Young Adult Literature
The next time someone—probably a snooty-looking kid who wears a beret in order to look tres French—suggests that YA lit isn't hard-hitting, give them a copy of Sunrise Over Fallujah.
Because this book doesn't sugarcoat anything. Myers keeps it really, really real. This is a novel about war, after all, and a lot of people die in gruesome ways. The gore isn't sensational, but Birdy's reaction to seeing it happen, in real time, is pretty heart-wrenching.
Let's put it this way: while this book is about a young adult—Birdy's a teenager—and has a difficulty level that makes it accessible for a YA audience, it's not for the faint of heart. In fact, we think most adults would have a hard time getting through Sunrise Over Fallujah without getting misty-eyed or shocked.