E-book
B for Buster
Record details
- ISBN: 9780307433152 (electronic bk.)
- ISBN: 0307433153 (electronic bk.)
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Physical Description:
electronic resource
remote
1 online resource : maps. - Publisher: New York : Laurel-Leaf, [2006], c2004.
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| Genre: | Historical fiction. War stories. Young adult fiction. Electronic books. |
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Electronic resources
- Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2004 June #1
Gr. 7-12. Set during the spring of 1943, Lawrence's novel is a harrowing account of combat told from the perspective of 16-year-old Kak. Like Jack in Harry Mazer's The Last Mission (1979), Kak lies about his age in order to join the air force. But Jack, a Jewish American, wants to fight Hitler; Kak, nicknamed for his tiny Canadian hometown, just wants to flee his loveless, abusive parents and "like Captain Marvel . . . change [himself] from a boy to a hero." After his first "op," though, Kak is deeply shaken. Bert, who cares for the pigeons, finds a way to comfort the boy by putting a prize pigeon in his care. The dense mechanical specifics of planes and equipment may slow some readers, but the tender lessons of courage that Kak learns from Bert and his bird are captivating. In Kak's young, raw voice, Lawrence writes a gripping, affecting story about the thrill of flying, the terrifying realities of war, and the agony of reconciling personal fears and ideals with duty and bravery. ((Reviewed June 1 & 15, 2004)) Copyright 2004 Booklist Reviews. - Horn Book Guide Reviews : Horn Book Guide Reviews 2004 Fall
Known as "Kak," the narrator is a sixteen-year-old Canadian who lied about his age to join the military. Serving as a wireless operator on the bomber [cf2]B for Buster[cf1], Kak endures mounting panic with each bombing run, though he finds some refuge from his fears in his friendship with the squadron's pigeoneer, Bert. This hefty WWII novel balances scenes of air warfare with the personal experiences of an underage flier. Copyright 2004 Horn Book Guide Reviews. - Kirkus Reviews : Kirkus Reviews 2004 May #2
It's 1943 and Kak is eager to join the war. He lies about his age, makes himself an orphan, and runs away to enlist in the Canadian Air Force. A hometown hero and experienced flier warns him, "You'll fly an op or two, then beg me to get you out." Sure enough, war is nothing like comic-book heroes vanquishing evil. Kak has nightmares of falling out of the sky, he fears waiting, and he fears flying, "hurtling through space above a planet made of fire." This is a familiar story elevated by eloquent writing, a fast-paced plot, and research neatly woven into the narrative. A long author's note supplies background information. A fascinating angle on the fliers is their use of pigeons as message carriers from downed planes, and a slovenly pigeoneer named Bert befriends Kak and helps him through hard times. A sure hit for fans of war stories and adventures. (maps, glossary) (Fiction. 12=) Copyright Kirkus 2004 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved. - Library Media Connection : Library Media Connection Reviews 2004 November/December
To a kid of 16, war and flying in bombers is an exciting adventure. That's how Kak, a Canadian kid from Kakabeka, Canada, feels during World War II. When he arrives at an airfield in Yorkshire, England, to become a part of Bomber Command, he is elated. Having lied about his age and background in order to join the Canadian Air Force, Kak runs into Donny Lee, a pilot who is also from Kakabeka. Donny Lee knows Kak's secret and tries to talk him into leaving. But, Kak, having left an abusive home, is unafraid and determined to stay, that is, until he goes on his first mission, a bombing raid over Germany. On that flight, he and the rest of the crew face the horrors of flying through enemy fire to drop their bombs. From that point on, Kak, the crew wireless operator, lives in fear, but eventually takes comfort from a pigeon named Percy. Interwoven within the story of the fliers, the bombs, and the tragic losses of war, is the story of these homing pigeons that join the bombers on their flights. In the end, even Kak's plane and crew are lost though he parachutes to safety. The characters in this novel are both noble and flawed, in a story filled with life's promise and poignant loss. Recommended. Brenda Ethridge Ferguson, Librarian, Mullin (Texas) School © 2004 Linworth Publishing, Inc. - Publishers Weekly Reviews : PW Reviews 2006 January #4
This story, told through the eyes of a 16-year-old who lies about his age to enlist, presents "a gritty, unglorified picture of what it was like to be a fighter pilot during WWII," according to PW 's starred review. Ages 12-up. (Jan.)
