Sweet, Hereafter by Angela Johnson YP FIC JOHNSON

Angela Johnson finishes the Heaven Trilogy started in Heaven and The First Part Last with the story of Shoogy Maple. Shoogy leaves home for reasons she isn’t completely sure of and lands at the cabin of Curtis Johnson a young man she has talked to only a few times before. Curtis takes her in without a question and their relationship begins to grow. But as Shoogy is finding peace for the first time Curtis is running from the past, his memories of serving in Iraq, and the dangers the future hold for him. When all this catches up to him Shoogy learns the pain of first love lost.

Sweet, Hereafter is told entirely from Shoogy’s point of view and this works well because she is a funny and intelligent young woman. Johnson’s writing is deceptively simple. She uses as few words as possible to convey the most emotion and depth she can, so this is a short read that stays with you long after you put it down. I would suggest reading Heaven and The First Part Last before you read this one though, because the characters and situations referenced will make more sense if you do. It is absolutely no surprise that Johnson has won the prestigious Coretta Scott King award three times. She is one of the best writers of African American characters working in Young Adult Literature today.

IraqiGirl: diary of a teenage girl in Iraq

The United States’ involvement in Iraq is regularly reported on the news. Lately the news has reported on the approaching elections, bombings and killings, and the United States’ exit strategy. For a young adult these matters may be of little interest, unless you have family and friends who are somehow involved or based in Iraq.
The United States’ occupation of Iraq began in 2003. In 2004 a 15 year-old girl, Hadiya, began blogging about her life in the city of Mosul, Iraq. Her blog was known as IraqiGirl. Recently a collection of her earlier blog posts were collected and published as IraqiGirl: diary of s teen age girl in Iraq (call number 956.704431 Iraqigir). Her firsthand accounts and reflection of the situation occurring in her country provides a unique perspective to everyone living outside this situation, especially young adults.
Hadiya is just like most teenagers. She worries about school, watches television when there is electricity, and discusses her relationships with family and friends. However, her experience is unique because she is constantly surrounded by war and the effects it has on her country. Her blog is an honest recollection of loss, grief, and a determined survival. She loses family members. Friends and family are forced to flee their homes. She is open about her choice to be a Muslim and responds to criticism from comments made by her readership. She also discusses U.S. and Iraqi military enforcements, such as curfew.
Hadiya is still contributing to the IraqiGirl blog. Once you finish this collection of earlier blog posts, I recommend continuing to read her unique firsthand account of the ever-changing political spectrum in Iraq.

Sunrise over Fallujah by Walter Dean Myers

We may think we know about the war in Iraq, but Walter Dean Myer's book lets us experience what young people are going through over there. The book’s main character, Robin, is 18 years old and has enlisted to stand up against the people who engineered the attacks of 9/11. He and his fellow recruits, both men and women, are not accustomed to being in a foreign country and are dependent on what they are told and on their gut instincts. One recruit’s mantra is that everyone has to “cover everyone else’s ass”, so that they have a chance of survival. Ironically enough, this is the soldier who ends up risking his life for a blind Iraqi child. Their particular unit is called “Civil Affairs”, since they are to go behind fighting units and help deal with civilians. But once the aftermath of the invasion starts heating up, their unit becomes just as prey to IED traps and attacks as combat units, and Robin’s sense of mission is not so clear anymore. Civilian casualties and the inability to determine who is friend or enemy make this a particular difficult war. Myers has written a story that develops each character to the point that you can feel their frustration and their desire to help others, and in some cases, feel their decision not to care. One soldier trained in first aid is told not to help wounded civilians since they may be the enemy, but she does it anyway. Myers does a good job of portraying the efforts of our army to make sense of a terrible situation and to try to do their job. Whether they have succeeded, he leaves it up to you to decide.