Reviews

The Last Mission by Harry Mazer

twentystitches's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

For once a war book with a (little bit) happy ending I’m just glad he survived but obviously the trauma he has will live for him forever it’s so sad 

rosem_'s review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Grief, Cursing, Blood, Slavery, Gore, Body horror, and War

lyricallit's review against another edition

4.0

I was looking for a book to recommend to high school boys, and I think I found one! The pace of this book sweeps you off your feet and along for the ride. I couldn't put it down! Though Jack is a bit of a sissy (more so than any real 15 year old will ever admit) at the beginning of the novel, he is real and grows a great deal (what boy wouldn't when faced with war?) by the end of the novel. It feels a bit rushed at the end, but then perhaps because the book's pace never really slows.

nkmeyers's review against another edition

3.0

The story of a 15-16 yr old jewish american boy who assumes his brother's identity to train and fly as a gunner in a bomber against germany during the end of WWII. By the time he has flown several missions the young man has a different view of the realities of war from the air. By the time the concentration camps are freed he has a changed view of revenge and offers his last piece of bread to a german adolescent who is wild with hunger in the street. By the time the news breaks about the bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki he's matured beyond his years compared to his peers who stayed at home and in school. The story closes as in a classroom back home he tries to explain his feelings about war and peace to an audience of young people who've never experienced war or been the victim of bombings themselves.

The narrative voice's young character is not always believeable but the circumstances of the story and the way they are presented outshine any complaints I could make about character development. The narrator's visit to his best mates' parents' home after the war is very well portrayed as are the grieving parents of a young Sgt. who did not come home.

iceangel9's review

3.0

It is a great war story for boys. Jack Raab is a fifteen-year-old Jewish boy who uses his older brother's birth certificate to lie about his age and enlist in the Army Air Corp during WWII. The book tells the story of his training, his war experiences, and his homecoming. A great look at the effects of war on the soldiers involved. There is some serious profanity in this book; but it is typical of that used by soldier's in theater and not used for shock value.