Dean Hughes

It may not be a literary masterpiece but Dean Hughes’ newest young adult novel tells a story that bears repeating again and again. The men of the 442nd Regimental Combat team, made up almost entirely of soldiers of Japanese ancestry, fought heroically against the Germans in World War II. They became the most decorated unit in the history of American warfare, earning, among other things, twenty-one Medals of Honor and eight Presidential Unit Citations. 9,486 Purple Hearts were awarded to show more the 14,000 soldiers who served in the unit. The unit’s Combat Casualty Rate was an unimaginable 314 percent.

Hughes tells the story of the 4-4-2, as its soldiers called it, through the eyes of two friends, Yuki and Shig who, leaving their families behind in internment camps, enlisted in the Army to show their country that they were as much loyal Americans as anyone. They were soon shipped off to Europe to fight the Germans (the Nisei troops were never trusted to fight the Japanese). As they fought their way up the Italian Peninsula, through France and into Germany their encounters with the enemy became more frequent and also more deadly. Early on in the war I felt that the story was a little too pristine to be a convincing account of men at war. It seemed to lack the gritty, life-is-nasty-brutish-and-short sense that one expects when all traces of humanity is stripped away. But Hughes does do an excellent job of describing the hardships encountered by the soldiers and as the war progresses it becomes apparent how much of a toll the constant exposure to cold, exhaustion and brutality is taking on them.

Bottom line: I was concerned that the author would miss the mark in telling the story of this unit by either portraying their tale as something glorious and heroic, giving young readers a false impression of war, or he would underplay the immense suffering and sacrifice endured by these men who had to fight harder than anyone else just to be considered as Americans. There is an inscription on a monument in Arlington Cemetery that, while not referring to the men of the 4-4-2, beautifully captures their sense of dedication.

Not for fame or reward, Not for place or for rank
Not lured by ambition or goaded by necessity
But in simple obedience to duty as they understood it
These men suffered all, sacrificed all, dared all-and died.

The review copy of Four-Four-Two that I received was an audiobook read by Kirby Heyborne, (Al Capone Does My Shirts, Hollow City). As always, Heyborne does an excellent job of portraying a young narrator.

* The review was based on an advanced reading copy obtained at no cost from the publisher and LibraryThing in exchange for an unbiased review. While this does take any ‘not worth what I paid for it’ statements out of my review, it otherwise has no impact on the content of my review.

FYI: On a 5-point scale I assign stars based on my assessment of what the book needs in the way of improvements:
*5 Stars – Nothing at all. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
*4 Stars – It could stand for a few tweaks here and there but it’s pretty good as it is.
*3 Stars – A solid C grade. Some serious rewriting would be needed in order for this book to be considered great or memorable.
*2 Stars – This book needs a lot of work. A good start would be to change the plot, the character development, the writing style and the ending.
*1 Star - The only thing that would improve this book is a good bonfire. show less

This series is bound to be a step down from the original series, since to me the '40s is a much more interesting time period than the '60s. Not to mention the first half of the book is just, well, boring. Its sole purpose seems to be to introduce new characters while allowing us to "spy" on the original ones we know and love. The second half of the book was much better, though—stuff actually started happening. I especially enjoyed Hans' journey and Gene as a missionary. I'm hopeful that show more the rest of the series won't be the drudgery I remember it being 12ish years ago. show less

When this book started even grimmer than the book before it, I started to wonder why I was voluntarily putting myself through this—again. But then the war ended and the reunions started happening, and I was like, "Oh yeah. That's why." Wally's story in particular just about makes me explode with happiness, and Alex has some tear-jerky moments too.

I loved these books as a teenager, and I'm grateful I've been able to read them again as an adult. As a kid I mostly loved the books for their show more stories, and I still do now, but I understand certain things a little better. The books mean even more to me now, which doesn't happen often. (I wish my adult re-read of the Work and Glory books had been this positive.) Dean Hughes certainly does this series justice—he was the right guy to tell this story. show less

Solid writing, and a likeable main character. I particularly loved the battle details, the way deaths weren't glossed over but each loss got a moment, and the gross but realistic descriptions of stuff like trench foot. It's a good choice for those reasons, but I think it's an even better choice for the depiction of racism and the darkness of what America did to it's own citizens during WWII. I bumped it up a star rating just for being the right book at the right time.

I recall learning about show more internment camps in high school, but I only remembered the broadest strokes. For a fictional story, this book did a great job conveying day to day details not just of being imprisoned stateside, but of one way someone might face overt and pervasive racism. Historical fiction isn't my favorite genre, partly because I'd rather just read non-fiction. But I think the preface and the author's note had some great resources and more details (including photos), and the story did a good job getting me to want to read more.

Give this to your teens who like military stuff, WWII stories, and books about male friendship. Also, give it to all the other teens too, because with the current political climate and hate crimes rising it would make for an excellent discussion. Pair it with the soundtrack to George Takei's recent musical Allegiance and a conversation about what our next administration may be planning for more American citizens: http://www.snopes.com/2016/11/17/trump-transition-muslim-registry/ show less