Soldier Boys

Short by: Dean Hughes

• About the author:

Dean Hughes is a prominent author of historical novels and children's books. He was born in Ogden, Utah in 1943, and grew up in very humble circumstances, I mean he was poor, but the reason I admire him is because when he was at high school he promised himself and his friends that he would be a writer.

Much of his writing is targeted to children and young adults (particularly sports-themed and World War II), although he is also well known to adult readers of LDS Fiction for his meticulously researched "Children of the Promise" and "Hearts of the Children" series, set in World War II and Vietnam War eras respectively.

He is one of the writers largely credited with the rapidly increasing quality of Mormon literature in recent years.

• So… what makes this book interesting…???

When I was at the English book store I was looking for a book that was slim and with big letters but I just saw the side of the book and I though “This book is for me”.
I think the title is not so interesting but the picture in the paste makes you think because there you can see to boys, one from Germany and other from USA. That is nothing compared to reading because is that kind of book that transport you to the moment or place where the action take place.

• Main characters:

The book is based in two main characters. Dieter Hedrick from Germany, he is fifteen he’s the kind of adolescent who wants to be older just to take his own decisions. He was part of the Hitler youth and his dream, if it is the word, is to be part of the “army” just to prove that he is brave and for impress everyone he knows.

Spencer Morgan, the third of five children in his family. He was sixteen when he joined the parachutes command. He is the second in his family to join the army and the reason is simple to show his courage and attract the attention of the girls.

• What’s the story about…???

The story it’s about two adolescents and its life in the army during the world war two, but what it’s more the one guy is from the opposite side or country from the other. The first one who is Dieter entered to the army to prove his allegiance and bravery at all cost, he felt very lucky when he meet Hitler personally but very upset when he saw his infancy friend died in front of his eyes just because he tries to escape from the camp where they where training for war.
The second but not less important is Spence, who drops out his Utah high school and entered airborne command. Once in the army he felt the scare produce by war but he never went back. He was in the paratroopers school when the final exam comes, they were training for that they the had to jump from an airplane Spence felt very scared but he just jumped from the airplane and land perfectly, then he made that for almost five more times.

But that’s not the end, the war is coming and the future is unknown for these two guys maybe the end of their lives is coming, there they just have to survive and to prove their bravery and courage…

• Comment of the book:

I have to accept that when I started reading the book I was really confused because the author use an informal vocabulary and there’s also words in German that make me confuse like wehrmacht…

Once I finished the first chapter I get totally involved in the story because it’s not the same of war that you see in movies; I mean it’s the story of two guys like me that like any adolescent want to prove something for the others or for themselves.

I liked something the mostly. There’s one part where a sergeant says to Spence that war is for stupid people and that the responsibility of an adolescent is to study and learn about life not to be fighting…