Book Review: Operation Yes

Operation Yes
by Sara Lewis Holmes

How strange is it that the last two books I have read have two common elements, but are two completely different books. This novel and One of the Survivors(review is further down the blog) both contained the song "Taps" and fire alarms going off constantly during school. I find it strange that in the randomness of my book choosing that two books right in a row contain these elements. Sorry for the nerd in me coming out and finding that exciting and intriguing.

Here is a video of Taps in case you have never heard this or maybe you want some nostalgia.

Anyways, what a fun read. I picked this book up based on the cover alone. Then I proceeded to read the first couple pages and I was hooked when the teacher was taping tape to her floor. I am a teacher and therefore had to know what she was doing. The main character is a boy named Bo. He is the son of a colonel on a military base. He has made a deal with his dad to do good in school and stay out of trouble. Things are going okay until his cousin Gari moves in with them when her mother gets shipped off to Iraq. Without getting into a summary of the book, Bo, Gari and their classmates have to learn how to find school interesting while dealing with the life of being a military child. Don't take my review wrong as this is a funny, upbeat book with a positive message. Miss Loupe, the teacher, is what made this book for me. Her "taped spaced" and other activities really hit home with me to remember our jobs as teachers. I think my favorite line in the whole book is one that everyone can relate to whether you have someone in the military or not.

"Everyone you meet is fighting a great battle." Think about that for a moment. We tend to forget that everyone has a lot on their plate. Read this book. I really see this book taking off and I really hope it receives the praise it deserves.

Check out the website by the author and her Operation Yes website. Both are very cool.