Thank you...
Farrell, Mary Conk. Pure Grit: How American World War II Nurses Survived Battle and Prison Camp in the Pacific. New York : Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2014.
Plot: During World War II, thousands of soldiers were injured, killed, and captured. So were their nurses. The caretakers never experienced training for combat situations, but they quickly rose to the demands of the position. Unfortunately, the position in the Pacific was especially horrific. The Philippines saw the capture of over one hundred nurses. The text documents the nurses' fight to support their troops while fighting racism, disease, and starvation in the Japanese prison camps.
Genre: History
Reading Level: Grades 7-9. Please be aware several intense subjects, including rape, death, wartime captivity, and disease are discussed, so warn sensitive readers.
Similar Titles: Bomb: the Race to Build - and Steal - the World's Most Dangerous Weapon, Left for Dead: A Young Man's Search for Justice for the USS Indianapolis
Personal Thoughts: Many books on war parrot the "war is bad" slogan, but this text brings a new aspect of battle to light. Soldiers are not the only victims. Nurses, doctors, laborers, and undertakers were treated as badly, if not worse than, their fighting counterparts. Even after the war, many suffered due to diseases and trauma for the rest of their lives. War is not good, but texts like these remind readers why.
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