Grenade by Alan Gratz
Grenade is a book about WW2 set in Okinawa. You may not know where Okinawa is, so here’s a map to let you have a little more context going in.
This book is historical fiction, so the main events have to be accurate. During this time, the war is nearing its end in the European Theatre. America is also about to do an invasion of Okinawa, which is under the control of Japan. Okinawans are forced to fight for Japan and are terrified of the invaders, a.k.a the Americans.
The book is written in a unique way, with 2 main characters. The perspective of the book changes every chapter between these 2 characters. The first one is Hideki, who is a middle schooler enlisted in the Blood and Iron Student Corps, like the rest of the kids his age in Okinawa. He is given 2 grenades, one to kill the American invaders with and the other to kill himself.
The next character is Ray, a young adult who joined the Marine Corps to escape home. Okinawa is his first mission and he is very nervous, but he is reassured by his fellow squadmates.
I enjoyed the book because I find WW2 to be a very interesting time period. The terminology and environment makes the book feel like the 20th century and that the world is in chaos. The way the author shows how foreign each of the countries seem to each other is also done really well, like how Hideki describes English as slow and deep compared to what he speaks. Also how the Americans struggle to communicate with the Okinawan locals as they try to help them. The book also shows the bad parts of war too, with Japanese soldiers using Okinawans as suicide bombers and the Marines using flamethrowers in caves full of Japanese soldiers and Okinawan civilians. I also found myself liking some of the characters, like the other members of Ray’s squad.
The only problem I have with this book is that I feel like the author wrote this with a theme in mind and tries to push the theme at the reader in awkward ways. I felt like some scenes felt unrealistic or cringy because one of the main characters was trying to reflect on how he feels at that moment.
I would recommend this book, but expect to cringe at times.
Hi Mahdi, I really liked your review! I enjoyed that you put a map up because I really had no idea where Okinawa was T-T. I liked how you mentioned it would be cringy at some times, and the ugly sides as well as the good sides of the conflict that goes on in the book.
ReplyDeleteHey I really liked how you used the map to illustrate what setting the book took place in.
ReplyDeleteHi Mahdi, I agree that generally historical fiction writing typically has some kind of theme that the author wants to push. Either that or to teach people about some event. I'm glad that the book doesn't shy away from tough topics such as child suicide bombers.
ReplyDeleteI like that you showed us where Okinawa is on a map. I also like that you talked about the good and bad sides of the book.
ReplyDeleteNice review Mahdi! This review is good at helping someone who has never read the book understand its characters without even reading it. I really like the WW2 theme also, because it is very interesting to me. I might actually consider reading this book.
ReplyDeleteNice job Mahdi! I'm not really into the topic of WW2, but this book blog sparked some interest in me! I appreciate how you are honest with your reviews, and I will definitely look into this book.
ReplyDeleteNice review, Mahdi! The topic of WW2 isn't really my thing, but this book blog piqued my interest. Your honest reviews make me appreciate you, and I will definitely check this book out.
ReplyDeletegreat review! This is kinda unrelated, but I speak Japanese so I know that "Okinawa" translates to "deep water lawn" Also this post has a lot of comments lol
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