****I Had Seen Castles

Reviewed September 2001.
Available at Sembach Library.  (JF RYL)

This is another World War II book.  This time, it’s the story of an American boy who turned 17 a few days after Pearl Harbor was bombed.  For the next year, he marked time until he turned 18 and could enlist.  Meanwhile, he met the love of his life, a girl who didn’t understand how he could be so eager to fight.

This book went nicely with The Oasis.  After reading The Oasis, I was proud that Americans had fought to put an end to such horrors as the concentration camps.  I Had Seen Castles, reminded me that war is war, and war is horrible--even such a “good” war as World War II.  This book is short, but powerful.  I won’t forget it in a hurry.  Yet it wasn’t a downer of a book.  It left me thoughtful and moved, but not depressed.

Reviews of other books by Cynthia Rylant:
God Went to Beauty School
Henny, Penny, Lenny, Denny, and Mike
Rain