Reviews for Nation at War: Soldiers, Saints, and Spies

The average rating for Nation at War: Soldiers, Saints, and Spies based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-06-17 00:00:00 Lee Obrien This is the first book in a trilogy (Ruth Marini on the Mound) that was my absolute favorite as a young'n, and it totally went out of print and then I found it again, rereleased as a set of "back-in-print!" paperbacks and so naturally I snatched them up. The first book, Ruth Marini of the Dodgers, reads like young reader, of course, but oh, the fond memories! Ruth'yes, she's a girl'is scouted and signed by the Dodgers straight out of high school, and this is the story of her launch into life as the first female professional baseball player. Written in the early 1980s, the book abounds in eye-rolling cliche, but the baseball writing is pretty good (especially for its age-level aims) and Ruth is great as a sassy, "I'm just as good as you, boys!" pitcher. Cebulash rocks the "It's like Jackie Robinson! But with girls!" angle pretty well. Anyway, good books or not, I LOVE THEM. ;D

Review # 2 was written on 2016-06-12 00:00:00 William Coates Sean is entering 8th grade after a really rough 7th grade year. He and his friend Scott got in lots of trouble, and the new year is supposed to be better, but before the first bell even rings, he's gotten into a knock down fight with a new kid David. The kicker? David started the fight... and he's in a wheelchair. Because the assistant principal hears conflicting accounts of the fight, he decides not to suspend Sean, but instead Sean is assigned to be David's "host". David is in the wheelchair as a result of a car accident, and is rather bitter about it. He played basketball, a love which he shares with Sean, who is trying to get up his grades and make the team. The two find that they get along well, and work together on a science project. David is a little more outgoing than Sean when it comes to talking to girls and helps Sean get up the nerve to talk to Caroline. Sean doesn't quite understand why David does stupid things like try to go down stairs in his wheelchair, so David suggests that Sean try an outing to the mall in a wheelchair so he can understand a little. Sean enjoys his success in school that David's help brings, and distances himself from Scott and the other friends who caused him to get into trouble. Strengths: Found this gem at Half Price books. I have a couple of basketball books by this author and like them. Even though this is an older title, it stands up well and will be fantastic for the language arts unit on challenges. There's plenty of basketball, good characters, and middle school boys who mean well but don't always make good choices. Very excited about finding this one! Weaknesses: A few Canadian phrases, like "seveners" for 7th graders, that students might have trouble with, but the book even has an Accelerated Reader test! Basketball books are really hard to find. I shouldn't be this excited about a 13 year old Canadian book!