Purple Hearts is the final installment of Michael Grant’s Front Lines series which is as brilliantly written as its predecessors. This alternate history story continues the adventures of Rio Richlin, a small-town girl from California; Frangi Marr, a black girl from Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Rainy Schulterman, a Jewish girl from New York City as they fight in World War II for the American army.
Much of what made the previous books great is present within this story — likable characters you root for as they deal with a merciless war. Grant does excellent work in finishing their character arcs and it is amazing to see how different they became at the end of the third book compared to where they started in the first.
I find that Grant explores the ethics of war in more depth in this one as the characters make questionable moral decisions. While I don’t believe these actions to be right, they were understandable within the context of war. Grant explores how these events shape people, and you often find yourself asking what decision you’d make as the reader if you were in the same situation. I think Grant illustrates very well the messiness of war and how it informs people’s sense of right or wrong. He even makes the comparison of the newer recruits’ sense of morality with the veterans. Though these are fictional characters within an alternate historical context, Grant still manages to communicate many truths about war.
One of the things I took from this book is how privileged I am to be from a generation who never had to go to war or go through the awful events the characters in this book experienced. Grant isn’t coy when it comes to the more gruesome elements of war which again, makes the experiences of the soldiers in this book feel real.
Despite the above, this book does have happy moments. By the end, you find out how all the main characters turn out. Grant brings this book, and this series, to a satisfying close.
I highly recommend reading these books. As I said before, Grant has really raised the bar when it comes to his writing and storytelling with this series and this book is no exception.
Read my reviews for the other books in this series below:
Book One: Front Lines by Michael Grant
Book Two: Silver Stars by Michael Grant
MARK KIELTY 