Customer Reviews

B for Buster

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Young Kak is only sixteen when he runs away from home, pretends he's an orphan, and winds up far away from his native Canada overseas in the wilds of Yorkshire (England) on an air base preparing to train for the flight crew of a Halifax bomber. The first man he runs into is someone from his home town, Donny Lee, the only one in England who might guess his secret--that he is underage.

Thus the novel depends on an amazing coincidence which cripples its credibility right at the start. However, once that nonsense is out of the way, we get a tender and yet exciting war story about the relationship between a flight crew and their pigeon. Yes, you heard me right, apparently before each sortie over occupied Europe a homing pigeon was brought on board and used for all sorts of things, but in Kak's case, little Percy, exquisitely described by teacher Lawrence, becomes his only friend. At first Kak is turned off by Bert, the pigeoneer, dirty and messy, slovenly and fragrant, butb then when he finds out Bert's "back story" he becomes more sympathetic, if horrified. Because there but for the Grace of God went he himself.

All the boys in the flight crew carry a lucky charm of some sort; one carries a handkerchief doused with a woman's perfume somewhere on his body, and young Kak wears a ring with a ray-gun on it. He is a comics fan and loves SUPERMAN and BUCK ROGERS. The epilogue reveals that all of this story was based on reality, and it is Lawtence's tribute to the brave Canadian boys who went to war against the Nazi menace.

I didn't realize this was a book meant for kids, but it did strike me as improbable the ultra clean language of these bombadiers. About the raciest thing any of them says is "Wheezy jeezy,"--oh, and one of the British speakers under extreme provocation exclaims, "What a bloody balls-up." Outside of that, dialogue is not Iain Lawrence's forte, but he is such a good storyteller that you will forgive him such primness.

Desperate to escape from a negligent home with an alcholic father, 16 year old Kak lies about his age and enlists in the Canadian Army. He expects it to be like the adventures of his favorite comicbook heroes, where good vanquish's evil and after it's over everything is going to be fine. After his first op in a plane that has had almost every part of it reparied, he realizes that the ops are really terrifing and he finds himself scared to even get back on the plane. He finds himself befriending the pigeoneer and finds comfort in talking to him and spending time with the pigeons. Kak cant keep this up forever and after his friend from his hometown dies he realizies what can hapen to him or his crew at any time. Even though it started out slow, I thought this was very well writen and anyone who enjoys reading books about World War II should pick up "B For Buster".

I chose this book off a list of books to read over the summer. I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes a good WWII story that really shows the psychological toll the war took on its soldiers as well as page-turning action. A book that I thought would take me a month to read, I read in three days. Its one you can't put down.

" We tumbled down in a circle of fire, corkscrewing down to the ground. I could see my parachute but couldn't reach it." This is a quote from the book B for Buster written by Iain Lawrence. B for Buster is a book about a 16 year old boy named Kak who lies about his age to join the Canadian Air Force during World War II. Kak soon finds himself in England where he becomes the radio operator on an old Air Force bomber called B for Buster. Kak is terrified and discovers very early that the Air Force is not at all what he thought it would be. He realizes that he made a terrible mistake enlisting.

I really enjoyed this book. Although it is fiction, I think it accurately portrays the feelings and experiences of bomber crews during World War II. The book is filled with action and suspense and I didn't want to stop reading. If you like books about World War II, this is a book for you. I give it a five star rating.

B for buster is a wonderful book and it is about a young boy who joins the canadian airforce and starts to fly ops and is put in a old fighter plane called B for buster and one night he is in the plane looking around he thinks he finds a ghost of the people who flew before him and his crew and flew

My 10 year old son was given this book for his birthday. It took him a while to get around to reading it, but once he did his comments were,"When Kak joins the Air Force you're in for a wild ride". He has put this book on his 5th grade class 5 star list.

I am a school librarian and probably would not have picked up this book if it weren't for the fact that I bought it for the library and thought I should read it. Well, it was wonderful and having just finished reading The Last Days of Summer by Steve Kluger, another WWII book, it was a great follow-up. Granted, the two books are very different in tone and setting, but both do a excellent job of telling a story of a young man growing up in a very difficult time. I highly recommend it for teens and adults alike. It's simply a good read and what can be wrong with that?!?

B For Buster is a WWII story of courage and duty. Kak has lied about his age and traveled half way around the world from Canada to be part of a Bomber Command squadron in Yorkshire. His excitement and dreams of glory are viewed with weary dismay by the veterans.

The Halifax bomber, B For Buster is battered and patched together. Nobody can tell them what happened to the previous crew, the flight engineer landed the plane and then died in the cockpit; the rest of the crew just vanished. In one of the eeriest scenes, Kak visits the plane at night and suddenly encounters the ghosts of the previous crew.

