Review: Purple Heart by Patricia McCormick

Summary-When Private Matt Duffy wakes up in an army hospital in Iraq, he's honored with a Purple Heart. But he doesn't feel like a hero.

There's a memory that haunts him: an image of a young Iraqi boy as a bullet hits his chest. Matt can't shake the feeling that he was somehow involved in his death. But because of a head injury he sustained just moments after the boy was shot, Matt can't quite put all the pieces together.

Eventually Matt is sent back into combat with his squad—Justin, Wolf, and Charlene—the soldiers who have become his family during his time in Iraq. He just wants to go back to being the soldier he once was. But he sees potential threats everywhere and lives in fear of not being able to pull the trigger when the time comes. In combat there is no black-and-white, and Matt soon discovers that the notion of who is guilty is very complicated indeed.

National Book Award Finalist Patricia McCormick has written a visceral and compelling portrait of life in a war zone, where loyalty is valued above all, and death is terrifyingly commonplace (review from goodreads.com)

My Review- Imagine waking up in the green zone army hospital. You cant remember why your here. In this book that is what happens to Private Matt Duffy. He is only 18 years old and has a girlfriend back home. Unlike him, her only worry is getting a good grade on a biology test. He is a soldier in the Iraq war. Matt only knows he has a T.B.I (traumatic brain injury) He was in the after math of an R.P.G (rocket propelled grenade) Matt's friend Justin tells him how he got hurt, but now awhile later Matt cant remember when he is asked by other guys in the hospital. He can barley answer everyday questions.  The only thing Matt can remember for sure is is squad members.  Matt keeps saying he sees things while he is in the hospital listening to the guns. He fears her killed an innocent Iraqi street kid, but because of his T.B.I he cant remember the details. He keeps remembering things but sometimes it is just better to forget. Matt confides in Meaghen Finnerty to tell what he remembers. When locals believe that the young Iraqi street kid Ali was killed intentionally, Matt doesn't admit to his flashbacks. He fears her was somehow part of his death. Eventually, Meaghen Finnerty clears him to go get back out with his unit Matt fears he isn't ready, and he isn't quit the same. At the end of the book Matt finds the answers he was looking for, and an event happens causing him to test his soldier skills. I really liked this book because although it was fiction, the author made sure she knew what life was like in this war. She met with families who had sons or brothers in it. this story is a fast read, and tells the story of what it is like for an American soldier in the Iraqi war.

My Rating

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