Sunrise over Fallujah

Myers, Walter Dean. 2008. SUNRISE OVER FALLUJAH. New York: Scholastic Press. ISBN 9780439916240.

SUNRISE OVER FALLUHAH is the story of Robin (AKA Birdy) who joins the military after graduating from high school. Joining the military is very much against what his father would like for him to do with this life, but Robin feels like he needs to make a difference in the world.

Robin's first person point of view as narrator allows the reader to really experience what it would be like to be in Iraq fighting a war. "But it was the idea that at any moment it could all be over, that I could be dead or lying in the sand twisting in agony, that filled me with a terror that I hadn't known before" (page 71). He goes through many emotions such as pride, disgust, and exhilaration that are described in detail for the reader. Robin also shows the reader how there was a lot of confusion because you never knew which Iraqi's you could trust and which ones wanted you dead. One review points out that although there were many emotions shown the thoughts are still true to a young man in the war. "His voice and perspective never waver from that of a young man trying to make some sense out of his tasks and his duty" (B.C. 2008). This point of view really opened my eyes to what it would be like to fight in a war.

The setting is all over the country of Iraq. The descriptions of the countryside are almost too wordy for this age reader. I found myself getting lost in the descriptions and getting the different cities mixed up. The timing of the story is very important because it is at the beginning of the war. I also felt like I never really knew the characters in the story. They were not very well developed and there were a lot of different characters to keep up with.

Throughout the story Robin continues to think about the conflict between him and his dad. He joined the military against his father's wishes and wants more than anything for his dad to approve of his actions. In one letter to his uncle Robin writes, "If you talk to your brother, aka Dad, you might tell him that I was waiting for a letter from him" (page 24). The letters throughout the book break up the text for the reader. They are mostly between Robin and his Uncle Richie, but some letters are exchanged between him and his mom. The letters to his uncle, who is a Vietnam veteran, are much more heartfelt and filled with details. In contrast, the letters to his mom paint a much rosier picture to help her not worry about her son.

In the end Robin realizes why his uncle never wanted to talk much about the Vietnam War. "Now I understand how light the words seem...I'll tell them something because I'll want them to know about war. But are there really enough words to make them understand?" (page 282).

Reference List:
B.C. "Review of Sunrise over Fallujah." Horn Book 84, no 3 (2008): 324. http://ezproxy.twu.edu:2056/ ehost /pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=3&hid=104&sid=6b79d05e-4601-4e86-8623-f4fdc6baf86d%40 sessionmgr115 (accessed October 24, 2011).