17 year old Richard Perry decides to join the army so he can get out of Harlem and earn money to help support his mom and little brother. But Harlem seems like paradise when Perry soon finds himself fighting in the Vietnam war. His only hope is to make it out alive. But with the help of his friends and fellow soldiers Pewee, Johnson, and Lobel he might just make it out unscratched.
I read a book by Walter Dean Myers called Slam! a few years ago and I really enjoyed it, so when I saw Fallen Angels on the list of novels I could chose for English class I just jumped at the chance to read it. I'm glad I did.
I love the characters. Shockingly my favorite was not the protagonist Perry, but his best friend Pewee. He was such a funny character and he lightened up a lot of the book which is good because I am not a fan of reading books that are completely depressing. This book makes you realize what the soldiers in Vietnam had to go through and what they did in their day to day, and all the prejudice that black and gay soldiers had to deal with. Even though this book was written in the more than it still relates to problems the world and people face today. All in All it was an inspiring book that I think teens and adults will enjoy.
