INVASION by Walter Dean Myers.   New York:  Scholastic, Inc., 2013.  212p.  978-0-545-38428-5; hc., $17.99.    Gr.6 & up    YAF

In early 1944, recruits, including many teenagers, from all over America are caught in the fervor of war, joining the armed forces, eager to defend their country. Given the impression from their superiors that that the allies will easily dispatch the inferior German forces back to their homeland, Josiah and Marcus, two naïve teenage recruits, have no idea of the catastrophic events about to occur. The carnage of the D-Day invasion and the days that follow soon age them beyond their years as the ugly reality of war changes their lives forever.  Meyer gives a stark, factual picture of war, the horrors, fear and sacrifices that face our fighting men and women. Especially relevant in today’s world of continuing conflict.
Barbara Ward, Retired Children’s Librarian, Dickinson County Library