Grenade

Hideki lives on Okinawa, an island near Japan.  Okinawa has its own language and culture, but when his people were annexed by the Japanese, all of that was forced into the background.  Now Hideki and his family are about to be forced onto the front lines of World War II by the invading American Army.  He and his classmates become part of the Blood and Iron Student Corps.  Each boy is given two grenades, one to kill as many American devils as possible and one to kill himself.

Ray joined the Marines as soon as possible, and though he never went into battle in Europe, he is about to enter the war in Okinawa.  He's been practicing the language and studying how to differentiate the Japanese soldiers from Okinawan civilians in the hopes he can protect as many innocents as possible.  Once they land though, nothing is straight forward, and it's difficult to determine who is the enemy.

This first taste of war is eye-opening and horrifying for both young men as they strive to survive with their humanity intact. When their paths finally collide, a split second decision will change both of their fates forever.

Alan Gratz's newest book is another middle school winner.  Everything he writes from now on will likely be compared to Refugee, and this is no Refugee, but it's still a powerful book with important lessons about war, blind obedience, and courage.  While never more graphic than a PG-13 movie, this book does contain scenes of military violence and carnage.