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Summary
Summary
The sister of a Marine fighting in a war she does not believe in, our zealous heroine must reconcile her life as anti-war demonstrator with that of her brother.
An agonzing dilemma plagues these brother-sister diarists.
He is a Marine stationed in Vietnam. She is at home in America, far away from her brother's war zone, fighting for peace. As the marine writes in his journal about his experiences as a soldier, fighting an enemy he can't see, his sister seeks peace. In these gripping installments of DEAR AMERICA and MY NAME IS AMERICA, Ellen Emerson White captures the unique time period when america was at war both in a far-off place, and at home where adults and children alike marched in the streets for peace and freedom. Poignant and complex, these two characters will give readers a glimpse into perhaps the most tumultuous time in modern American history.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-9 This novel focuses on events from Christmas 1967 through May 1968, a time of war in Vietnam and unrest in the United States. Molly's brother, Patrick, is serving in the area of Khe Sanh, a region that is receiving high-intensity shelling, and the 15-year-old contends with the duality of emotions occasioned by pride and concern for him and by her daily exposure to antiwar feelings. She observes how heated people can be about the war, one way or the other, but no one seems to bother to know the details; she wants to learn everything she possibly can about it. Volunteering in the VA hospital over the objections of her parents, she witnesses the frustration and anger of the seriously injured vets and the death of one of them. The story is rich in detail about the period: hippies; demonstrations; the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy; the lure of the coffeehouses, thrift shops, and bookstores of Harvard Square; and always the fate of the Boston Red Sox. Molly is an engaging protagonist with her own issues, and her questioning mind seeks honest answers. Average-quality, captioned black-and-white historical photos appear with the back matter. This title will be popular where readers seek out "Dear America" and similar series, and it complements American history studies. -Sylvia V. Meisner, Greensboro Montessori School, NC (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
In a journal covering the first few months of 1968, Boston teenager Molly describes her familyÆs concern for her brother, a Marine serving in Vietnam (whose experiences are recorded in [cf2]The Journal of Patrick Seamus Flaherty[cf1]), as well as her own volunteer work at a local veterans' hospital. MollyÆs clear-eyed narrative convincingly captures teenage life during this difficult era; a historical note supplies additional information. From HORN BOOK Fall 2002, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
This ersatz diary, in the Dear America series, belongs to Molly MacKenzie Flaherty, a 15-year-old Boston high-school student during the Vietnam War. Molly's brother Patrick (The Journal of Patrick Seamus Flaherty, p. 744) has volunteered to serve in the Marines and the family finds itself in the center of the morass that marked the war: nightly death totals, growing anti-war feelings, deaths of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, and the frustrating doublespeak of politicians. Molly's large Catholic family lives in Brighton, where a number of her male relatives are firefighters. The heroism of the soldiers is juxtaposed with the heroism of her relatives as they fight fires in the city, even a fire started by rioters following the death of Martin Luther King. The four-and-a-half months that Molly chronicles are unbelievably busy ones. Molly attends her first high-school parties, watches the silly sitcoms that blare from all those new color televisions, meets peace protesters in Harvard Square, nurses her father back to health after one more terrible evening of firefighting, reads the surprising book her mother has given her (The Feminine Mystique), finds a volunteer job at the VA hospital working with amputees fresh from Vietnam, waits for news of Patrick following his injury, and eventually helps him return to civilian life. This is more like a vehicle for the author's research than a diary. Readers of this popular series might not mind the pure volume of historical details, amazing coincidences, and overblown writing style, but they will certainly question the supposed age of the writer. However, very few stories of stateside siblings of soldiers exist and this might inspire some readers to think about life at home during the Vietnam War. A lengthy historical note with photographs follows the fictional diary. (Fiction. 10-14)
Booklist Review
Gr. 7^-10. White does a good job of fusing the personal with the political in this Dear America series companion to The Journal of Patrick Seamus Flaherty [BKL Jl 02]. Patrick's teenage sister, Molly, at home in Boston in 1968, is the focus. She's not sure she supports the war. Does her ambivalence mean she's betraying her beloved brother? The story unfolds through Molly's diary entries, which depict how the war affects daily life and her Irish Catholic family. In the background are the tumultuous events of the times--the political assassinations, the civil rights and women's movements--which Molly does engage with. The main story, however, is about Molly's war at home, and the most moving entries are about her volunteer work at a hospital, where she encounters firsthand what could happen to her brother. A long historical essay at the back, with several pages of photos, fills in more of the history. As with Patrick's journal, notes emphasize that the story is fiction. Why, then, does an epilogue tie everything up as if the events were true? Hazel Rochman
