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    Fallen Angels
    Fallen Angels
    Fallen Angels
    Audiobook8 hours

    Fallen Angels

    Written by Walter Dean Myers

    Narrated by JD Jackson

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    With starred reviews from School Library Journal, Booklist and Kirkus Reviews, this moving novel by acclaimed author Walter Dean Myers is a modern classic. In the late 1960s, Richie Perry is growing up fast on the battlefields of Vietnam. But in the war-torn jungle, every moment is a struggle to survive. All Richie wants is to make it out alive.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateMar 30, 2012
    ISBN9781464044922
    Fallen Angels
    Author

    Walter Dean Myers

    Walter Dean Myers was the New York Times bestselling author of Monster, the winner of the first Michael L. Printz Award; a former National Ambassador for Young People's Literature; and an inaugural NYC Literary Honoree. Myers received every single major award in the field of children's literature. He was the author of two Newbery Honor Books and six Coretta Scott King Awardees. He was the recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults, a three-time National Book Award Finalist, as well as the first-ever recipient of the Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement.

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    Reviews for Fallen Angels

    4.5/5

    41 ratings29 reviews

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    • 5/5
      "...For all the angel warriors who fall."Richie Perry is the face of so many young men who fought in the Vietnam War. Raised in Harlem, Richie joins the army in 1967, hoping for a better future. With no money saved for college, Richie finds foreign jungles more palatable than the streets of Harlem.Richie and his fellow soldier friends are extremely unprepared for the harsh realities of war. They find that the definition of 'enemy' is not as cut and dried as they once pictured and chaos ensues during much of Richie's stay in Vietnam.In one of the more terrifying scenes of ambush, so many American soldiers are killed that the remaining boys are forced to burn the bodies rather than body bag and carry them back to the pick-up point. Richie sees the dead boys being burned: "They were me. We wore the same uniform, were the same height, had the same face. They were me, and they were dead." Although this book obviously doesn't glorify war, it doesn't make the judgment call of condemning it, either. Myers presents facts and raw emotion in this narrative, and the language isn't for the faint of heart. Although this book was marketed for young adults, I think I appreciated it even more as an adult.
    • 5/5
      Younge Richie Perry joins the army to stay of the dangerous streets of Harlem. He left behind his poor mom and brother just to fight a war he dosent understand. He arrives in Vietnam and makes many friends but will become brothers-at-arms. They will endure a year of a frightful war and must do something to suvive. Perry will learn the true meaning of war. Rumers of the ending of the war float around and it wont. But Perry will get injured and sent back home. He will join his familly back home and enjoy his life.This was a gut twister and it shows the real war. It shows what its like to be a teen in war. I prefered this book and recammend it to you. War is not good and it takes lots of guts to go throught it. But with his friends to help he will survive a heart breakin war. The author did a good job showing the true horrors. I like the book and the action involved. It is an action packed thrill ride.
    • 5/5
      Terrific first-hand account of one soldier, Rchie Perry's experience of the Vietnam War... landing in the country, going on patrols, engaging in hand-to-hand combat, "pacifying" villages, standing guard, and more. Violence is graphic but not gratuitous: includes descriptions of corpses, booby-trapped baby, land-mines. Perry is African-American and race issues are ever-present but not the central focus of the book. 1960s period details are spot-on and not overbearing. The book also hints at the problems of re-entry into civilan life. Perry and fellow soldiers, esp. PeeWee (Chicago jivester) Johnson (quiet country boy) and Lobel (Jewish boy trying to earn his father's respect) are drawn just shy of being stereotypes.... in any case, the reader grows to care for them making the inevitable death & injuries all the more poignant.
    • 5/5
      Powerful book by Walter Dean Myers. Although this book is classified as a Young Adult novel, I challenge any adult to read this book and not come away moved and changed in someway. A very thought proving book off mistakes made in the past that can be applied to our here and now.
    • 5/5
      Richie Perry, Lobel, Johnson, Brunner, and Peewee are all in Vietnam. They came there for different reasons, but now they share a single dream -- getting out alive.
