Somebody, Please Tell Me Who I Am

January 16, 2012
Mazer (Heroes Don’t Run) and Lerangis (wtf) use strong characters and storytelling to explore the slow and painful recovery of an injured teenage soldier. High school senior Ben has great grades and a potentially bright future in the arts, so his friends, family, and girlfriend are all surprised when he enlists in the military. And they are horrified when he is quickly deployed to Iraq, where he receives a head injury and suffers brain damage in the line of duty. The story is divided into Before, During, and After sections; Mazer and Larangis shift their focus among the prominent people in Ben’s life, including his autistic brother, Chris; his best friend, Niko; and his fiancé, Ariela. The authors carefully demonstrate the effect the tragedy has on everyone involved, particularly Ariela’s attempts to maintain a social life in college, while vividly bringing Ben’s struggles to life. (One chapter simply shows a scribble on a sheet of paper, Ben’s attempt to write.) Readers will likely sense where the story is headed, but the journey is powerful and worthwhile. Ages 12–up.

Starred review from January 1, 2012
Ben Bright's senior year seems a prelude to a gloriously successful life, with college, loving girlfriend and an acting career spread out in front of him. Except for his plan to join the army first. Stubbornly committed to being the patriot he thinks ethics demand, Ben can't explain it to anyone--especially not Ariela, the girl he plans to marry when he returns. As Ben departs for basic training and then serves in Iraq, Ariela heads to college, and best friend Niko, along with Mr. and Mrs. Bright and autistic younger brother Chris hold to normality. When the inevitable call comes, informing them that Ben is injured, no one knows exactly what to do or how to help. With the effective use of italics to indicate Ben's thoughts, the contrast between what the outer world sees and how he processes it is clear. Progress happens, but it's slow, and the toll on all is plain. Chris' reactions are particularly unblunted. In a spare 148 pages, the complexity of the aftereffects of modern war is laid bare. The tight focus on one soldier does not oversimplify but rather captures the human drama in the personal: The Brights' marriage is more than challenged, Ariela is pulled away by her college friends and Chris' restricted, defined universe has to expand to encompass Ben's new condition. The book's power is in the honesty and hope conveyed. As illuminating as a hand grenade, and just as powerful. (Fiction. 12 & up)

(COPYRIGHT (2012) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

January 1, 2012

Gr 8 Up-When Ben Bright enlists in the army after graduation, his family and girlfriend are shocked, and his friend Niko berates himself for not trying to make him stay, even though he knows, "convincing Ben to do anything was like trying to talk the words off a street sign." His girlfriend, Ariela, who becomes his fiancee, takes the promise of his engagement ring seriously, but when he suffers a head injury from an I.E.D. explosion not long into his Iraq tour, her worry and guilt compound an already demanding freshman year at college. Meeting a kind guy at school makes Ariela feel less lonely, but further complicates her life. Niko provides stalwart support to the family now in crisis. Ben's younger, autistic brother, Chris, is also well drawn. His single-mindedness protects him from fully comprehending what's happened, but also makes him prone to violence when he gets upset. Chris's poems slowly provide him with a voice and a way to connect with his brother. While Ben struggles with putting the scattered pieces of his life back together, readers understand that even his less-appealing characteristics-his stubbornness, for instance-will be necessary for his recovery.-Georgia Christgau, Middle College High School, Long Island City, NY

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2012
Grades 9-12 Ben has the talent to be a star on Broadway after high school, but instead Broadway just becomes his nickname with his buddies in Iraq. Ben's e-mails to his longtime girlfriend (now fiancee) Ariela portray a young man much changed from the one she and Ben's best friend, Niko, remember. When a blast sends Ben home with a traumatic brain injury, Ariela and Niko deal with Ben's condition differently. Screwball Niko becomes an introspective and constant companion to Ben's mom and autistic brother. Ariela, away at school, buries herself in new relationships while keeping Ben in her heart. Ben emerges from a coma struggling to remember anything about his past self, including how to speak, construct meaning, and recognize loved ones. This is an easy read about a difficult and important subject, with realistic characters whose depth is implied more than explained. Although the reader may despair at the tragic turn of a young man so full of promise, the ending offers a glimpse of light at the end of what will be a long, dark tunnel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)

May 1, 2012
When high school senior Ben Bright enlists in the army, he claims he's not going to war; he'll just be in the reserves. But his best friend Niko knows: "Of course he was going. They all went. They went and came back, and then they went again and again, until they were used up." Sure enough, Ben goes off to Iraq, and when his tank rolls over a mine, he suffers a traumatic brain injury and must begin the slow road to recovery, if there is such a thing. His memory is shattered, and he has to relearn not just language but his identity -- who his parents are, who his friends are, who he is. Divided into three sections -- before Iraq, during, and after -- the brief novel covers big themes: language, memory, identity, and how a war injury affects not just the soldier but everyone around him. Ben's parents teeter on divorce; his girlfriend, now in college, loses weight and suffers from insomnia; and his autistic brother Chris must learn to cope when his ordered world can never again be as it was. Though the novel reads more like the outline for a larger work -- the at-war section taking only fourteen pages, just long enough for Ben to get injured -- it has the power of prose distilled into its purest essence. An easy-to-read war novel that respects its readers and challenges them to understand the true consequences of war. dean schneider

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2012
Ben suffers a traumatic brain injury while in Iraq. The brief novel covers big themes: language, memory, identity, and how a war injury affects not just the soldier but everyone around him. Ben's parents and his girlfriend all suffer, and his autistic brother must learn to cope with his disordered world. An easy-to-read war novel that respects its readers and challenges them to understand the true consequences of war.

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)