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Heroes

A Novel of Pearl Harbor

Audiobook
0 of 4 copies available
0 of 4 copies available
Get ready for an action-packed, inventive, and powerful take on the attack on Pearl Harbor, as only Alan Gratz can tell it.

December 6, 1941: Best friends Frank and Stanley have it good. Their dads are Navy pilots stationed at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, and the boys get a front-row view of the huge battleships and the sparkling water. Yes, World War II is raging in Europe and in Asia, but the US isn't involved in the war, and the boys are free to dream about becoming comic book creators. They've even invented a superhero of their own, in the style of Batman, Superman, Captain America, and other stars of the Golden Age of Comics. Maybe they'll even get their comic published someday.

December 7th, 1941: Everything explodes.

That morning, Frank and Stanley are aboard the battleship the USS Utah when Japanese planes zoom overhead and begin dropping bombs on the ships below. Chaos ensues as everyone scrambles to dive for safety. Frank and Stanley realize what's happening: Japan is attacking America! The war has come to them.

As the boys fight to make their way home amidst the carnage, it's clear that everything has changed. Stanley's mother is Japanese American and he is suddenly facing a terrible prejudice that he's never known before—he's now seen as the "enemy," and Frank, who's white, cannot begin to understand what Stanley will now face. Can their friendship—and their dreams—survive this watershed moment in history?

Told with the immediacy, high-stakes action, and meaningful twists that have made Alan Gratz one of today's biggest authors, this gripping audiobook tackles themes of bravery, prejudice, and what it means to stand up for what's right. Just as Gratz's Ground Zero became a defining look at 9/11 for middle-grade readers, this audiobook delivers a necessary and unputdownable take on a date that still lives in infamy.

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    • Publisher's Weekly

      January 22, 2024
      Set during the attack on Pearl Harbor that drew the U.S. into WWII, this tensely wrought, propulsive historical novel by Gratz (Two Degrees) centers the compelling friendship between 13-year-old aspiring writer Frank McCoy and illustrator Stanley Summers, who are brainstorming their own comic book characters. The pair live in the seemingly idyllic Ford Island Naval Air Station in Pearl Harbor, where their fathers are stationed. Frank harbors secret anxiety surrounding his perceived lack of courage, especially evident when he avoids helping Stanley confront bullies, which prompts Stanley to ask, “How do you think you can write about heroes if you can’t be one yourself?” These paralyzing fears come into stark relief when, while the pair are on a battleship tour, Japanese planes begin bombing unsuspecting military targets. After diving from a sinking ship, the friends struggle to reach home amid violence, chaos, and death. Though the novel’s tone is sometimes uneven and text can read as didactic, Gratz sensitively handles characters’ suspicion of Stanley surrounding his Japanese American heritage, and offers a gripping, well-researched account of courage and friendship in this powerful depiction of American racism and imprisonment. Back matter includes a comic book created by Frank and Stanley and an author’s note. Ages 8–12.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

Languages

  • English

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