Back to Bataan Blog Tour, Author Interview, and Book Review!

Once again I had the wonderful opportunity to not only read a fabulous book but to participate in a tour hosted by Tribute Books. 

Today I get to bring you Back To Bataan by Jerome Charyn. 

Jerome also graciously agreed to do a little interview for us as well. 

Synopsis:

New York City, 1943. War is raging in Europe and the Pacific, while Jack Dalton is stuck attending Dutch Masters Day School. What Jack really wants is to enlist in the army, to fight...

Everything changes when Coco, Jack's "fiancee," throws him over for one of his classmates. Jack sees red and does something drastic. Then he runs away. Hiding out in a nearby park, Jack joins ranks with a group of vagrants and is soon under the sway of a man called the Leader, an ex-convict who is as articulate and charismatic as he is dangerous. The Leader turns Jack's world upside down. To put things right, Jack must prove himself a braver soldier than he ever imagined.

Author Interview:

1. What are your thoughts on the explosion of popularity concerning the YA genre?

I think it might very well be that it started with Harry Potter, that young adult writers are trying to tell good stories and adults have moved into that kind of dream.

2. You are the master of writing across a realm of different genres, what excites you about connecting with different audiences?

I’m not so sure that these are different audiences, I think we all love stories, whether we’re children or great-grand and when you move from genre to genre you are still telling a story like Scheherazade and the king is always waiting for the next tale.

3. Your writing is so precise, yet evocative - how do you work at crafting your unique style of prose?

Everything begins and ends with the word, with the music of the sentence and as Tolstoy once said, “I’m always composing.”

4. Being a published author for nearly 50 years, what do you think of eBooks?

I think that this is a kind of logical step as we move from the internet into eBooks.

Publishing is changing even as we speak. I think there now will be a more complicated dance between the eBook and the printed book, and as we’ve seen recently, successes in eBooks allow the author to move into print.

5. What would be your advice to young people who aspire to a literary career?

It’s not worth the money – only write if you’re absolutely in love with it.

6. How much of your life is in Back to Bataan? How did you personally experience New York during World War II?

I think so much of the source of my writing comes from my childhood, I grew up during the War - so many of the terrors and the magic of certain films have remained with me. And all of this appears in the character of Jack.

7. Your older brother was a detective. Did your experiences with him influence the plot?

Not really, I think all writing is crime writing. And Back to Bataan is a crime novel with a very original twist.

8. Why did you decide to include the fascination with the famous as a theme - Gary Cooper, Eleanor Roosevelt, etc.?

These people were heroes to me as a child, particularly Eleanor Roosevelt, who was one of the most extraordinary women who ever lived, and of course as a child I fell in love with Gary Cooper’s face and with his very slow drawl, that seemed so exotic to me.

9. Jack finds acclaim through his writing, yet feels guilty for exploiting other people (Mrs. Fink). How does a writer starting out work to bridge this gap?

You’re always cannibalizing other people and writers when you start to write, so it’s natural that Jack should be a young cannibal.

10. How important is the New York Times in your own life? Why did you decide to make it a form of connection between Jack and the Leader?

As a child, I didn’t even know that the Times existed – I grew up in a neighborhood without newspapers and books, so that when I first fell upon the New York Times, I was very very greedy, and wanted to include it in Jack’s middle-class life.

Thank you so much Jerome for being here today!!

My Thoughts and Review:
 

This book surprised me, not only was I not expecting it to be told from a young boy's perceptive but I also wasn't counting on it being such an endearing read.

Jack is an eleven year old boy that wants nothing more than to join the war. A war that took away his father and has changed his life forever.

I really liked Jack's voice. There was something so innocent about him.

I really love books that take place during the second world war. I love learning about that part of our history and Charyn not only managed to give us historical detail but also create a story like no other I have read taking place during this era.

He manages to transport us back in time to a city and life of an eleven year old boy. with all the confusing emotions and conflict of not only an adolescent that very much wants to be treated like an adult but also a world caught up in a war. With all the devastation, heartache and turmoil that took place for the people during that time.

Jack learns a lot about choices and sacrifice and what it really means to be an adult. This was a cute coming of age story in a time when you had to grow up fast and take on responsibilities most kids now days don't even have to think about.

I give this one 3 Stars!