Purple Heart.

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purple heart.

patricia mccormick.

Publisher Balzer + Bra

Publication Date:September 1,2009.

Genre:YA Contemporary|Historical Fiction.

Format|Pages:Hardcover|208

 Source:Goodreads|Library.

When Private Matt Duffy wakes up in an army hospital in Iraq, he's honored with a Purple Heart. But he doesn't feel like a hero.



There's a memory that haunts him: an image of a young Iraqi boy as a bullet hits his chest. Matt can't shake the feeling that he was somehow involved in his death. But because of a head injury he sustained just moments after the boy was shot, Matt can't quite put all the pieces together.



Eventually Matt is sent back into combat with his squad—Justin, Wolf, and Charlene—the soldiers who have become his family during his time in Iraq. He just wants to go back to being the soldier he once was. But he sees potential threats everywhere and lives in fear of not being able to pull the trigger when the time comes. In combat there is no black-and-white, and Matt soon discovers that the notion of who is guilty is very complicated indeed.



National Book Award Finalist Patricia McCormick has written a visceral and compelling portrait of life in a war zone, where loyalty is valued above all, and death is terrifyingly commonplace.

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I always loved reading books about war / military. Half of my family, from my father’s side was in military so it had always interested me. I am also currently writing a book that is going be Military based. PURPLE HEART was beautiful, moving and unforgettable book about war, life in the war zone. It was a short novel but a novel that you will never forget. I have read few books about war but not anything like this. What I loved about this one was the fact that it was from a guy’s point of view, and it felt like you got bit of more perspective about war. It was about any soldier but then one that got injured and that had trouble remembering what happened, only to have bit of information come in pieces. I can’t even imagined how terrifying it must have been for him, and confusing. All through the novel I wondered if he would remember and when he did, what would happen.



I loved the writing style; it was slightly different that one I am used to. Of course the descriptions were beautiful but at the same time, heartbreaking. While reading PURPLE HEART you get a glimpse of life of civilians as well and know that their life could be put in danger at any minute, including the children. I know that thinking that he killed a kid, was driving him crazy and if I was in his situation I would feel the same. Every description in this novel was so vivid, I saw everything. The injured while he was at hospital, while he was remembering the combat, the shooting. Even though I had never been in military, I could picture it all while I was reading it. It felt like I was there. It’s one of things that got me impossible to put the book down, and afterwards I couldn’t get it out of my mind. I felt afraid for Matt, that he would never be able to get past it. However the truth was the most unexpected, the one that even I didn’t see coming.



PURPLE HEART is one of those war books which will make you realize how bad out there it is. A novel that will take your breath away and one that will keep you on wondering what’s coming next. A beautiful, touching, inspirational novel.