    • 5/5
      As far as war novels go, I've never been a fan.I've always felt as if the author softens up the war zone for the public, but Fallen Angels felt real. I always figured in a war scenario there would be a little swearing.And be warned, there is indeed swearing.But in all seriousness, in not picking up this book you will be really be missing out on a great book.The book starts with 17 year old Richie Perry,fresh out of high school,shipping himself off to Vietnam. On one of the many planes he goes on to get there, he meets Peewee,a somewhat eccentric guy who seems to desperately want to eliminate the opposing forces.When they finally get to Vietnam, Richie attempts to alert his superiors of his of his medically unfit knee he is told,"If we get a medical report we'll let ya know". So, Richie and Peewee are assigned to their squad. From here on, I feel it best for the reader to experience it for themselves. The patrols, lookouts, and firefights unveil things about the characters,why they came ,what they did back home and who they are are all are best to find out in the book, not in a book review. So please, just read it.This is among the best books I've ever read. The author does a great job of capturing the emotional side of the war without removing action, maintains the seriousness of the situation, but throwing in some humorous moments, like when one of the people in Richies squad throw an empty grenade in their tent and every one dives to the floor,only to realize that it's empty".Moments like these keep the book from being too sad that you just want to stop reading.I had trouble reading some of the times in this book, because it was just so, evil.The fact that people had to go into battle with people they didn't know were coming out with them is a horrible thought. This book gave me new respect for anyone that is or has been in battle. Any book that can describe in such great depth such a complicated subject so well deserves 5 stars in my mind. It is a fantastic piece of writing, that will grip your attention in a vise-like grip, and won't let it go until the end.It flows nicely, the characters feel real, and as much as this can be a not-so-good thing, it makes you feel like you are in the war zone with Richie fighting in the Vietnam war. It is a fantastic book that cannot be missed.
    • 5/5
      Fallen Angels is a fantastic book. I have read this for summer reading and I thought it would be boring but I was surprised it was awesome! The book is about a man named Richie Perry and he's going to the Vietnam war. The book is action packed, a little drama, and sometimes, there was funny moments. The writing is exquisite would totally recommend this book to people ages 12 and up due to some gory scenes. Good job Walter Dean Myers!
    • 5/5
      Great story. I enjoyed it. Walter Dean Meyers is one of my favorite authors.
    • 4/5
      Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers is a historical fiction novel set in Vietnam. It is told from first person point of view by the character Richie Perry, a seventeen year old just out of high school. Perry is from New York City, and he is smart but couldn’t afford college. We view the story from Perry’s eyes as he tries to figure out what he is doing in the middle of a war. Perry is an intellectual and tries to maintain his moral perspective throughout the novel, but understands the difficulty in recognizing the enemy. Perry is a likable and dynamic character, but it is his friend Peewee who steals the story. Myers use of humor through the character of Peewee makes this harsh story easier to read. In the beginning of the novel, the characters are naïve and excited about the prospect of war until they are actually faced with the horrors of it. The novel is about friendship and coming of age during the Vietnam War. It deals with a harsh reality---war. The book gets its title from a prayer that Lieutenant Carroll prays after the death of any of his men. “Lord, let us feel pity for our comrade, and sorrow for ourselves, and all the angel warriors that fall. Let us fear death, but let it not live within us. Protect us, O Lord and be merciful unto us. Amen”
    • 4/5
      Synopsis:After his high school graduation 17 year-old Richie Perry joins the army simply because he couldn’t think of anything else to do; college was too expensive, jobs were scarce, and his family had limited prospects in the projects of Harlem. Initially recruited to play basketball for the army’s professional team, Perry finds himself sidelined and shipped overseas after a knee-injury stops his sports career. Upon arrival in Vietnam Perry finds that his medical profile hasn’t made it to base; he is promptly assigned to a squad and summarily shipped out to the field for combat duty. In the field Perry is forced to become more than “just an observer in life” (p.35) and shake the malaise and passivity that has hallmarked his young adult life. Through his