Hughes, Dean. Soldier boys.

Simon & Schuster, Pulse. 230p. c2001. 0-689-86021-8. $4.99. JS*

To quote KLIATT's January 2002 review of the hardcover edition:

Across the ocean from each other, two farm boys, Spencer, an American teen, and Dieter, a German teen, are eager to prove themselves on the battlegrounds of WW II. Spence is only 16, and he has to talk his father into signing his induction papers. He joins the paratroopers, seeking to be among these toughest of soldiers and no longer just a short boy with crooked teeth yearning hopelessly after the town beauty. He barely survives the grueling training, and is finally shipped off to Europe with his friend Ted.

Dieter, meanwhile, has risen through the ranks of the Hitler Youth, and even receives a medal from Hitler himself. He is full of patriotic fervor, and horrified by what he views as the "traitorous talk" of a sad, experienced corporal who takes him under his wing. The corporal values simply staying alive, and advises Dieter, "Don't die for that pig, Hitler." Filled with dreams of glory, the boys instead soon come to understand what war is truly like: endless marching, nights shivering in cold foxholes, seeing friends die horribly. "It was digging and waiting, with guns miles away blowing people up." Then comes the Battle of the Bulge, where the boys' stories converge. Dieter falls, wounded, and lies in the snow crying out for the corporal. Spence, hiding in his foxhole at night, hears Dieter, and against all orders crawls out to help him--only to be shot by the Germans. Like The Red Badge of Courage, this fine novel memorably conveys the horrors of war from a young soldier's viewpoint--two young soldiers, in this case, one on each side. It is carefully researched and convincing, filled with authentic details of training and battle. The emphasis, however, is on the emotional journey of these two would-be heroes, from innocence to hard-won knowledge of what being a soldier really is like.