Kid Soldier

by Jennifer Maruno

Overview

2015 Rocky Mountain Book Award — Shortlisted

A boy is thrown into the middle of history’s biggest war.

Fatherless and penniless, fifteen-year-old Richard Fuller wants a bike, so Mr. Black, the baker hires him to help with deliveries. Mr. Black entertains him with army stories and teaches him Morse code. He invites Richard to attend the opening ceremonies of the local 1939 military camp. Infatuated with army life, Richard takes part in Army training camp under an assumed name. When war looms, he makes the most impulsive decision in his life and enlists.

He travels to England, witnesses the terror of the Battle of Britain, the horrible death of a German pilot, is caught in the London Blitzkrieg, and is wounded himself. When his true age is discovered, Richard faces a possible court-martial.

Will Richard’s desire for adventure lead to disaster so early in his life?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781459706798
Publisher:	Dundurn Press
Publication date:	08/31/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	208
Lexile:	800L (what's this?)
File size:	1 MB
Age Range:	12 - 15 Years

About the Author

Jennifer Maruno is a long-time educator. Her debut novel, When the Cherry Blossoms Fell, was shortlisted for the Hackmatack Award and the Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Readers Choice Award. She is also the author of Warbird, Cherry Blossom Winter, and Kid Soldier. She lives in Burlington, Ontario.

Jennifer Maruno is a long-time educator and author. Her debut novel, When the Cherry Blossoms Fell, was shortlisted for the Hackmatack Award and the Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Readers Choice Award. She lives in Burlington, Ontario.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 7–10—A story set during World War II. Richard Fuller, 15, longs for a bicycle. He takes a series of odd jobs such as harvesting fruit and delivering bread to earn the money to buy one. His relationship with Mr. Black, the local baker, leads to the teen's interest in Morse code and an army training camp. Shortly after attending the camp, underaged Richard enlists in the Canadian army under a fake name. Maruno creates a well-realized world for Richard and her readers in every setting she places him, be it the humid house where his mother does her laundry work or the tense scouting and air-raid scenes in England. She even communicates the shift the hero experiences when he returns home from the war. The theme of family is skillfully woven throughout the novel. Mr. and Mrs. Black, the neighbors who love and mentor Richard, fill the void left by his grieving mother and his deceased father, a veteran who died when he was young. Richard's relationship with his mother realistically matures while he's away. However, the protagonist's near-perfect affability makes his likable character less believable. Maruno reveals in her author's note that Kid Soldier is based on her father's war experiences, which perhaps explains the idealized Richard. Iain Lawrence's B for Buster (Delacorte, 2004) is a good companion to this story.—Hilary Writt, Sullivan University, Lexington, KY

School Library Journal

10/14/2013
In this historical coming-of-age story, a Canadian teenager joins the Army at the outset of WWII. Maruno (Cherry Blossom Winter) introduces 15-year-old Richard Fuller, who starts out performing odd jobs around his hometown of Niagara Falls in order to earn money for a bicycle, before he's introduced to the lure of armed service. Under a false name, the underage Richard enlists and quickly proves himself capable as a signalman. After training, he's sent overseas to England, where he comes face-to-face with the true cost and brutality of war. Maruno's attention to detail and loyalty to source material adds significant verisimilitude to the historical setting. However, the story itself is fairly skimpy, often skipping from one episodic event to the next without closure, creating a patchy effect that doesn't always support the gravity of the subject matter. As a result, characterizations also remain rudimentary; Richard goes from one job to the next, joins the Army, has a few adventures, and is deployed to England in quick succession. Rich in historical accuracy, light in story. Ages 12–15. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Maruno excels at presenting scenes, rather than telling readers what to think.

Canadian Materials Magazine

[Jennifer Maruno] provides many interesting details of the daily lives of both civilians and military, in Canada and England. This replaces the more dramatic battle scenes expected in a WWII novel, and Maruno’s strength is the research.

Canadian Materials magazine

Maruno excels at presenting scenes, rather than telling readers what to think.

Maruno creates a well-realized world for Richard and her readers in every setting she places him, be it the humid house where his mother does her laundry work or the tense scouting and air-raid scenes in England.

Maruno’s attention to detail and loyalty to source material adds significant verisimilitude to the historical setting.

[Jennifer Maruno] provides many interesting details of the daily lives of both civilians and military, in Canada and England. This replaces the more dramatic battle scenes expected in a WWII novel, and Maruno’s strength is the research.

From the Publisher