Sharpshooter (Vietnam Series #2)

by Chris Lynch

Overview

"The best Vietnam War novels yet for this age range." - KIRKUS REVIEWS

Ivan has never backed down from a fight - especially when it comes to fighting for what's right. Now, as war erupts in Vietnam, he wants nothing more than to fight for his country as a soldier in the US Army, just as his father did in World War II.

But Vietnam is not the war Ivan was expecting. Glory does not come so easily in the jungle. And for the first time, Ivan is forced to question what he's really fighting for . . . and whether it's a fight he can hope to win.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545270274
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	05/28/2013
Series:	Vietnam Series , #2
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.50(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Chris Lynch is the author of numerous acclaimed books for middle-grade and teen readers, including the Cyberia series and the National Book Award finalist INEXCUSABLE. He teaches in the Lesley University creative writing MFA program, and divides his time between Massachusetts and Scotland.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Chris Lynch's VIETNAM:

"The best Vietnam War novels yet for this age range." - KIRKUS REVIEWS

"Lynch brilliantly captures the war in small details." - BOOKLIST

"So vivid, the reader will feel the stickiness of the heat and . . . hear the buzzing of mosquitoes." - VOICE OF YOUTH ADVOCATES

"A fine balance of thoughtfulness and gritty action." - BULLETIN OF THE CENTER FOR CHILDREN'S BOOKS

"Lynch delivers an action-packed examination of the bonds and trials of friendship." - SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL

"It makes you wonder how you would have acted in those situations. . . . Recommended." - LIBRARY MEDIA

From the Publisher

Ivan is an army type of guy. After all, the his father is the Captain, and the Captain is certain that his bloodline includes all types of warriors, from Native Americans to the Huns. So when we meet him and his band of buddies in Vietnam #1, we are not surprised that he is ready to fight full throttle for his country. His buddies—Morris, Rudi, and Beck—on the other hand, are not so certain that the Vietnam War is where they need to be. A pact is a pact, though, and they have sworn to one another that they will look out for each other while working in the various branches of the armed forces. That seems like a plan until Ivan touches down in Vietnam to discover a world full of violence and sleeplessness. Suddenly, the pact seems like a distant memory of a youthful boy and not the words of a few months prior. As Ivan negotiates through the jungles and all of the gore that surrounds him, the reader begins to take in a bird's-eye view of the war. Lynch's portraits of the swamp are so vivid, the reader will feel the stickiness of the heat and be so deeply entrenched with Ivan that they will hear the buzzing of mosquitoes and the sounds of enemy fire. This title will captivate even the most reluctant reader. It is a must purchase for any library that serves a teen population. Reviewer: Robbie Flowers

VOYA - Robbie Flowers

Ivan, age 18, and his three Boston buddies, Morris, Rudi, and Beck, have pledged solemn oaths to each since they were kids. When Rudi is drafted to fight in Vietnam, the others enlist as well, in a spirit of solidarity. Only Ivan is looking forward to the experience, and his father, who fought in World War II and claims to have Native American warrior heritage, is as excited as Ivan is. Ivan breezes through basic training and is selected for the Marksman Program. Arriving in Vietnam, he is assigned to help defend Counter Insurgency soldiers on a Navy ship. On patrol, he must creep through the hostile jungle to try to destroy the enemy's secret supply deposits and lie in wait to ambush the people providing the supplies. Ivan is nicknamed Moxie, for his love of that beverage, though he shows he has moxie in other ways as well. He goes to Sniper School and becomes a corporal. But as comrades fall and his body count rises, he begins to question the murky nature of the war; there is no clear enemy, no glory or heroism, unlike his father's war. Ivan realizes he has become just a killing machine, and he weeps to learn that Rudi has as well. Realistic details, along with a fair bit of gruesome descriptions of dead bodies and shooting, will rivet readers who want to know what war is really like. This volume can stand alone, but readers will want the whole "Vietnam" series. Reviewer: Paula Rohrlick

Children's Literature - Paula Rohrlick

Gr 7 Up—Lynch deftly explores the impact of the Vietnam War on the youth who fought it. Each book in this series is narrated by one of four friends, so readers will understand how war has profoundly changed each one. This installment features Ivan Bucyk. The son of a proud World War II veteran, he is excited to enlist in the Army, while his three closest friends are frightened and unsure of going to war (Ivan talks one of them out of fleeing to Canada when he's drafted). The teen thinks he is prepared to fight for his country, but he isn't prepared for the jungle's suffocating heat, the gruesome images of dead Vietnamese, the discipline of sniper training, or the harsh realities of losing fellow soldiers. Despite the friends' pledge to stay connected, Ivan closes himself off to their letters and other communication. War changes a man, and now Ivan wants nothing more than to go home. The depictions of the conditions of living and fighting in Vietnam offer readers insight into what made this particular war so different from its predecessors. A good choice for those seeking to understand the emotional complexities of war.—Kimberly Garnick Giarratano, Northampton Community College, Hawley, PA

School Library Journal

In the second installment of his Vietnam War series, Lynch follows 18-year-old Ivan Bucyk, one of four friends who pledged to go to war together once one was drafted. Ivan was the one most excited about going. After all, his dad was in World War II, and Ivan grew up on stories of Patton and North Africa. Trained as an elite sniper, Ivan is special, but, predictably, his experience in Vietnam doesn't match the stories of heroism he grew up on. Here, it's not clear who the enemy is. He had figured this war would be like the American Civil War, with a clear North and South, but in Vietnam the enemy is all around and impossible to identify. Ivan has quickly come to realize he was a stupid kid when he arrived; now, with a war he can't explain, he lives for a simple purpose: "I shoot people. That's it." And DERUS--"Date Eligible for Return to US"--has become his religion. Since this volume repeats the opening of the first (I Pledge Allegiance, 2011), it easily stands alone, but the series gains richness from the multiple narratives, boding well for the overall story when all four characters have had their say. The best Vietnam War novels yet for this age range. (Fiction. 9-13)

Kirkus Reviews