Invasion

This is the third novel in a loosely-connected series of war stories by Walter Dean Myers. Marcus Perry, one of the lead characters in this novel, is father to Richie Perry ("Fallen Angels"). Richie is Uncle to Robin Perry of "Sunrise in Fallujah". Marcus Perry is not the main character in this novel, however. Josiah Wedgewood (Woody) is his hometown friend who fights in the infantry, and most of this book centers around Woody's experiences with war. "Invasion" deals with the storming of Omaha beach and fighting the Germans in Normandy. The action in this novel is graphic and realistic. The language is explicit, but not out of place, considering the events of the book. With every battle, more and more of Woody's fellow soldiers are killed. The deaths take their toll on everyone and everyone has a different way of coping (or not coping) with the experience. The author's note at the end of the novel is excellent and helps to put this novel in context. Although I didn't like this book as much as "Fallen Angels", I would definitely recommend it.

Great book! I lover reading about wwll.

It was a good book. It kept you on edge wondering what was going to happen next and made the book interesting.

Very interesting

I had a very good time reading this book, It was good and never boring. If you order this book, you will not be disappointed.

This is not a good book. It is set during World War II but the attitudes and lingo are too contemporary and feel out of place.

This is marketed for ages 12 and up, parents and educators should be aware that the language is very crass and the f word appears multiple times.As far as the story, it is okay. While it is probably realistic, the language detracts from the story, I think especially so for this age group There does seem to be some modern attitudes and speech patterns that would not be historically accurate, for example the inter racial friendship. Also, I would have thought that a Catholic priest would have given general absolution rather than an interfaith blessing. And that a panicked Catholic would recite the Hail Mary rather than the Our Father. But I do appreciate the authors including the faith element.The authors end note mentions that his son is a military chaplain.

Source: Received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.I've seen a lot of works by this author but have never tried any of his works for myself. I was a bit nervous to read that Invasion is a prequel to two previous works by Myers but after conducting a bit of research, I realized they aren't really related. One character in this book is the ancestor of characters in the other two but they are set in much later time periods while this one looks closely at D-Day and the invasion of Normandy.I've read some outstanding examples of WWII fiction (um, Elizabeth Wein anyone?) but lately it has been looking more at a female perspective rather than the male soldier perspective so I was excited for a different take. From the summary, I thought it might explore segregation during this period in addition to looking at war's tragedies. That's not really true. Though main character Josiah Wedgewood does briefly mention segregation (not officially ended until an Executive Order in 1948) and how that might make his friend feel, never mind how he feels about it, it does not play an important role. Instead there are long descriptions of the fighting and killing and towards the end, the story becomes more poignant with Josiah pondering how he'll continue.After getting over my disappointment that this book isn't really about Josiah and Marcus Perry's interracial friendship (and really doesn't the cover kind of suggest that?), I really struggled with this book. It reminded me of "Saving Private Ryan" with its incredible visuals that are much harder to read. I found the reading very dull. However it did improve for me toward the end particularly with Josiah's comrade Mink quoting poetry, juxtaposing those beautiful lines against the barbarous circumstances and his musings on war. In the author's note, Myers shares his own experiences with his son serving and also discusses the books this one precedes chronologically. While I liked these moments, they weren't enough to make up for my lack of connection to the story and especially to Josiah. I think it is very well-written and will certainly be a powerful read for some, just not me.Overall: May be a good read for those who are already fans of this author and who really love World War II fiction; I just didn't connect with the characters or storytelling.