[Page 211]. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information. - Publishers Weekly Reviews : PW Reviews 2004 July #1
After his trilogy of sea adventures (The Wreckers; The Smugglers; The Buccaneers), Lawrence turns to the skies to bring readers a gritty, unglorified picture of what it was like to be a fighter pilot during WWII. As the war rages in Europe, "Kak," a 16-year-old nicknamed for his native Kakabeka, Canada, is so eager to join the Air Force that he lies about his age in order to enlist. His daydreams of becoming a war hero soon turn into hellish nightmares about death as he learns first-hand the risks involved with dropping bombs in enemy territory. With 5% of the men killed on every raid, Kak figures that his chance of surviving the required 30 "ops" are next to zero. The author balances action-packed scenes aboard Kak's plane, B for Buster, with more introspective moments on land as the teen strives to come to terms with a terror he cannot shake. Kak feels calmest when he is with "Dirty Bert," a demoted pilot, whose job now is to take care of the carrier pigeons. Knowing the effects of fear, Bert acts as a father figure, offering Kak consolation, advice and a good luck charm, Percy his prized bird. Although a little slow going in the middle (as death-defying feats-dodging enemy searchlights and flak-become a matter of routine), the story, as meticulously researched as the author's previous novels, is powerful enough to make audience members re-evaluate their concepts of war and courage. Ages 12-up. (June) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information. - School Library Journal Reviews : SLJ Reviews 2004 July
Gr 7 Up-Filled with Buck Rogers-inspired dreams of heroic battles against the forces of evil and partly to escape an abusive, alcoholic father, 16-year-old Kak lies about his age to enlist in the Canadian Air Force in 1943. He becomes a wireless operator, flying night bombing raids over Germany from a base in Yorkshire. His fellow crew members on the antiquated Halifax bomber, B for Buster, have no idea Kak is underage, but his secret is well known to squadron member Donny Lee, another native of tiny Kakabeka. Before his own final flight, Donny urges Kak to reveal his age to their CO and be sent home, but the teen refuses, unable to imagine the overwhelming fear and terrifying dreams he will experience after his first mission. Kak's one solace is his growing friendship with Bert, the caretaker of the homing pigeons that are sent along on every op to carry back news of the fates of any bombers that don't return. One pigeon becomes Kak's good-luck companion. The pigeoneer's own secret past gives him a particularly deep empathy for Kak's fears and efforts to comprehend the nature of bravery and duty. Just as he did so masterfully in Lord of the Nutcracker Men (Delacorte, 2001), Lawrence captures the eagerness and idealism of the new recruit slowly turning to disillusionment and horror as he experiences the grim realities of battle and death. This is a lyrical coming-of-age novel and a fascinating bit of aviation history.-Ginny Gustin, Sonoma County Library System, Santa Rosa, CA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information. - Voice of Youth Advocates Reviews : VOYA Reviews 2004 August
"Real courage is carrying on though you're scared to bits. It's doing what you 'ave to do." Sixteen-year-old Kak, an underage Canadian wireless operator with the British RAF during World War II, does keep flying. The advice is from the pigeoneer who maintains the carrier pigeons included in the crews of the Halifax aircraft that the Canadian Bomber Group flew from Yorkshire. Kak eagerly looks forward to his first op (bombing run) in his crew's Halifax, B for Buster. When he learns more about what happened to a previous crew, and when he sees, on leave in London, the devastation that the bombers deliver, enthusiasm is replaced with cold fear The suspense here is palpable. The reader gradually trusts in the lucky charms on which the crew depends. When Buzz, their gunner, cannot find a four-leaf clover before a run, the reader is relieved that the run is aborted. Kak assures the crew that it is his lucky pigeon, Percy, that keeps them safe, but neither crew nor reader dares believe that. And when Donny, envisioning his own doom, makes a list of men to inherit his car, it becomes an ordered list of men who do not return. Suggest this book to readers who have enjoyed Robert Westall's Blitzcat (Scholastic, 1989/VOYA February 1990), Harry Mazer's The Last Mission (Delacorte, 1979/VOYA April 1979), or any number of other books about young men eager to go into battle. Lawrence best tells that men who do not fear battle are either ignorant or fools.-Lynne Hawkins 5Q 4P M J Copyright 2004 Voya Reviews.
