Darling, Mercy Dog of World War I

Hart, Alison. Darling, Mercy Dog of World War I
1 October 2013, Peachtree Publishers
Copy received from publisher.

Robert and Katherine love their dog, Darling, even though she has a tendency to run away and get in trouble in the village. Their father is off fighting in the war, and signs the family up to donate Darling to the war effort. The children are devastated but brave, and leave a note on Darling's collar that she should be sent back to them. Darling ends up under the care of Sergeant Hanson, who has a soft spot for the vivacious but sometimes naughty dog. Darling doesn't do well at carrying messages but has a knack for locating wounded soldiers, so is sent to the front as a Mercy Dog. During a particularly heated battle, Darling manages to save many soldiers in her squad, but sustains grave injuries. Most injured dogs are put down, but Sergeant Hanson alerts a newspaper man who publishes a story about Darling's bravery and manages to get her sent back to England with Private Kent.
Strengths: Aside from the fairly new Soldier Dog, there is little about dogs during The Great War. This book is part of a series entitled Dog Chronicles, and would be especially interesting to elementary students who love to read about dogs. While Darling is injured, the book is not overly gory and ends on a hopeful note.
Weaknesses: This is a little young for my readers, especially with the illustrations. It is more concerned with Darling than with the war, although the stories are certainly intertwined. My readers who are interested in books about war tend to want books that are much more descriptive in regards to the fighting.There was just something young about the tone and overall feel of this one. I will still be interested to see the next one in the series, Murphy, Gold Rush Dog, 1896.

Myers, Walter Dean. Invasion.
24 September 2013, Scholastic.
E ARC from Netgalley.com

Boy, did I want to purchase this one in the worst way. Great cover, aweseom topic. However, f-bombs used liberally. Sometimes, war books have these, but this used one that word as a modifier for socks. Not okay. If you're okay with the vocabulary, definitely take a look, but I'm going to pass.

From Goodreads.com: 
Josiah Wedgewood and Marcus Perry are on their way to an uncertain future. Their whole lives are ahead of them, yet at the same time, death's whisper is everywhere.

One white, one black, these young men have nothing in common and everything in common as they approach an experience that will change them forever.

It's May 1944. World War II is ramping up, and so are these young recruits, ready and eager. In small towns and big cities all over the globe, people are filled with fear. When Josiah and Marcus come together in what will be the greatest test of their lives, they learn hard lessons about race, friendship, and what it really means to fight. Set on the front lines of the Normandy invasion, this novel, rendered with heart-in-the-throat precision, is a cinematic masterpiece. Here we see the bold terror of war, and also the nuanced havoc that affects a young person's psyche while living in a barrack, not knowing if today he will end up dead or alive