It feels like my whole life’s about to change. Moving into junior high is like stepping out of childhood, whether you want to or not. And I keep worrying about how much longer my brother will be around, and maybe my father, too, and wondering why they can’t see eye to eye about anything this summer.
(from War & Watermelon, pages 28-29)
Rich Wallace remembers what it’s like to be young and straddling the line between childhood and adolescence. In War & Watermelon, Wallace tells the story of Brody Winslow, a 12-year-old boy getting ready to start 7th grade in a new school. Besides the usual worries about fitting in with the school crowd, Brody is preoccupied with making the football team and trying to figure out girls. But it’s the summer of 1969, and Brody has other, more important things on his mind, namely the prospect of his brother, Ryan, being sent to Vietnam.
War & Watermelon is intended for middle grade readers ages 10 and up, so I read this book with my 10-year-old daughter. She and I discussed the book together a lot over the past week or so, but she is too busy with her art and summer reading to write a review. She told me I could let you all know her thoughts, and since we pretty much felt the same way about this book, it should be fairly easy.
Wallace’s writing is solid. His use of the first person viewpoint is perfect for this story because readers get to know Brody’s fear and anxiety about all the changes going on in his life. The book starts off with a bang; Ryan convinces his parents to allow him to drive from their home in New Jersey to upstate New York for a major concert. Readers get to see Woodstock through Brody’s eyes, which proved to be a bit much for The Girl. While there isn’t anything graphic, parents should be aware that there are some swears, drug use (not by Brody), and topless women in this book. These made The Girl a bit uncomfortable, and not just because she was reading with her mother; she doesn’t like to read that kind of stuff on her own either and thinks words like “idiot” and “jerk” are inappropriate. Even so, the Woodstock scenes were exciting, but they comprised just a chapter or two of the book. They also give parents and children something to discuss while reading.
From there, Brody’s days are spent thinking about and playing football, listening to his brother and father argue, going to the swim club with his friend, Tony, watching the Mets as they begin to actually win games, and trying to figure out whether Janet and Patty like Tony and him. Wallace’s target audience is young boys, especially with all the talk about girls and detailed descriptions of football plays, and even though The Girl and I were able to appreciate these things despite not being able to relate, each chapter started feeling like the one before, making for some slow reading.
However, where War & Watermelon really shines is in its focus on the Vietnam War. Brody’s brother, Ryan, is soon to be 18, and he’s in limbo. He doesn’t know what to do with his life and doesn’t want to be forced into making a decision. His father doesn’t want to lose his son, so he wants Ryan to apply for college and avoid the draft. Ryan wants to go to college on his own terms, yet at the same time, he doesn’t want to fight what he believes is an immoral war. The Girl wanted me to include her favorite passage from the book, which highlights the tensions in the Winslow home.
I can hear them glaring at each other. “You don’t get it,” Ryan says for about the hundredth time this summer.
“Listen,” Dad says. “What I get is that it’s very easy to think big when you’re seventeen and you imagine that your future is unlimited. But you’re in total denial, Ryan. September ninth is four days away. The government has a nice birthday present waiting for you. It’s called a draft card.”
“You think I don’t know that?”
“There’s been no evidence that you do.”
“I’m not buying into their fascist system, Dad.” (page 140)
Wallace does a great job showing the tough decisions young men had to make about their future during the war and how these decisions affected their families. There’s a tenderness in the scenes with Brody and Ryan, with Brody saying more than once that Ryan has been there for him, and now it’s time for him to be there for Ryan. Brody has a good head on his shoulders, and he felt real to us as he agonized over his fumbles on the football field, the life-or-death decision his brother had to make, and his inability to understand girls.
War & Watermelon is a good book to introduce young readers to the Vietnam War and the protest movement from the eyes of someone their own age, someone who is going through the same awkwardness and confusion in transitioning to junior high. The Girl thinks it would make a good summer reading selection, especially for readers who like football.
Thanks to TLC Book Tours for allowing me to participate in the blog tour for War & Watermelon. To follow the tour, click here.
Courtesy of the publisher, I have a copy of War & Watermelon to offer my readers. To enter, leave a comment with your e-mail address and let me know what makes you want to read this book. Because the publisher is shipping the book, this giveaway is open to readers with addresses in the U.S. and Canada only. You have until 11:59 pm EST on Sunday, July 10, 2011, to enter.
**Please note that this giveaway has ended**
Disclosure: I received a copy of War & Watermelon from Viking for review purposes. I am an IndieBound affiliate and an Amazon associate.
© 2011 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.
I wonder what happens to his brother now. I hope he did go to College in the end 😦
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My lips are sealed!
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No need to enter me in the giveaway. But I wanted to say that I enjoyed this book for the same reasons you did. I didn’t mind the football plays since I could follow those, but the obsession with girls was a bit much, but then again he’s a young boy. I really loved how Ryan’s mother said that she would drive him to Canada kicking and screaming if it came down to it on Sept. 9
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We could follow the football plays, but it was scene after scene of the same thing, which is why we thought it was slow. I did love Ryan’s mom for that.
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Sure, I’ll throw my name in the hat for this one. I think my son might like it as he does love anything war and all things football. (Although now, he is totally obsessed with Stephen King.) Sounds like The Girl has got a good head on her shoulders. It makes you proud that they know the difference between appropriate and not appropriate, which will serve her well in years to come when she gets into some of the YA stuff out there. Nice review!
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Thanks, Sandy! I am very proud of her.
I do think your son might like this one.
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Oh, I’d love to be entered in this one. I love historical fiction. Great review!
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Thanks, Mrs. Q!
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Really good review! I love hearing what both of you thought about the book. I could see where she’d be a little uncomfortable with the Woodstock scenes but that it could make for good discussion. Brody sounds like a great character. Thanks so much for being on the tour!
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Thanks, Lisa!
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[…] Friday, June 24th: Diary of an Eccentric […]
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This one may appeal to some of my middle school readers…thanks for the great review!
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I think it would be a good book to have on hand for them.
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This giveaway is now closed. The winner will be chosen via Randomizer.org, e-mailed, and announced shortly.
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[…] Q: Book Addict won War & Watermelon by Rich […]
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[…] 19. When We Danced on Water by Evan Fallenberg (WWII) 20. Next to Love by Ellen Feldman (WWII) 21. War & Watermelon by Rich Wallace (Vietnam War) 22. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys 23. Juliet’s Moon by […]
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I am in love with this book! i am reading for the third time right now
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Glad you enjoy it so much!
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