Soldier Dogs #3: Secret Mission: Guam || A Book Review

And I’m back with the third review out of 4 (so far! Book 7 was just announced!) of the Soldier Dog Series and y’all! This one was one of my favorites! I’ve mentioned this before, but our ministry is located near Cherry Point Marine Air Station, so when I read this story, I couldn’t help but picture some of the fellows that have attended our church over the years! It made for a fascinating reading experience! Let’s dive right in!

About the Book:

Step into the action as the U.S. Marines and the Dobermans of World War II fight to recapture the island of Guam from Japanese troops.

It’s 1944, and the Second Battle of Guam is in full gear. Twelve-year-old Bo just escaped from a work camp, and he’s ready to help kick the enemy off his island.

Stryker is an official U.S. Marine Doberman on an urgent mission. When Bo and Stryker meet in the jungle, they team up to help the American forces.

But between painful injuries, raging rivers, wild animals, and a surprise attack on a hospital, their job isn’t easy. With a Japanese soldier hot on their trail, can they deliver their top-secret message in time?

Told in the alternating perspectives of Bo and Stryker, this action-packed adventure is inspired by the real-life Dobermans of World War II who bravely served beside the U.S. Marines.

Published 2019 by HarperCollins

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

My Review: I’m gonna break tradition and tell you the one thing I didn’t like about this book first, that way, I don’t have to break from all my squealing later *grins*. The one thing that stood out to me was the fact that the author really doesn’t seem to like the fact that America owns the country of Guam. Did we get it fairly? I have no idea. Should we let the people be independent from us? I don’t know. All I know is that the author is planting the idea of American’s being good bad guys subtly in this story and I didn’t like that at all. But it was a minor issue touched on maybe twice towards the beginning and is easy to fix. Maybe this is a conversation that should be had, whether Guam should be it’s own country or not, but this isn’t a conversation that should involve impressionable kids, who are already being attacked with anti-American sentiment enough through various media/education outlets. Let the kids love their country! *clears throat and steps off soapbox 😉*

Now, on to the good stuff. First off, can we just adore that cover? There is something so pleasing about a jungle, all the green and that gorgeous dog! Okay, Dobermans are not my favorite, per say, but they are cute in a dorky kind of way! And this dog in the story! He’s so good!

I loved how we got to see the plight of the natives on Guam without it becoming too violent or gory for children. And even though there were battle/medical sequences, I don’t think the descriptions were too much for young ones to stomach. It has a good balance of valor and reality of war to make children admire the GIs and realize war is not a game.

AND THE MARINES! Okay, I’m a total Army girl, but the hospital scene at the end was so good and so Marine Corps! I could go on and on about it! It was so good! I told my family about it and all of us are like, “That better be a true story, because that is true Marine Corps Spirit, right there!” You have to read the book for no other reason than to read that one scene! I still haven’t found out if it really happened or not, but I’m looking into it!

So yes, this was one of the best books in the series! Be sure to check it out!

Be sure and keep your eye open for our next post about 5 books I want to read in 2020!

God Bless!
Ryana Lynn
Jude 22

Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.
1 Corinthians 16:13