readers_block's review
4.0
This is the story of the youngest Marine ever to receive a Medal of Honor, the nation's highest and most prestigious war medal. At 14, Jack Lucas forged his mother's signature to get into the Marines. At 17, he stowed away on a Marine ship to get into combat faster. Shortly thereafter, Lucas threw himself on an enemy grenade to save his fellow Marines.
What I liked about this book was that it was interspersed with memories of his youth, stories from his childhood, and anecdotes from other parts of his life. You really get to know Lucas, not just his actions in the war. I loved that it was written by Lucas himself, with no secondary author viewpoint getting in the way.
My only qualm, and a small one at that, was that a lot of the book seemed to be about Lucas being overly impressed with himself. That's not a bad thing, after all, he was the youngest Marine to receive the Medal of Honor and did some amazing things. I'd be impressed with myself too. But it did get in the way of the book sometimes.
Overall: Easy read, good first person viewpoint of a young man in the war.
What I liked about this book was that it was interspersed with memories of his youth, stories from his childhood, and anecdotes from other parts of his life. You really get to know Lucas, not just his actions in the war. I loved that it was written by Lucas himself, with no secondary author viewpoint getting in the way.
My only qualm, and a small one at that, was that a lot of the book seemed to be about Lucas being overly impressed with himself. That's not a bad thing, after all, he was the youngest Marine to receive the Medal of Honor and did some amazing things. I'd be impressed with myself too. But it did get in the way of the book sometimes.
Overall: Easy read, good first person viewpoint of a young man in the war.
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