Secret Soldiers by Paul B. Janeczko - OPTIONAL

Secret Soldiers: How the U.S. Twenty-Third Special Troops Fooled the Nazis by Paul B. Janeczko, 295 pages. NON-FICTION Candlewick Press, 2019. $20. 

Content: Language: PG-13 (5 swears); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG-13.  

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS – OPTIONAL  

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE  

The Twenty-Third Special Troops were an unusual array of professionals with skill sets unlike your typical soldiers.  The troop consisted of some actors, artists and sound engineers and they used their skills to portray a large group of troops to the Nazis.  This account shares all of the different battles that the Twenty-Third had a hand in diverting attention from the fighting men. There are also side stories that highlight some individuals from the troop.  

I love all the hidden stories from World War II and this special troop's made is a far-out idea work.  I have heard of this troop before, but this book goes into the details of their involvement in the war, from battle to battle.  There are pictures throughout the book that help you visualize the craziness of their plans. I enjoyed the overall idea, but once their strategies were explained, it got slow and repetitive as the author details each movement within the war.  The violence is war violence, including descriptions of dead bodies.  

Reviewer, C. Peterson