were like a row of graves, that’s exactly what they were.” This paints the picture of what being a combatant in war is like because Kaka and his group realize that the beds they sleep on used to be the beds of the dead pilots that came before them. This scared Kaka very much and stressed him out throughout the book because every night he had the dream of getting “the chop”( a term used in the book which means getting shot down in the plane). Another quote I liked was, “There was nothing in the world, I told myself, that would ever get me into a kite again.” This quote comes from the narrator, Kaka, and he is making a promise to himself that he will never fly a plane again. This promise doesn’t end up staying true throughout the book but it shows how the war made Kaka afraid and maybe even weak minded because he couldn’t stick to one of his promises.
Overall this is one of the better books I’ve read about war and it certainly went by fast. It was an easy read that didn’t take a lot of comprehension or analysis to understand what was happening. I definitely recommend this book to someone who likes adventure or warfare books.
September 13, 2021
If you’re a fan of WWII and flying then I got to say you’d like B for Buster by Iain Lawrence.
Iain Lawrence writes about Kak's journey from Kakabeka Falls to Yorkshire to fight in WWII. Kak, 16 years old, takes on the bravery to fly a plane in France against Germany. Despite being so young Kak pushes on, but struggles to fit in, he often feels like a boy amongst men. Throughout the book loneliness is a common theme, even after he finds somewhere he feels he belongs. “I travel half the world, in the middle of a war, to a lonely airfield among the hills of Yorkshire.” (Lawrence)
After a while of being on the airfield Kak begins to weigh his odds, and they aren’t in his favor, after seeing so many men fly off and never come back, he begins to fear for himself and his crew. He struggles with PTSD and struggles to live a normal daily life. Iain Lawrence does a terrific job at not just showing how hard war is but how WWII was and how every man, not just 16 year old Kak, struggles during war. And with that Iain Lawrence also repeats sadness in the book. “He looked suddenly sad, and I saw how really deep his wrinkles were.” (Lawrence)
Kak goes through many struggles but he keeps on living. B for Buster is a book that just keeps on fighting. With a war going on and pilots coming and going it would seem easy to end B for Buster in an easy and simple way. But Iain Lawrence shows us exactly how it was to be a pilot in WWII and what it means to keep on living through the fight.
Iain Lawrence writes about Kak's journey from Kakabeka Falls to Yorkshire to fight in WWII. Kak, 16 years old, takes on the bravery to fly a plane in France against Germany. Despite being so young Kak pushes on, but struggles to fit in, he often feels like a boy amongst men. Throughout the book loneliness is a common theme, even after he finds somewhere he feels he belongs. “I travel half the world, in the middle of a war, to a lonely airfield among the hills of Yorkshire.” (Lawrence)
After a while of being on the airfield Kak begins to weigh his odds, and they aren’t in his favor, after seeing so many men fly off and never come back, he begins to fear for himself and his crew. He struggles with PTSD and struggles to live a normal daily life. Iain Lawrence does a terrific job at not just showing how hard war is but how WWII was and how every man, not just 16 year old Kak, struggles during war. And with that Iain Lawrence also repeats sadness in the book. “He looked suddenly sad, and I saw how really deep his wrinkles were.” (Lawrence)
Kak goes through many struggles but he keeps on living. B for Buster is a book that just keeps on fighting. With a war going on and pilots coming and going it would seem easy to end B for Buster in an easy and simple way. But Iain Lawrence shows us exactly how it was to be a pilot in WWII and what it means to keep on living through the fight.
September 13, 2021
What did he do to get away? World War Two, the Allies versus the Axis’, and16 year old Canadian born Kak was looking for an escape. From what you may ask, his own parents, but not just any parents unlike most Kak’s parents, were quite abusive and Kak just needed to get out of the toxic and unhealthy environment he was in. So in order to escape he lied about his age to join the Canadian Air Force. I thought this book was really good and if you like war novels with some drama this is the perfect book for you. There were multiple funny moments including the part where he says ””Shazam!” I cried into the intercom. Someone laughed, and I knew it was another stupid thing I’d done. I slapped my helmet and called myself an idiot. Quoting Captain Marvel.” (Lawrence pg.22.) And the couple parts that almost leak how young he really is were quite thrilling. Not only were there multiple comical parts but there were also parts that put a crystal clear image in my head such as “It was an unnerving sound in an unnerving place. The city seemed to have drawn up, struggling to defend itself. The machines above, the lights and guns below, it made me think of a war being fought without people, just thing against thing.”(Lawrence pg. 148.) This book is definitely one to put on your list, because trust me you won’t be disappointed.
