Review: Price of Duty by Todd Strasser

Price of Duty by Todd Strasser
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received this eARC novel from Edelweiss. This is my honest review.

Being in a family that has served the country by being in the military, Jake felt that it was his duty to also enlist into the Forever War. He wasn't pressured by anyone, but he knew that his grandfather would judge him. Funny thing is, his father was sad and disappointed that he enlisted.

After his convoy got invaded by the enemy, Jake was one of the lucky ones who survived. His leg is in a cast, and his left arm and hand got serious injuries. Because of his wounds, he was able to go home for awhile to rest and recoup, before going off to rehab to finish off his time.

But being back home is weird. He was excited to go back to normal, but nothing is normal anymore. When fireworks go off, Jake thinks that there is gunfire happening.

So now Jake is trying to figure out how to live, and what choices he wants to make for his future.

Jake has a lot of difficult decisions to make, and a lot of past events to reflect upon.

Wow. I seriously liked this book!! It was short, but had a HUGE message in this novel, and the content was so gutwrenching to read about. My heart was breaking for Jake and what he went through overseas and then what he was going through once he got home. Everyone called him a hero, but Jake felt anything but being a hero and that shows how much he was affected by what had happened to him.

I can't even imagine being in Jake's shoes, and then to come home to "normal" only to have it not be normal anymore? I mean, he missed holding his gun, and he wasn't even at war for that long.

This book definitely shows how much war wears on a person and makes them change as a whole. Everyone always says that they look and act the same, but someone who is going to PTSD will look and act like normal. It's what's going on inside of them that really matters and will really make you understand the struggles they are going through.

This is a powerful book. A memorial book. And one that I really think teens should read.

Especially for the fact that Jake and his friends he made stated that they thought it would be good because they love playing Call of Duty video game. That, to me, makes that so real since I know how many teens do play that game. And it is completely true that being in war in real life is nothing like being a character in a video game.

I am so glad that I finally got around to reading this book, and I definitely won't forget it anytime soon!

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