Ryan Pitts by Michael P. Spradlin - ADVISABLE

Ryan Pitts (Medal of Honor) by Michael P. Spradlin, 97 pages.  NON-FICTION  Farrar Straus Giroux (Macmillan), 2019.  $16.  

Content: Language: G; Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG.  

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS – ADVISABLE  

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE  

This is the story of Ryan Pitts, a soldier who battled in one of the deadliest battles in the war in Afghanistan.  Ryan was seventeen when he joined the army and only twenty-two when he found himself alone defending a stronghold in the Battle of Wanat.  Ryan’s heroic actions won him the Medal of Honor, but Ryan graciously attributes the heroism to his fallen comrades.  

This action-packed true story is harrowing and explained in a play-by-play manner.  As the battle is raging, the author sometimes takes a break to explain Ryan’s decision to join the army and his training.  Although there is nothing too graphic for an elementary reader, there is a lot of vocabulary and troop/company names to keep track of which makes it for your more advanced elementary readers.  

Reviewer, C. Peterson