September 17, 2024
read in hs - i remember the ending being haunting
May 13, 2016
"B for Buster" was a semi entertaining book for me but I'm not much off a reader this book managed to get my attention and adrenalin pumping during the action scene but I found the rest of it quite boring and unentertaining.
B for buster is about a kid named Kak who is one of the under aged solders that signed up for the army or air force in this case. Kak not having much of a good life at home joined the air force before the eligible age and was sent to Britain to fly. When Kak arrives at an airfield in Yorkshire his secret is put to the test when his fellow hometown schoolmate Donny. While their kak and his crew are assigned to the bomber "B for Buster" a old Halifax mk 1 that has for sure seen better days.When his crew is taken to their assigned hut they realize just what Buster has seen by the scarce number of occupied cots in the hut. The next day they go on their first test flight in B for Buster and Kak is chilled by the story of the Halifax's previous crew. After that Kak talks to his fellow crew mates and discus their past life and what their future plans are after the war.
"B for Buster" is a dramatic adventure set during one of the scariest times in history. I recommend this book to anyone who has studied World War II and would like to read fiction set during that time period, as well as to those who enjoy reading dramatic novels. I thought it captured the importance the various roles they take during wartime very well.Told through the eyes of a sixteen-year-old boy who shouldn't be their.
B for buster is about a kid named Kak who is one of the under aged solders that signed up for the army or air force in this case. Kak not having much of a good life at home joined the air force before the eligible age and was sent to Britain to fly. When Kak arrives at an airfield in Yorkshire his secret is put to the test when his fellow hometown schoolmate Donny. While their kak and his crew are assigned to the bomber "B for Buster" a old Halifax mk 1 that has for sure seen better days.When his crew is taken to their assigned hut they realize just what Buster has seen by the scarce number of occupied cots in the hut. The next day they go on their first test flight in B for Buster and Kak is chilled by the story of the Halifax's previous crew. After that Kak talks to his fellow crew mates and discus their past life and what their future plans are after the war.
"B for Buster" is a dramatic adventure set during one of the scariest times in history. I recommend this book to anyone who has studied World War II and would like to read fiction set during that time period, as well as to those who enjoy reading dramatic novels. I thought it captured the importance the various roles they take during wartime very well.Told through the eyes of a sixteen-year-old boy who shouldn't be their.
February 28, 2011
In B for Buster a kid everyone refers to as "the kid" or "kak" since he is from Kakabeka Canada is very desperate to get away from his horrid family consisting of an always intoxicated dad and a non-caring mom. So Kak decides at the age of 16 to enlist in the air force of World War II. Little does he know that the war is not a thing he was dreaming of, it is much worse. Kak is sent to Europe to fight with the allied forces and is set as a wireless operator and is placed with a crew he comes to love. While Kak is Europe fighting in the war he starts seeing what he believes are ghosts in B for Buster the plane they fly, so he starts to get very scared and wants to go home but he knows if he tries to desert he will be labeled as AWOL and he will end up like his new friend he meets Bert the pigeoneer who used to be a pilot in the air force. Kak finds out that they have to fly 30 ops in order to be sent home and Bert flew 29 ops before he saw what there final mission was and decided to quit and his crew ended up crashing and dying when they were just 3 miles from home because they had to get an inexperienced navigation pilot. Kak learns what war is really like and makes his decision in the end.
I really suggest reading this book because it is full of action and mystery, the book always leaves wondering what is going to happen next to Kak and his crew and for this i suggest you pick up the book and read it.
I really suggest reading this book because it is full of action and mystery, the book always leaves wondering what is going to happen next to Kak and his crew and for this i suggest you pick up the book and read it.
March 5, 2015
Another one that I read for Abe with high hopes because I think we need a war novel on the list. But I didn't like this one. Kak runs away from his drunk father at the age of 16 to join the Royal Air Force. He works as a wireless operator in the belly of bombers and also takes care of the pigeon that was on every flight. Strange, huh. Homing pigeons were used to carry messages back to base if something happened to the aircraft. Usually if the bird came back on its own, the plane and its crew didn't. Depressing. The air battle scenes were great, and Kak bombs Berlin, Nuremberg and other German occupied towns, but the whole trying-to-find-a-father-figure plot was a turn-off to me. Awfully simplified for a young adult novel, so I think this one is more for middle school and junior high.
April 28, 2010
I think this is more of a guy's book because I didn't really care all that much for it. It was mostly about war and pigeons and people's views on the value of life. I felt like it had a pretty good message, but it was kind of drowned out by all the "war" talk and suspense. You really wanted to know what happened next, but as soon as you were don with the book you didn't think it was all that remarkable.
