Lost Boys

Reviewed by: Sheila Dube - Springvale Public Library, Springvale, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: April 9, 2018

Review

It is 1982 during the Iran/Iraq war and twelve-year-old Iranian Reza has lost his father from war and now his uncle, the only one family member who supports his musical talent, has been arrested and killed for being part of the resistance. His mother, in the strict Muslim tradition of the Ayatollah, has forbidden any music except religious music and daily tells him how proud she will be when he dies as a martyr in the war. When a recruiter for the war comes to Reza and his best friend Ebi's school, they both sign up for different reasons. Taken to a camp to be trained, they are considered disposable and their company of young boys is marched out before the soldiers with guns to detonate the mines. After recuperating from his injuries, Reza is relocated to the "best"of the POW camps for children. His obsessions with locating his best friend and his love of music are discovered and secretly supported by an aid worker. Reza's first person narrative provides simple and clear perspective of the possible questions that individuals may have faced during that time. Although this is a fiction work, as noted by the author, the historical setting will provide younger readers a springboard to research more. Suggest this to the older reader due to strong language and war content. This title has been chosen for the Maine Student Book award list for 2018 6-8th grade readers.

Overall Book Score: excellent