From: Hollis Rudiger <hmrudiger>
Date: Fri, 03 Mar 2006 15:12:01 -0600

Both An Innocent Soldier and When I Was a Soldier were on this year's Best Books For Young Adults list, and it is just now that I realize that both received commendations from the Batchelder committee and both deal with the very difficult issues of being a soldier as a young adult. I think before this month, I was so focused on all the great books that came out in '05, I didn't even notice the trend in Batchelder winners. Most North American teens have no direct experience serving in the military, but given the state of the world, many face the very real possibility of not only serving, but serving in a time of war. And how wonderful to have 2 books on the topic from such distinct perspectives.

These two books are set in different places, during different
"conflicts" but they have a lot in common and offer a lot to our teens. AIS, the Batchelder winner, deals with a war that, even at the time, many felt was a giant suicide mission driven by the ego of the Napoleon.
 Soldiers had absolutely no idea what they were doing or why, and because the main character in this novel is conscripted with false identity, it is clear that even the higher-ups are concerned only with sending bodies out, there is no national pride or personalization, no real reason to fight--The fact that Adam is believed to be someone else only reinforces the heartlessness of mandatory military service in this war, there is no honor or personal connection that a voulnteer soldier might use to keep him going in hard times or to justify the brutality he finds himslef committing. No one cares, no one sings praise for the mission, and Adam is so poor and so stuck in his lower station in life, that it doesn't even occur to him to speak up against the error. The troops were underfed, underfunded, and by the end of the war, while struggling to survive even in retreat, total chaos reigned, and the normal hierarchies and codes of conduct were gone. The war eliminated any social order and made it almost impossible for the main characters to return to normal life.

The main character in WWIaS (or speaker, I should say, since she is a real person writing her memoirs) is also a soldier, also serving in the military as per governmental obligation, but there is a huge difference. She understands why she must serve, and while unsure about the idea of war and killing, is very sure that she is part of something important and honorable. She also has options, unlike Adam. She is educated and her time in the service provides her with more training and further opportunity. The author vacilates throughout as to the "rightness" of being a soldier, and being more contemporary, feels much more
"adolescent." Of course, the idea of adolescent development had not been invented/discovered yet during the early 19th century, but it interested me how much is asked of soldiers, many of whom, are still babies!

Obviously the Napoleonic Wars and Israeli/Palestine "conflict" are very different in time, place, purpose etc, and obviously we have the benefit of a lot of historical reflection re: the former. But it strikes me as significant that these 2 books were a) deemed important enough to translate in the first place and b)of translated books this year, these two received Batchelder attention. Right now North American teens are getting all kinds of mixed messgages about war and military service. There is hushed talk and fear of the draft. At the very least, the government is unfurling an incredible recruitment campaign, using video games and hyperdramatic TV commericals. These two books show a lot more realistic look at war and at military service, and because they are written by non-North American writers, offer a bit of a balance to what is perhaps, the one sided presentation of our media. I don't mean to turn a literary discussion into a political conversation, but I do mean to express gratitude to the publishers and editors who find such wonderful international books which offer our teens a variety of perspectives.

Another similarity that strikes me now, is the very strong theme of friednship that appears in both. Perhaps someone else who has read both would like to explore this further? Nicholas too, explores the friendships of children, a theme which clearly is universal, even if living in wartime is not.

Hollis

Hollis Margaret Rudiger, Librarian Cooperative Children's Book Center University of Wisconsin-School of Education 4290 Helen C. White Hall 600 North Park St. Madison, WI 53706

hmrudiger at education.wisc.edu Voice: 608-263-3930 Fax: 608-262-4933 www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
Received on Fri 03 Mar 2006 03:12:01 PM CST