A new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Alan Gratz (Refugee; Ground Zero; Two Degrees) is a major publishing moment. A new World War II novel from Alan Gratz? That's even bigger! Get ready for an action-packed, inventive, and meaningful look at the attack on Pearl Harbor, as only Alan can tell it.
December 6, 1941: Best friends Frank and Stanley know that they pretty much live in paradise. Their dads are Navy officers stationed at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, and the boys have a front-row view of the huge battleships and the sparkling water. Yes, World War II is raging in Europe and in Asia, but the US isn't involved in the war, and the boys are free to dream about becoming comic book creators. They've even invented a superhero of their own, in the style of Batman, Superman, Captain America, and other stars of the Golden Age of Comics. Life is good.
December 7th, 1941: Everything explodes.
That morning, Frank and Stanley are aboard the battleship the USS Utah when Japanese planes appear overhead and begin dropping bombs on the ships below. Chaos ensues as everyone scrambles to dive for safety. Frank and Stanley realize what's happening: Japan is attacking America! The war has come to them.
Over the course of the day, as the boys fight to make their way home amidst the carnage, it's clear that everything has changed. Stanley's mother is Japanese American and he is suddenly facing a terrible prejudice that he's never known before, he's now seen as the "enemy," and Frank, who's white, cannot begin to understand what Stanley will now face. Can their friendship survive this watershed moment?
Told with the immediacy, high-stakes action, and meaningful twists that have made Alan Gratz one of today's biggest authors, this gripping novel, which will include an original short comic at the end-tackles themes of bravery, prejudice, and what it means to stand up for what's right. Just as Gratz's “Ground Zero” became a defining look at 9/11 for middle-grade readers, this book delivers a necessary and unputdownable take on a day that still lives in infamy.
