Guy Friday- Heroes and Escape Route

Gratz, Alan. Heroes
February 6, 2024 by Scholastic Press

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Frank McCoy's father is in the military and is stationed in Hawaii in 1941. He and his best friend, Stanley Summers spend a lot of their time coming up with ideas for comic books. Stanley is Japanese-American, and has to spend his Saturdays studying Japanese culture at his grandmother's school, but when Frank's sister Ginny's boyfriend invites Frank to visit him on the USS Utah, he's glad to get out of that task. Frank worries about everything, and is particularly worried that Stanley thinks he's a coward because he didn't stand up to two local thugs who were giving Stanley a hard time. At his previous school, there was an incident that left him overly anxious, but he's never told Stanley about it. Both of their families live on base on Ford Island, and the two take a boat over to the Utah. Soon after they arrive and meet Brooks, however, planes fly low over the carrier and start dropping bombs. The Utah is hit, and since the boys are on it, Brooks tries to think of the best way to get them off. It doesn't capsize for a while, but soon does, and they have to go over the side. On their way, they hear men trapped in the hull, tapping out an SOS. They eventually end up in the water, and there are dead bodies, fuel, and more planes shooting at them. They are separated from Brooks, and find his dead body. They make their way back home, helping Joe along the way. When they get back, they find Mrs. Summers frantically trying to bury Japanese heirlooms instead of heading to a nearby underground bunker. They finally convince her to seek shelter when Frank's house is destroyed by a bomb. Frank is glad when he finally gets back to his  mother and sister, but he can't bear to tell Ginny about Brooks. There is little time, as men start coming up from the water, badly injured. Everyone works to do what they can, and nurses from the local hospital do triage by using lipstick to put letters on men's foreheads. Ginny is devastated to find out about Brooks, but there is little time to grieve. Emotions are running high, and some people are not happy to see Stanley. We catch up with the boys a while after December 7th. Stanley's family is being sent away, and Frank's will be sent to the mainland as well. They say their goodbyes and promise to keep in touch, and talk about how they will reconfigure their comic book to show a hero who looks Japanese. The final chapter of the book is their comic, published in 1961, called The Arsenal of Democracy. 

Strengths: No matter how many books about World War II I've read, I always seem to learn something new. I can't say that I've read any books other than Salisbury's Under the Blood-Red Sun (1994) set in Pearl Harbor when it was being attacked. There are lots of good details of the bombs dropping and things exploding; this is what readers who are drawn to war stories seem to like, and I appreciated that there is a very strong sense of the damage that this does to the people involved, so nothing about the war seems glorious. There is some mention that after the bombing, many people lined up to volunteer to fight, but that is what happened. That, and my grandmother went out the next day and stocked up on sugar! The information about what happened to the Japanese Americans in the wake of the attack is vital, and there is some recognition of the fact that there were people of color working as nurses, cooks, and other support positions, which is not always acknowledged. The tie-in with comic books, and the realization that comic books don't always treat "others" well is a nice touch. 
Weaknesses: While Frank's protracted anxiety is on trend for middle grade literature and readers today, I think that if a young boy in 1941 were that anxious, he certainly wouldn't admit it to a friend. 
What I really think: Gratz's books are popular with my patrons, and I liked the fact that this followed both Frank and Stanley without switching to other viewpoints and interrupting the narrative flow, so I will definitely purchase a copy. Apparently can never have enough books about WWII. 

Clarke, Cassandra Rose. Escape Route (Star Trek: Prodigy #3)
August 1, 2023 by Simon Spotlight
Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

In this third book in the Prodigy series (following A Dangerous Trade and Supernova), we find six members ot the Protostar Federation ship wandering the universe in the escape shuttle, trying to get back to Earth. Dal, an Augment android-type individual, was the captain and Jakhom Pog the navigator. We also have Gwyn, Zero (who uses they/them pronouns), Rok-Tahk, and Murf, who language doesn't translate to the others, so communication is difficult. When the warp drive on their shuttle becomes damaged, they realize that they won't be able to reach Earth until they are all grown ups unless they can fix it. They land on a white moon that seems to be comprised of garbage, Chakkara, and meet local resident Yichirri, who takes them to Amkarja, the leader. The planet is indeed made of waste, and since dangerous chemicals frequently end up there and cause explosions, the underground bunkers where the residents live are in danger. When it turns out that Murf can eat just about anything and neutralize it, the Chakkarans offer to give the crew the parts they need to fix their warp drive in exchange for Murf. Since Murf can't communicate, he is only able to voice his displeasure in whines. The crew feels bad, but is also desperate to return to Earth. What it the best way forward?

Since I haven't seen the Nickolodeon television series or read the first two books, I did have some unanswered questions, like why Murf hasn't picked up any language? Of course, we are dealing with space denizens (I imagine we don't call them aliens anymore, since that has picked up a perjorative sense in the last few years), so there are many subtleties I am missing. This also seems to be the final book in the series, so is more concerned with wrapping up the action than in investigating the different characters. 

Novel adaptations of television programs have been around for years; I may even have a Partridge Family mystery with a young David Cassidy on the cover, but I haven't seen as many of these adaptations recently. There are many novelizations of the Star Wars franchise, but far fewer of the Star Trek one, so this was good to see, even if Janeway was the only character mentioned (she was a hologram on the Protostar) with whom I was familiar! 

Space adventure is always good to find, and the adventures of the Protostar crew will be welcome by readers who navigated space with Sylvester's Miners, Landers' Blastaway, Fry's Space Pirates, and Levy's Seventh Grade vs. the Universe.