Taylor Morris

Is it just because I’m an Army wife and more inclined to notice these things now, or is there a recent influx of young adult books with military themes? Even mainstream, award-winning author Ellen Hopkins has a military-themed book coming out later this year. (Although, this new novel is adult.)

Here are three that I’ve noticed so far: two upcoming and one already on shelves.

While He Was Away
Karen Schrek

One year—he’ll be gone for one year and then we’ll be together again and everything will be back to the way it should be.

The day David left, I felt like my heart was breaking. Sure, any long–distance relationship is tough, but David was going to war—to fight, to protect, to put his life in danger. We can get through this, though. We’ll talk, we’ll email, we won’t let anything come between us.

I can be on army girlfriend for one year. But will my sweet, soulful, funny David be the same person when he comes home? Will I? And what if he doesn’t come home at all…?

Something Like Normal
Trish Doller
June 19, 2012

When Travis returns home from a stint in Afghanistan, his parents are splitting up, his brother’s stolen his girlfriend and his car, and he’s haunted by nightmares of his best friend’s death. It’s not until Travis runs into Harper, a girl he’s had a rocky relationship with since middle school, that life actually starts looking up. And as he and Harper see more of each other, he begins to pick his way through the minefield of family problems and post-traumatic stress to the possibility of a life that might resemble normal again. Travis’s dry sense of humor, and incredible sense of honor, make him an irresistible and eminently lovable hero.

Collateral
Ellen Hopkins
November 13, 2012

From the sensational writer of the young adult classics Tilt, Crank, and Perfect—and the New York Times bestselling author of the adult novel Triangles—the gripping story of a woman torn between love for her boyfriend, a dedicated Marine deployed to Afghanistan, and the resentment she has for the war that is tearing their lives apart.

Written in Hopkins’s stunning poetic verse style, Collateral centers on Ashley, an MFA student at San Diego State University. She grew up reading books and never dreamed she would become a military wife. One night she meets a handsome soldier named Cole. He doesn’t match the stereotype of the aggressive military man. He’s passionate and romantic. He even writes poetry. Their relationship evolves into a sexually charged love affair that goes on for five years and survives four deployments. Cole wants Ashley to marry him, but when she meets another man, a professor with similar pursuits and values, she begins to see what life might be like outside the shadow of war.

Collateral captures the hearts of the soldiers on the battlefield and the minds of the friends, family, and lovers they leave behind. Those who remain at home may be far away from the relentless, sand-choked skies of the Middle East and the crosshairs of a sniper rifle, but just the same, all of them will sacrifice a part of themselves for their country and all will eventually ask themselves if the collateral damage caused by war is worth the fight.

UPDATE:
A writer friend told me of yet another book:

If I Lie
Corrine Jackson
August 28, 2012

A powerful debut novel about the gray space between truth and perception.

Quinn’s done the unthinkable: she kissed a guy who is not Carey, her boyfriend. And she got caught. Being branded a cheater would be bad enough, but Quinn is deemed a traitor, and shunned by all of her friends. Because Carey’s not just any guy—he’s serving in Afghanistan and revered by everyone in their small, military town.

Quinn could clear her name, but that would mean revealing secrets that she’s vowed to keep—secrets that aren’t hers to share. And when Carey goes MIA, Quinn must decide how far she’ll go to protect her boyfriend…and her promise.

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I think I adore Stephanie Perkins as much as Jennifer Echols and that’s saying a lot. I loved this book every bit as much as I did Perkins’ first book, “Anna and the French Kiss.”

I felt like the description of this book was a bit off, focusing too much on Lola the designer and Cricket the inventor. It’s so secondary. I loved that Lola is in a relationship with an older guy, I loved her parents, I loved the boy and his sister next door (although I was thinking book 3 could be about Calliope—don’t you want to know more about her?), I loved the setting of San Francisco and I loved the torment Perkins put Lola through. This was such a rich, well-rounded book and I couldn’t put it down from beginning to end.

I read it on my Kindle and am glad of that for one reason—the cover. I hate the cover! I’m sure the designer is a lovely person but this thing I just didn’t understand.

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