Heroes: A Novel of Pearl Harbor -- Alan Gratz, Hardcover

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Refugee, Ground Zero, and Two Degrees comes this heart-pounding, inventive, and powerful new novel about the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor... as only Alan Gratz can tell it!

December 6, 1941: Best friends Frank and Stanley have it good. With their dads stationed at the Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii, the boys get to soak up the sunshine while writing and drawing their own comic books. World War II might be raging overseas, but so far America has stayed out of the fight. There's nothing to fear, right?

December 7th, 1941: Everything implodes.

Frank and Stanley are touring a battleship when Japanese planes zoom overhead, dropping bomb after bomb. As explosions roar and sailors screa, Frank and Stanley realize the unthinkable is happening: Japan is attacking America! The war has come to them.

Frantically, the boys struggle to find safety. But disaster and danger are everywhere--from torpedoes underwater to bullets on the beach... to the shocking cruelty that their friends and neightbors show Stanely. Because his mom is Japanese-American, Stanely is suddenly seen as the "enemy." And Frank, who is white, cannot begin to understand what his friend is now facing.

If the boys make it through this infamous day, can their friendship--and their dreams--survive? Or has everything they know been destroyed?

Told with the immediacy, high-stakes action, and inventive storytelling that make Alan Gratz (Refugee, Ground Zero) one of today's biggest authors, this riveting look at the attack on Pearl Harbor explores themes of prejudice, power, and what it truly means to be a hero.

Plus: The book ends with an all-original, 10-page black & white comic that brings to life the comic book idea that Frank and Stanley brainstorm in the novel. The comic is written by Alan Gratz and illustrated by Judit Tondora.

Author: Alan Gratz
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Published: 02/06/2024
Pages: 272
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.75lbs
Size: 8.20h x 5.70w x 1.10d
ISBN: 9781338736076
Audience: Ages 9-12

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 01/01/2024
Booklist 01/01/2024 pg. 67
Publishers Weekly 01/22/2024

About the Author
ALAN GRATZ is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of several highly acclaimed books for young readers, including Two Degrees, Ground Zero, Allies, Grenade, Refugee, Projekt 1065, Prisoner B-3087, Code of Honor, and Captain America: The Ghost Army, an original graphic novel. Alan lives in North Carolina with his wife and daughter. Look for him online at alangratz.com.