*This was written after I read the book - Teen's Top Ten review in 2005.
It was okay. I just didn't get into the story and then there were some parts that I just went, "huh?" This isn't a book that I would recommend, but at the same time, I wouldn't not-recommend it.
*This was written after I read the book - Teen's Top Ten review in 2005.
It was okay. I just didn't get into the story and then there were some parts that I just went, "huh?" This isn't a book that I would recommend, but at the same time, I wouldn't not-recommend it.
November 17, 2010
B for Buster is a great book it has lots of interesting details and cool subjects. Its also gets scary at some points. Its about a boy who is only 16 that joins the military. He flies in a bomber plane and goes on special ops to attack different places in germany and what not. Its a sad book too the boy watches lots of his friends go down in horrible plane crashes. I really enjoyed this book and I liked the fact that he was to young to do something but he still did it. The book sends a really good message.
November 11, 2019
During World War II, 16 year old Kak steals his older brother's identity in order to enlist as an Air Force Bomber.
I loved Iain Lawrence's writing. I have a few of his other books, most notably "The Wreckers" and its sequels, and loved them. Lawrence is great at writing tense action scenes and keeping a book moving.
However, the writing style was the only thing I could enjoy about this story. I strongly disliked all of the characters. They never seemed all that well written or realistic, and the main character, Kak, is extremely annoying. Also, who in the heck has a name like Kak??!
I loved Iain Lawrence's writing. I have a few of his other books, most notably "The Wreckers" and its sequels, and loved them. Lawrence is great at writing tense action scenes and keeping a book moving.
However, the writing style was the only thing I could enjoy about this story. I strongly disliked all of the characters. They never seemed all that well written or realistic, and the main character, Kak, is extremely annoying. Also, who in the heck has a name like Kak??!
August 4, 2014
There's a lot of literature about the American bombing squads of WWII, but not so much about the RAF, especially in the young adult section. This book has been on my shelf for years, but I haven't picked it up until now and frankly I don't know what stopped me. While still bearing a fictional narrative plot it still captures some of the horrible realities of these young men endured. It is very well researched and incredibully personal. I fear that this book may be out of print, but there may still be some prints still availible in the market. I'm certainly holding on to my copy!
August 24, 2015
I thought this was a great book. I liked how the main character was portrayed, the description said he was a sixteen year old and the writer made him a sixteen year old. Kak is a naive sixteen year old who joins the army to get away from his alcoholic father. He joins the bombing force excited and ready but after his first opp nothings the same.
I liked how it was written. The bombing scenes and the descriptions of the burning cities were intense.
Some swearing but nothing too bad and not too graphic of scenes.
I liked how it was written. The bombing scenes and the descriptions of the burning cities were intense.
Some swearing but nothing too bad and not too graphic of scenes.
November 1, 2010
This is a great book taking place during World War 2 (Spring of '43). B for Buster is the name of an old Halifax MK1 - bomber plane. Kakabeka (the main characterk's nickname) is an under aged recruiter, who takes you into the life of a sprog (slang for inexperienced aircrew) or known as a Wireless Operator.
September 15, 2011
An excellent teen/young-adult novel providing a realistic portrayal of life and stresses in bomber command during the war (including the role of pigeons - which I never heard of before). Also an excellent story line of the struggles of an under-age crew member to come to grips with his fears. Where were all these great YA/Teen books when I was young?
May 13, 2013
I give this book 6 stars. I was captured by the voice and plot from the first chapter. And the ending, OMG! This is a war time story that does not glorify war or sacrifice, but puts a very true feeling on what it means to be a young man serving in combat. Lawrence is a master! I intend to read every book he has written.
November 29, 2018
the ending really ruined the book
July 19, 2011
Iain Lawrence's novels are so hard for me to get through. I wanted to give this one a chance, but I disliked it as much as his previous works. Some middle school boys might like this WWII fighter pilot story, but I found it monotonous.
July 31, 2013
Okay so i didn't actually finish this book. i was supposed to read this for history class but i couldnt get through it so i switched to the book Animal Farm which in my opinion was much better. and after hearing a summary of the rest of this book, I am glad I didn't read it.
May 22, 2012
I recommend this book to all my WWII boys. Great story.
June 29, 2012
a wonderful story which proves that you can read an excellent young adult book without a vampire in sight...check out this section of the library. this is one you should not miss.
September 6, 2014
Gave me a new appreciation for the Allied pilots (and my father-in-law) who flew over Germany during WWII. I enjoyed reading it and talking about it with my son.
October 17, 2013
i thought the book was great one of my friends said it was boring, but to me it was stunning and at the end a little sad.
August 4, 2014
Awesome
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