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Reviewed by: Lisa Rice, Middle School Librarian Title: Heroes Author: Alan Gratz Illustrator: Comic illustrated by Judit Tondora Publisher: Scholastic, Inc. Year: 2024 Good for Grades: 4-8 Genre/Type of Book: J historical fiction, action/adventure
Content Warnings, or things that other School Librarians should be aware of: phobias, war/military attack, death, racism, description of bodily injuries, bullying
Recommended for a school library: Yes Reason(s) for choosing the book: I love this author and the way he brings history and current events to life.
If you were tasked by the publisher with writing a short quote for the back cover of this book, what would it be: "A real hero steps in when they see people getting hurt, no matter what." -Stanley, page 33
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Review:
Heroes begins on Saturday, December 6, 1941, when all is well in the United States and two friends, Stanley and Frank, are discussing the comic book they are writing together. Stanley Summers is an amazing artist and Frank likes to write comics. The Summers are Japanese Americans. Stanley's mom makes him go to Japanese school after church on Sundays so he can learn Japanese and about the traditions of Japan.
Stanley gets bullied by a group of boys and Frank doesn't step in to help his friend. Afterwards, Frank is about to explain to Stanley that he has a past trauma that makes life difficult for him. He was attacked by a large dog who was fighting with a smaller dog and Frank got attacked in the process. He now worries about everything- tires coming off the car, sharks, losing his toes to frostbite, alien invaders. Frank does risk assessment on all activities in his life and lets Stanley get beat up. He knows he needs to tell his friend about his past trauma and how it still affects him, but all of a sudden there are explosions everywhere. The boys assume the Army is doing a drill practice, because what else could it be? After all, according to Frank's dad, who is a pilot, "Pearl Harbor is a fortress. They'd never attack here." (p. 24) Then Frank sees a "meatball," one of the round, red circles forming the rising sun of the Japanese flag on the bottom of a plane flying overhead. The attack on Pearl Harbor has begun. This is obviously a historical fiction book about the attack on Pearl Harbor and the days following the attack. It's also about dealing with past traumas and how they affect everyday life. It is about friendship, loyalty, and bullying. It's a book about what war does to a country, coupled with racism, and how some Americans get treated. It's about the mistakes we make in war. It's also about comics and superheroes, on and off the page. I think this book could appeal to many audiences, not just fans of historical fiction.
I learned a lot about Pearl Harbor and the military from this book. I appreciated the smattering of boat and military jargon that Gratz uses, with explanations. Port and starboard might not be a part of every middle schooler's vocabulary. "Fish" are the torpedoes, streaking towards them underwater. "Meatballs" are the red rising sun of the Japanese flag. Gratz also explains that Pearl Harbor is both the body of water where the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet parks its ships and also the name of the military base. I didn't realize black sailors were really just support staff, and worked as cooks, stewards, and laundry attendants. I was confused why Americans couldn't shoot the Japanese planes down as they approached; the antiaircraft guns were covered up from target practice and it takes a crane to remove the coverings. I think there are a lot of interesting military tidbits that could lead to some interesting discussions.
The attack is described in detail, and I felt like I was a part of it. For sensitive readers, there are burned bodies, dead sailors and people fighting for survival. Gratz does a great job showing how completely taken off guard we were that day. In a social studies or library class that was studying WWII, it would be interesting to take a poll on if the U.S. should or should not get involved and see if opinions change or stay the same after a unit of study and reading the book. As Gratz questions, "Should the U.S. have stepped in to help our allies sooner? Why did we wait to get punched in the face first?"
Another question the book asks is what happens when you're American but look Japanese? All that mattered after the attack was that Stanley, and others, looked Japanese. Stanley's dad was in the Navy, and it made no difference. I was not familiar with the Sand Island Express, when the Army started to round up Japanese immigrants to Hawaii to "intern" them on Sand Island, at the entrance to Honolulu Harbor. Then the army began arresting Japanese Americans. They were called "prisoners of war." The military took away Japanese Americans' cars, boats, schools, clubs, and societies. Before I started discussing this with a class, I would start with the question, "What does it mean to be American?"
There are a couple of sections in the back of the book. One is the Arsenal of Democracy comic book that Stanley and Frank get published, and it is fun to see where the future has taken them. It is worthy of discussion for comic/graphic novel fans to look study how the Japanese have been portrayed in comics. There is a map of Pearl Harbor as it was on December 7, 1941. I think it would have been better placed at the beginning of the book. There is an interesting Author's Note, where Gratz describes how hard it was to be Japanese or Jewish and living in America during this time, and he provides some historical context. There is also an "About the Story" section and the "Legacy of Pearl Harbor." After reading the book as a group, I might have smaller groups tackle different sections at the back of the book and come up with a project or way or a way of doing a deeper dive into the information that is there.
I think with a lot of Gratz's books you can read them for enjoyment, read them to learn something new about history, or find springboard activities to enrich and expand on what was just read, and this book is no exception.
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