The amazing Alan Gibbons has written a brilliant article for Books for Keeps about children’s and YA Fiction and the War on Terror in which he gives a glowing review of We Can be Heroes.
‘Catherine Bruton’s We Can Be Heroes is an astonishing, inventive, almost playful treatment of a blizzard of issues: honour killing, terrorism, far right extremism, racism, forced marriage, a race riot, a child disappearance. It is a mark of the author’s skill that they never become a morass of issues. They never overwhelm the story. The protagonist Ben’s father was killed in the 9/11 attacks. He meets Priti, a Muslim girl with a Hindu name. Employing a faux naïf tone, Bruton tells a big story with astonishing gusto and control. It is structured around a series of questions posed by Ben at the end of each section, reflecting on what has happened. In a way Bruton uses some of the techniques you might expect from a Paula Danziger or a Louise Rennison to frame her responses to a frightening world. I felt there was occasional inconsistency in the narrative voice, but that is a very minor criticism. This is a book that deals with serious issues in an endearing, humorous way. It is a remarkable piece of work.’
If you want to read the whole article, check out:
http://booksforkeeps.co.uk/issue/189/childrens-books/articles/other-articles/children%E2%80%99s-and-young-adult-fiction-and-the-%E2%80%98war-on