Purple Heart

Matt is a soldier in Iraq. He's just been injured and can only remember bits and pieces of what happened, but he's worried that he's to blame for an Iraqi boy's death. The reader gets an idea of what a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) does to a person, as well as how soldiers deal with, or avoid dealing with, the fallout of combat situations where the line between right and wrong is murky. The books follows him from his recuperation in the hospital to his return to his unit (even though he's clearly not recovered from his injuries -- while the medical staff was hesitant to discharge him, he was very motivated to convince them he was healed) and their patrols in the city of Baghdad. It's fascinating to learn about their daily life and job show more duties as well as their camaraderie and conflicts. Although I haven't had direct experience with war, the book feels authentic to me. The author did a considerable amount of research and spoke at length with soldiers and family members of soldiers killed in the war I really appreciated that there were very few good guys and bad guys, just people trying to do a job or make a living. show less

18-year-old Matt Duffy wakes up in an American-run hospital in Iraq with a bad headache, a limp, a Purple Heart, and no recollection of how he had gotten there. As he struggles to recover, both physically and mentally, Matt begins to see flashes of what happened the night before his hospitalization, images that don’t seem to match up with the accounts his friend Justin gives him.

When Matt returns to his friends, he must deal with his confusing feelings of guilt, and the realization that nothing is ever black and white in tragedy…

No one is better at tackling tough topics than perhaps Patricia McCormick, and PURPLE HEART joins the ranks of SOLD and CUT as strikingly sad, impossible to put down. If it doesn’t leave you crying, PURPLE show more HEART will at least make you ache for the difficult positions these soldiers are placed in.

Young soldiers have rarely played a major role in modern YA lit, and so Matt Duffy is a refreshing character who lives up to his groundbreaking role in literature remarkably well. Matt and his comrades display all the vulnerabilities that we never even realized soldiers will have: gun-shyness after a traumatic event, the inability to make quick and easy decisions, and bravado that masks the very real fear of dying.

McCormick’s language is alternately simple and lyrical, causing us to feel as if we are floating in another, fantastical world while simultaneously grounding us in harsh reality. Through Matt’s eyes we can notice the smallest details and see how they would affect a young soldier. In the end, what stands out to me about this novel are the little things: the warbling singing voice of a woman on the radio, the rhythmic up-and-down of a yo-yo, Halo video games. The beauty of McCormick’s writing is that, now, these simple images, these sensory details, will forever remind me of the horrors of war.

PURPLE HEART is a short read—barely 200 pages—but it is by no means an easy read for anyone. And yet hardly has a book been needed to be read more. With war still such a big part of our society, we have needed a book like this for a long time. PURPLE HEART should be a must-read to open one’s eyes towards the complexities of war. show less

For the most part I really liked the book - the characters were interesting, the environs well set and the slow reveal of the central plot mystery nicely constructed, but.. by the closing sections it started feeling a little too constructed, too much like it had a point to make and that if characters and events had to be bent to make it then so be it.

For my money, Sunrise Over Fallujah covered similar territory for a similar readership both with more heart and more guts.

Private Matt Duffy wakes up in Sadam Hussein's former palace, which has been converted to a war hospital. Duffy isn't sure what happened to him, although he comes to learn soon enough that he's suffered TBI, or traumatic brain injury, from an explosion that killed an young civilian Iraqi boy. The army is ready to ship Duffy back to his unit as soon as he's well enough to hold a rifle and walk, but Duffy struggles to recall everything that happened. He's fairly certain that he had something to do with the boy's death. Author Patricia McCormick tells a hearbreaking tale of war in a very human way, and in a relatively short space. Highly recommended for reluctant readers at the high school level.

In Purple Heart, Patricia McCormick has tackled another serious issue: the trauma of war. Private Matt Duffy, an American soldier in Iraq, wakes up to find himself in a military hospital. He’s not quite sure how he got there or why. Dr. Kwong tells him he’s got a possible TBI, Traumatic Brain Injury, but Matt has no clue what caused it. He later learns from Justin, his squad mate and buddy, that he was “on the business end of an RPG [rocket propelled grenade]”. Matt has no memory of the incident.

Matt is awarded the Purple Heart for wounds sustained in combat. The officer who gives him the medal says “Your mission now, son, is to get better. Get better---and get back out there.” (Reviewer’s note: While, as a non-soldier, I show more find this sentiment unfeeling, apparently many soldiers do want to go back to their squad as soon as possible.)

Purple Heart takes you through Matt’s experiences in the hospital, his attempts to remember what happened and his experiences back out in the field. It probes his mind regarding his changing attitudes towards the Iraqi people, his fellow soldiers and even life back home. Readers will live in Matt’s head and feel his emotions and uncertainty.

McCormick has a reputation for her insightful, gritty books. If you haven’t read Cut or Sold, you must. Her language is not flowery. It is down to earth. Her stories are compelling and riveting. She invites you into the heads of the characters. The action is realistic and you envision yourself in the story as a bystander. Her books are powerful.

You’ve heard me say that there are certain authors whose books must be read. Patricia McCormick is one. Read Purple Heart. That’s all there is to it. show less

This Iraq War novel focuses on the human and emotional impacts of war rather than military action. Which is not to say that's not in here as well as a bit of raw dialogue and the typical attitudes of young men in the military. (Still, the prose is considerably tame and generally suitable for younger teens interested in the topic.) Matt suffers from a traumatic brain injury after an RPG explodes in an alley. He remembers little of the event other than the sight of a boy rising in the air as he is shot. Matt fears he is the one who shot the boy. As he struggles to recover his memories and rejoin his unit, Matt meets other soldiers dealing with injuries both physical and mental. War is hell and it shows in the complex and changing emotions show more that Matt and his colleagues experience. show less

As always, Patricia McCormick has written another story that cuts right to the heart of an issue that is often ignored by ya books. And she does it so well! This is a look at what the teens who join up and go overseas to fight experience daily: the confusion, the fear, the uncertainty, and the disconnect from home ("regular" life). Highly recommend this!