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Content snapshot
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Violence
A lot
Graphic combat violence; soldiers die in brutal, specific ways; the physical reality of war is not softened
Language
A lot
Military profanity throughout; authentic and often crude soldier speech
Sexual Content
Barely any
Brief references to sexuality; soldiers discuss women but nothing explicit
Substance Use
Barely any
Social drinking and drug use in the Vietnam milieu
Emotional Intensity
A lot
PTSD and moral injury; the psychological cost of killing; race and class dynamics in the military; Richie's loss of innocence
What this book is about
Richie Perry, seventeen, enlists in the Army to escape the Bronx and ends up in Vietnam in 1967. Myers's unflinching YA war novel follows Richie's squad through combat, death, and the corruption of young men. The language is real, the violence is real, and the questions about race, class, and why the poor fight the wars the powerful start are made with searing clarity. A Coretta Scott King Award winner.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Graphic war violence
Military profanity throughout
Death of beloved characters
Racial discrimination in the military
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