Grenade by Alan Gratz Book Review

In the book, Grenade by Alan Gratz Ray and Hideki have many things in common. One thing that Ray and Hideki both have in common is they are unprepared and inexperienced in combat. Hideki was forced to graduate his school early and was drafted into the Blood and Iron Student Corps. Ray is a young marine who had to fight in this war in his early twenties. Another thing that Ray and Hideki have in common is they are both afraid. For example, in the text, it says that as soon as Ray had arrived in Okinawa, he was afraid just looking over the rail of the boat. Another example is, Hideki was afraid that he was going to die so he threw a grenade at Ray which resulted in Ray dying.

Ray and Hideki also have many differences. One thing that is different between Ray and Hideki is Ray is an American soldier and Hideki is a Japanese soldier. The two sides have different objectives and different plans to win the war. Another thing that is different about Ray and Hideki is that they are from different countries. Ray has American beliefs and culture but Hideki has Okinawan beliefs and cultures.

Ray has changed from the beginning to the end of the text by learning and getting used to what happens during a war. For example, in the beginning, he was scared of getting off of the boat but later in the story he was planning what he was going to do next. Another example is, in the beginning, he was terrified of seeing someone die but after a while, he got used to killing someone. Hideki has changed from the beginning to the end of the text by becoming braver. For example, in the beginning, Hideki believed that Shigitomo's mabui was still with him which was why he was a coward but as time went on he noticed that he had gotten rid of Shigitomo's mabui by fighting and going all the way across Okinawa to find his sister. Another example is, in the beginning, Hideki was hiding from the fight but eventually, he was standing up to Private Medea, protecting innocent Okinawan people.

A moral lesson we can learn from Hideki's journey is do not allow the voice of your fears to be louder than the other voices in your head. For example, at the beginning of the book, Hideki was controlled by fear and did not want to fight or even move from the position he was in. As the book continued, we saw Hideki travel across Okinawa to find his sister, protect many innocent Okinawan people, and attempt to restore all of the soldier's mabui's. A moral lesson we can learn from Ray's journey is life will give you challenges. For example, Ray is a young American Marine who did not choose to fight in this war. He is inexperienced and he has never fought in a war before. Despite this, he still fought until the death and learned many things along the way. 

A moral lesson that both characters teach us is you will be scared to do things but do them anyway. For example, Ray was scared to get off the boat in the beginning but after getting off that boat he learned how to fight and made his life honorable. Another example is, Hideki saw himself as  a coward at the beginning because of Shigotomo's mabui but after fighting in the war and saving his sister he is much braver than he was before.