By Gordon Korman

Hey, bookworms! I know you have probably heard of the war in Ukraine and Russia. You are probably as tired of it as I am, but we need to talk about this. When wars are fought, people think surface level. Some side with Russia, others Ukraine. Yet, one thing is the same with almost all of us. We don’t understand. We are not Russians, and we are not Ukrainians. We are people from different countries siding with other countries without fully understanding. How many of you have watched the Incredibles 2? This is a quote I found especially interesting. “People don’t see the fight or what led up to it. They see what politicians tell them to see. They see destruction and they see you.”. This might be what Winston Deavor said to Mr.Incredibele, but it still has the same hold for what’s going on. People don’t see what was going on in Ukraine and Russia. They see a sudden, completely uncalled-for attack. WAR STORIES might have been written before this war, but I think it still has the same message. Gordon Korman is trying to tell us to look past perceptions and mirrors into the face of the truth.

Trevor Firestone is the average American boy. Video game obsessed. War obsessed. To him, war is a game. There are no consequences. War is just war to him. His grandfather being a war hero is of no help to his obsession. Yet, when his grandfather is invited on a tour of France before an award ceremony where he is being awarded a medal for his saving of a small French village, a group begins threatening them online and Trevor is forced to face the truth of war.

A powerful read that left me reeling by the end of it, Gordon Korman truly captured the essence of a good story. His book is trying to tell us that when we choose ignorance, we choose our paths. Trevor was forced to face the truth of war the hard way because he refused to see the truth right in front of him. This story draws you in and forces you to understand the power of perception and the strength of the truth.