Rosenblatt, Darcey Lost
Boys Macmillan/ Henry Holt 2017 279p 16.99 978-1-62779-758-0 ms/jr Conflict E-BN
When Reza’s best friend Ebi wants to
enlist in the Iranian army, Reza finds himself reluctantly pulled into a
nightmare from which he cannot return.
First rejected by his own mother who insists that he serve his country,
then sent to the front to face the enemy, he survives to become a prisoner in
an Iraqi camp where horrors abound.
Expecting
a Red Badge of Courage, the reader will be greeted by more of a Great Escape in
this debut novel by Darcey Rosenblatt. This book has it all, and young readers
will be horrified at first, then gratified, when they complete their
reading. Horrified covers a mother
giving up her son to a war effort with the thought that he will be received by
God and treated as a martyr should he die in battle and horrified covers readers’
emotions as they read of the atrocities experienced by Reza and the other
12-year olds in a prisoner of war camp in Iraq.
Reza suffers more than any child should, first with the loss of his
father, then uncle, then his best friend Ebi.
For a large part of the book, Reza does not know if Ebi survived their
first encounter, an absolutely astounding example of history that allowed boys
to lead a battle without arms and to find themselves sacrificed to detonate the
bombs before armed soldiers could attack.
Reza has two miracles that save him.
First, his love of music is with him throughout his imprisonment. The other miracle is his teacher, an Irishman
who introduces Reza to his “tar”, AKA guitar, which becomes Reza’s salvation in
more ways than one. The relationships
that Reza builds over time help him survive the harshness of the camp. Without them he would surely perish. When Reza’s life is threatened by the evil
guard, Abass, Reza knows he must leave.
In a harrowing escape, he finds a voice telling him how to proceed in
this life, a voice comprised of everything he has learned from all the good
people of this world. What emotions the
reader will experience! What sorrow
he/she will feel that there are young people in this world who do not have the
freedom to grow up due to the politics and/or religious beliefs surrounding
us. Powerful and poignant, yet hopeful
and uplifting. Squaresky,
Martha
Reza joins Iranian army;
taken as prisoner of war
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