Heroes: a novel of Pearl Harbor
(Playaway)

December 7th, 1941: Everything explodes. That morning, Frank and Stanley are aboard the battleship the USS Utah when Japanese planes zoom overhead and begin dropping bombs on the ships below. Chaos ensues as everyone scrambles to dive for safety. Frank and Stanley realize what's happening: Japan is attacking America! The war has come to them. As the boys fight to make their way home amidst the carnage, it's clear that everything has changed. Stanley's mother is Japanese American and he is suddenly facing a terrible prejudice that he's never known before--he's now seen as the "enemy," and Frank, who's white, cannot begin to understand what Stanley will now face. Can their friendship--and their dreams--survive this watershed moment in history? Told with the immediacy, high-stakes action, and meaningful twists that have made Alan Gratz one of today's biggest authors, this gripping novel tackles themes of bravery, prejudice, and what it means to stand up for what's right. Just as Gratz's Ground Zero became a defining look at 9/11 for middle-grade readers, this book delivers a necessary and unputdownable take on a date that still lives in infamy.