Author: Cynthia Kadohata
Atheneum
Published 2010
This is a powerful book by one of my favorite authors, Newberry Winner, Cynthia Kadohata. Set in Vietnam in 1975, Y’Tin is the 13 year old lead character in this book and he wants to fulfill his dream of being an elephant trainer. I really learned a lot in the first part of the book about what it take to work with the giant pachyderms and earn their trust. There is a bond that develops between trainer and trainee that does not happen overnight. Kadohata loaded this narrative with interesting facts such as how the elephants grind down their teeth to nothing, and then just grow another set. I also learned about the Vietnamese culture, their homes, and their attitudes...and the author worked all these details into the story without making it seem like a history lesson.
But then the attack on their village happens and the novel takes a dramatic turn. The North Vietnamese are seen as a threat to the Dega people and the rumored attack ends up wiping out half of their village. In places, this war action is almost too graphic for the intended audience. There are vivid descriptions of exploding brains and one unnerving scene where a dead body is dug up and described in detail.
The book is a great discussion piece for students in grades 6 through 9 and this fictional account of the realities of war may help make this era more understandable for this generation.
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