3 out of 4 stars
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How does an innocent child turn into a soldier? This is the question that Lieutenant Hotshot strives to answer. We follow the life of Modetse, a young child living in a dump in Africa. He is trying to take care of his young sister, when he is taken by a group of soldiers to their training camp. There he learns the art of war, and the author allows us to follow his journey.
The first thing that I would like to address about this book is the genre. This is officially classified as a young adult novel, but I take issue with that classification for several reasons. The first is that this novel addresses adult themes. The violence in this book is not fleeting but rather mentioned at every turn. Not only that, but this is a violence that is in no way fantasy or fiction. This is the violence of war, and while the book is fiction, there is no doubt that this is violence that actually happens. Also, there is more use of cussing in this book than there is in a typical young adult book. For these reasons, I really believe this to be an improper classification.
There is also an issue with the editing in this book. This book is written in a broken English style. It is well done; you can hear the African accent as the characters are thinking and speaking. However, there are errors within the editing not explained by the broken English. For example, on page 15 towards the end you will find the following sentence. “I had let the catch me.” It is obvious that the “the” should be them. There are other such errors throughout the book.
In spite of these things, I found myself really liking the book. The author starts off in such a way as to immediately capture your attention. Each chapter reveals more about the characters and their struggles. This keeps you wanting to come back for more. Even though I have never been through what Modetse has, I found myself relating to him. I was angry with him, and I wanted to cry with him. Characters like these are what makes a good story.
More important than the enjoyment of good characters, however, is the topic that this book addresses. While this is not an autobiography, there is no doubt in my mind that stories like this exist. This is a subject that is not talked about enough. I believe this book is a great way to open lines of communication about issues such as child violence, brainwashing, sexual abuse, and many more.
Overall, I would rate Lieutenant Hotshot 3 out of 4 stars. Unfortunately, because of the issues with the genre and the editing, I cannot give it a full 4 stars. Before allowing teens to read this book, I would caution parents to read it themselves to see if it is suitable for their children. I guarantee that the parents will end up enjoying it just as much if not more than their teens. After all, what more could you ask for in a book than to be enjoyable to read and address important issues at the same time?
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'Lieutenant Hotshot - The Story of an Invisible Child'
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