Danny Manion has a hair-trigger temper and a penchant for fighting. When he steals (or in his words “borrows”) a motorcycle, the judge gives him a choice: either go to juvenile detention or enlist in the U.S. Armed Forces. Danny is trained as an Army Ranger and ends up in the Studies and Observation Group, an elite task force whose focus is on covert action and psychological warfare. With his former coach and high school counselor, Mr. Macias, as his colonel, Danny navigates the Vietnam War taking photographs as visual evidence of the enemy’s capabilities. His family thinks that he is safe in Thailand, so when Danny goes missing, nobody understands what happened.

The descriptions of the war and the fighting action that took place are very vivid, and students who are interested in the Armed Forces will probably be drawn to this series. I was very confused as to how Mr. Macias ended up as Danny’s colonel. They were close before Danny enlisted, so maybe Mr. Macias decided to re-enlist as well in order to keep an eye on Danny, but that was not made clear in the novel. There is one scene with an elephant that is particularly gruesome and horrific. If I hadn’t been reading the book to review it, I probably would have stopped there. Overall, teens wanting a short but action-packed novel will probably enjoy Danny’s growth from boy to man, so I am recommending it. If you are an animal lover, however, it may prove to be too disturbing. Recommended for gr. 8-12. ( )

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