Their first op over Germany is a flight into terror. As in all young-man-at-war novels, Kak comes to fully understand the horror of war and has to face the draining fear that overtakes him on every operation.

As the wireless/radio operator, Kak is responsible for the crew's pigeon. Homing pigeons were carried on the planes as a "last resort" communication device. Bert, the disheveled and generally despised pigeoneer takes a liking to the boy and Kak finds refuge from fear working with him in the pigeon loft. His special bond with Bert's prize pigeon, Percy, becomes his salvation when Bert allows him to take Percy along on their missions. In his mind, Percy is a talisman of good luck that will protect the crew and Kak is able to do his duty and fly.

Lawrence accurately captures the danger, the fear and the anguish the fliers faced with each sortie. We can only respect their real bravery as they did the job that was asked of them.

In the excellent author's note at the end I learned about the Dickin Medal, the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross. Thirty two pigeons have received this award. Lawrence gives additional history on Bomber Command and the uneasy choices that had to be made trying to balance the safety of the crews against the accuracy of the bombing runs.

This book, though long and detailed for the young adult audience, is extremely well written. It starts slowly, the first 50 pages or so, as we learn about Kak's fears. But, as the aerial bombings begin, the story, the writing, becomes fast paced and beautifully told. I love "Nutcracker Men" and I loved "Buster".

Kak is desperate for a chance to get away from the dark presence of his family and create a brighter future for himself. The one chance for him, Kak decides, is to enlist in the Canadian Air Force. By doing so, he hopes to become a part of the Allied bombers during WWII. He dreams of showing off the honor of being a hero to his hometown of Kakabeka. Kak has one little secret, though --- he's only sixteen.

He is trained as a wireless operator and sent to a squadron in England. It is the spring of 1943 and the war is still going strong. When Kak arrives at an airfield in Yorkshire, his secret is immediately put to the test. His fellow hometown schoolmate, Donny Lee, is stationed at the airfield and is shocked to see Kak walk into the mess hall. Donny threatens to expose Kak's secret in order to save Kak's life, but relents when he sees how desperate his young friend is.

Kak meets his commanding officer, Uncle Joe, and is assigned to B for Buster. B for Buster is an old Halifax Mk 1 that has seen better in its day, but is considered reliable just the same. When his crew is taken to their assigned hut, they realize just what Buster has seen by the scarce number of occupied cots in the hut. The next day, they go on their first test flight in B for Buster, and Kak is chilled by the story of the Halifax's previous crew.

While they are gearing up for their first op, Lofty, the plane's pilot, goes on a "passenger trip" with another plane. The almost twenty-year-old is considered to be an adult by Kak and wants to be a bush pilot after the war. Buzz, the mid-upper gunner for Buster, is a former railway worker whose only goal in life, it seems, is to complete a crossword puzzle he cut out from a newspaper on his first day in England. Will, the navigator, would rather write poetry than study law, and Simon, the loud Australian, is the loudest gardener Kak has ever met. Ratty, the mysterious American, would like to see Berlin, and Pop, the flight engineer, just wants to make it home safely.

Time goes by and Donny Lee takes Kak for a ride out into the surrounding countryside. They take Donny's old black Morris automobile and Kak experiences just how crazy a ride it can be. But that's nothing compared to what it can be when a crew of seven ride in it, as Kak has witnessed before. The two schoolmates bond over stories of their hometown, and Donny tries once again to talk Kak into quitting the air force while he has the chance. Kak is excited about flying, though, and the ride that day seems to foreshadow the many dramatic changes that lie ahead.

Then the day finally comes, and B for Buster is called on for its first op. Kak is excited and feels as though it will be like a comic-book adventure where good beats evil. He is even a little too sure of himself, when he is given the task of watching over the homing pigeon that has been assigned to the op and is rude to the kind dismal pigeoneer named Dirty Bert. Kak is in for a reality check, however, when he experiences his first of many frightening flights and finds the outcast pigeoneer as one of the only friends who seems to understand him and his fears.

B FOR BUSTER is a dramatic adventure set during one of the greatest times in history. I recommend this book to anyone who has studied World War II and would like to read fiction set during that time period, as well as to those who enjoy reading dramatic novels. I thought it captured the importance of animals, specifically homing pigeons, and the various roles they take during wartime very well. Told through the eyes of a sixteen-year-old boy, B FOR BUSTER shows readers the excitement of being a hero and the grim realities they face.

--- Reviewed by Sarah Sawtelle (SdarksideG@aol.com)