A Family Affected by War

No Man’s Land by: S.T. Underdahl

Dov is an Emo kid who has a hard time at school and making friends.  His brother, Brian, has always been the opposite. He was a star on the football team and he was the town hero.  His family falls apart when Brian leaves for Afghanistan to fight in the war.  His mom is in tears all the time and his dad is always gone and absent from the family.  Throughout the story Dov tries so hard to care for his mom and comfort her about her son who is gone.  However, they didn’t know that soon Brian would be coming back from Afghanistan as a different person.  The family rejoiced and made a huge welcome for their son, but Dov was the only one who saw through all of Brian’s fake smiles.  He saw he had changed and it seemed like he was still back at war where he nearly escaped death and was hurt in an explosion.  Dov saw his brother as tired and confused after returning home. Brian would also yell war commands and sleep with a gun in his hand. No one said anything or realized anything until Brian went to the extreme.

            This book was so inspiring and just kept me on my feet.  It taught me so many new things I didn’t know about and I learned so much about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  PTSD is when people get anxiety and stress because of an extreme trauma.  In Brian’s case, it was coming home from war after seeing people being killed right in front of his eyes.  I learned this disorder can change someone into another person. The book was a great mix of dealing with family problems but also fitting in at school. Dov’s relationships with his friends are also very inspiring because of their connections and the support they gave each other.  This book was great to also learn about how tough it is for families who have members serving in the military who are fighting and risking their lives for everyone.  It gave a great realistic description of what it’s like in that type of lifestyle.  After reading this book I realized how much a war can scar a person. I really recommend this book for everyone. It was one of my best summer reads and I really learned a lot from it!