OPERATION HOMEFRONT (A Bantam Starfire Book) [Paperback]

Caroline B. Cooney (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Series: A Bantam Starfire Book

With their mother shipped off to the Persian Gulf to fight President Bush's war, the Herrick children--Laura, Langan, and Nicholas--must learn to get by without her. K. PW.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Laura Herrick and her brothers Nicholas and Langan are unprepared for the very texture of their lives to change when their mother--a member of the National Guard--is sent to Saudi Arabia as part of Operation Desert Shield. While Mrs. Herrick is away the children experience a complicated, often contradictory assortment of emotions: they are proud of their mother, fearful for her safety and resentful of both her absence and the new responsibilities they must shoulder at home. To make matters even more confusing, neither Laura nor Langan can help but revel in their enhanced prestige at their high schools. As usual, Cooney's writing is smooth and efficient. Though the Herrick family is hardly full of surprises, they are believable enough, and their predicament--a father left home to mind his family while his wife wages war--is certainly of interest. Yet, promising as these elements are, they never quite coalesce into a gripping story. Instead, the novel possesses a scattered quality that makes for slow going. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-9-- A timely novel about the recent war against Iraq and how it united the country for a short period of time. Langan Herrick, 14, does not like school or his younger sister. His mother is in the National Guard, and when the problems with Saddam Hussein begin, she is called up, and life at home is never the same again. Cooney has dealt well with the part of women in modern warfare and the impact it has had on the homefront. The kids are middle class, spoiled, and have never before been faced with adversity. Suddenly they are, and they survive. This is a tightly written story that moves quickly, giving lots of information about the war, its background, and its outcome, as well as offering a family story of struggle and survival. --Kenneth E. Kowen, Atascocita Middle School Library, Humble, TX
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 211 pages
• Publisher: Starfire (August 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 055329685X
• ISBN-13: 978-0553296853
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,686,056 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Operation: Homefront Book Review, February 20, 2002

By 

Heidi Barden (Burlington, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: OPERATION HOMEFRONT (A Bantam Starfire Book) (Paperback)

Operatuion: Homefront was an amazing story about your mother leaving to fight the Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein. Laura, Nicholas, Langan, and their father, Mr. Herrick must face the reality that there mother is fighting for Iraq and she is doing it for America and the broken-up family must stick together everyday to keep up hope and figure out what to eat for dinner every day, and not watch TV all day long. Now again, I though this story was outstanding and people 12 and up should read this book as soon as possible!!!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Operation: Great Reading, March 23, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: OPERATION: HOMEFRONT (Laurel-Leaf Books) (Mass Market Paperback)

I'm not much of a reader, but when I picked this book up to read for an English class. I couldn't put it down. In the book, Operation: Homefront, Caroline B. Cooney points out some very good issues about if your parents or one of them is told to go to war. No matter what, the family should always work together and stay on tasks. That's why I give this book five stars.

4.0 out of 5 stars Homefront, May 12, 2005

By 

B. Case - See all my reviews

This review is from: Operation: Homefront (Library Binding)

Operation Homefront by Carolina B. Cooney. This book starts off by talking about Laura's and Langan's school. It also talks about who their friends are and how school is going for them.
In the middle of the book the Herrick's life gets turned around in many different ways. First the family finds out that their mom has been called by President Bush to go to Saudi Arabia along with her unit the 333rd. Mrs. Herrick has to go to war to fight the dictator Saddam Hussein. The family is very surprised to know that there mom is going across the world away from them to fight.
Before Mrs. Herrick goes to fight she has to go to her base in Connecticut for training. But one day the family gets a call from their mom. She is on the phone to tell them that her unit has been called to go to Saudi Arabia. The family then goes to where her base is for this big parade to tell their mom and others goodbye and good luck.
Once Mrs. Herrick leaves, the family goes home. Without a mom their life is very hard. Mrs. Herrick was always there for them making list of things to do around the house, and what to get at stores. Mr. Herrick is lost with out Mrs. Herrick. He is not sure how to cook, wash clothes, or what to get at the grocery store. The book gets more into how life is like without a mom to help you along the way.
Operation Homefront also talks about the many things Mrs. Herrick (Rosalys) goes through when she is in war. It gets into the many different things you have to do when in war. Also things Rosalys does when she has time off from war.