Grenade by Alan Gratz

Grenade by Alan Gratz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ray is a new, young American soldier just arrived in Okinawa in 1945 and Hideki is a young student who lives on Okinawa and has been conscripted to fight in the Blood and Iron Corps while his sister has been sent to a hospital as a nurse. As both young men fight in the war, the reader learns how ruthless the Japanese are, how awful war is and how the devastation of an island reaches deep into all who are defending it...Gratz's Notes at the end were very enlightening and sobering. War brings out the worst in some people and the best in others. Seeing Okinawa from Hideki's eyes was revealing as he traverses the island; readers will be gripped with Hideki's sadness and fear. Highly recommended.

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