Sentries

Rating:
Summary: Heart of youths and Mother Nature
Review: I am a junior high school teacher in Japan.I found this wonderful book in the school library.Everybody will be amazed by the construction of this book.But the more important thing is the vivid description of the heart of the youth.I love the story of Sue and the story of Lola especially. An Indian girl,Sue,met an Indian boy.And she woke up her self-knowledgement as an Indian.It was described through the changing of the way which she viewed her grandfather.I want to listen to him singing stories about animals,the wind,moon and seasons. The story of Lola,an only child in a sheep ranch,is also impressive .I can imagine the smell of the birth of sheep when reading this stoty.The connection between Lola and her parents through the common work of keeping sheep,was certainly described. The stories of three youths in the battle field are realistic because the auther heard them from the real soldiers from that time.I have been trying to tell the students about the misery of the war,so that the stories of young soldiers are impressive. I read Gary Paulsen's other book"TRACKERS".In this book the boy's changing heart about death was also described vividly. Peter Paulsen said that he wrote these books for youths but they touched on my heart as well although I am 55 years old.I think Gary Paulsen is a wonderful writer who can describe the heart of youths and Mother Nature vividly.

Rating:
Summary: VIgnettes of Human Vulnerabilty and Dignity
Review: This is an unusual book--definitely not a novel, for the plot is non-existant. The storyline alternates among 4 teenagers and 3 veterans of different wars--none of whom meet each other. According to the Summary, there is a theme which provides commonality/literary glue (see Heading) but even that is somewhat obscure. The chapters are short and read quickly. Master story-teller Paulsen held my interest because I kept waiting for the four protagonists to interact and solve the world's problems--or at least their own.

But it was not to be, which lead to my frustration and disappointment. If he just wanted to write good short stories, he could have rearranged them, so that readers would realize when the end had been reached about a specific young adult. Nor did I notice any thread of nuclear disaster, as proclaimed on the back of the book. I found human vulnerability and dignity, as these young people sought meaning and direction in their lives. All four pursued th! eir goals differently, but it was unfortuate that they never knew of each other's dilemmas, so they could learn from each other's experience. A sad commentary on the social isolation of the teen years. Knowing the heights to expect from Paulsen, I felt cheated.