Sunday, October 20, 2013

Patterson, Valerie. Operation Oleander.


Patterson, ValerieOperation OleanderHoughton Mifflin/Clarion      2013  187p  ISBN 978-0-547-24437-2  ms/hs  Hardback  E-BN  Realistic fiction

This is a heart-wrenching novel that explores altruistic motives that have unexpected outcomes, grief, friendship, and the difficulties of those who wait on the home front when their relatives are on active duty in war zones.  The motif of flowers, both day lilies planted stateside and the oleander that is at once beautiful but poisonous, provides a visual as well as metaphorical look at the life of an army family.  Jess starts Operation Oleander to help orphans of the Afghanistan War.  She and her best friend have parents serving in Kabul, and they thought this would be a beneficial effort that would bring them together even though they are apart.  When a bomb detonates outside the orphanage, Jess’s father is seriously injured.  Merriweather’s mother dies.  The emotions on the home front include guilt and anger, directed at not just each other, but also at antiwar protesters who attend the funeral of Merriweather’s mother.  Readers will get an inside look at life on an army base, the fiercely protective community that stands by its comrades, and the emotional roller coaster traveled by these families.  The writing style flows along with wonderfully descriptive elements about nature, faith, and family.  This is a first choice for letting civilian readers into the mindset of military families.  It is strongly recommended for libraries that serve military families or for those students wondering what life is like for children and relatives of active-duty military personnel serving in war zones.

Summary: Jess and her friends have started a charity to help orphans in Kabul. When two of their parents are injured/killed due to a bomb planted at the orphanage, Jess has to deal with backlash against their project, concern for her dad, and her best friend’s loss. Gr 7-12.
     
Afghanistan War-Fiction, Military families-Fiction                --Lois McNicol

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