Greitens, Eric.

WARRIOR’S HEART

New York : Houghton Mifflin, 2012

IL YA

ISBN  0547868529

Eric Greitens has an amazing life story.  He has studied kung fu in China, worked in refugee camps in Rwanda, spent time with street kids in Bolivia, and trained as a boxer.  However, the crux of The Heart of the Warrior revolves around his training to be a SEAL.  His storytelling style is completely straightforward – he pulls no punches, but does not bombard the reader with overly graphic violence.   Each chapter is quite short, making the book flow easily, giving it a feel like the Maximum Ride series.  Reluctant readers will feel quite accomplished as they are sucked in to the story, completely absorbed in the SEAL training.

I was fully prepared to not enjoy a military-style biography, but found myself rooting for this man to successfully complete his training (even though we know he already had!).  The chapters covering the SEAL training riveted me; I had read about how rigorous the training was, but hearing about it in the first person gave me a whole new respect for SEALs.  Children whose parents are currently deployed may take some comfort knowing how well the government trains their families prior to sending them overseas.  Students who enjoyed I am a SEAL Team 6 Warrior, which many of us picked up at book fairs, will also be unable to put this title down! 

                        United States. Navy. SEALs.

                        United States. Navy -- Officers.

                        United States. Navy Officers -- Training of.

                        Humanitarian assistance.

                        United States -- Armed Forces -- Civic action.