narration Myers’ addresses the racism to which Perry and his squad-mates are subjected to as they are assigned to increasingly dangerous missions. Moreover, through Perry Myers starts the reader on a journey to identify the meaning behind the war or rather the lack of meaning, which is a pivotal theme behind the 1960's and 1970's. Review: I first read this book while I was in middle school, at the time I had never read any of Myers’ fiction, nor had I read any fiction about Vietnam. Upon revisiting the novel for this project I found myself just as entranced with the simple narration and evocative detail of Myers prose as I was when I first read it. The honesty and clarity of Perry’s narration and thoughts makes him an extremely sympathetic and insightful narrator capable of provoking reflection amongst even the most uninterested reader.The material may be disturbing to some young readers, however the narrative and character should appeal to both the young and adult reader. Moreover, the book makes an excellent addition to social studies curriculum and boy-oriented book clubs.
    • 4/5
      I'm always weary of war novels for kids. The idea of war is often oversimplified and unrealistically fantasized. Myers does a nice job with this story of the Vietnam War; I think most readers will get it's clear war=bad message. A few may require a bit of discussion to fully realize what is said.
    • 5/5
      I read this book in high school and absolutely loved it. It is extremely graphic and detailed, and at many times not at all pleasant (well of course not, it's during the Vietnam War!), but it is so deep and so human that it is easy to fall in love with.
    • 3/5
      Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers is about a man named Richard Perry who recruits for the army during the Vietnam War. On the flight there, he meets a man named Pee Wee. He becomes Perry's go-to guy. they go into many patrols together. Seeing the destruction that the North Vietnamese Army was doing to the south. they experience death and touture with their own eyes.   Fallen Angels was a good book. it had some good action parts. but other than that it was kind of boring. it didnt have as much action as i thought it would of had. it had a lot of swearing in it too. I recommend this book to people who like historical fiction about wars.by: Jake
    • 3/5
      I read this book in my 8th grade Honors English class and I thought it was a fair historical fiction. I have read better. Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry for instance. But that one is about racism etc this one is about the Vietnam War. The feelings that's shown in this book seems somewhat illogical. Fair litterature
    • 4/5
      Richie Perry, a black teen from Harlem, is sent to fight in Vietnam when the Army loses the paperwork exempting him from combat. Friendships with members of his squad help to keep him sane in his struggle to make sense of the war and why he is there. Graphic battle accounts, but less profanity that most movies about Vietnam and far fewer references to substance abuse. The blurb on the back of the book says "gut-twisting" and "heartbreaking". So true. The author dedicates the book to his brother who died in Vietnam. A lot of military jargon and concepts not all of which is translated or explained.
    • 5/5
      This is the first Walter Dean Myers book I have read although I have been aware of him as a YA author, especially in the realm of "books boys would like" and "award winning authors". I was blown away by the reality of a willing but not eager soldier in a war that came down to "kill or be killed". I appreciate Myers voice as a person first, rather than a "black man", which will always narrow the audience for a novel. The story is realistic, the portrayals of the friendships and interactions between the men touching and frank, and the language and combat scenes descriptive but not overly graphic.
    • 4/5
      Written from the perspective of a 17 year old enlisted soldier in the Vietnam War, Myers book eventually comes to revolve around the question of who in the man's unit survives long enough to return to the world outside. Along the way are tense descriptions of battles, interesting comments about war, poverty, race and life in general. Though it is written in a clumbsy and unpolished fashion and his it's slow moments, it's a story worth looking into.
    • 5/5
      This is the first-person narrative of a young recruit, Richard Perry, who joins the Army upon his high school graduation and goes to Vietnam to fight. The author served in the armed force, lending credibility to Perry's voice as he expresses confusion, anger, and most profoundly, fear.Some of Perry's stories are terrifyingly violent and may upset younger or more sensitive readers. The n-word is used occasionally, which may also upset readers.The novel is as apolitical as a war novel could possibly be, but works to capture the humanness of the soldiers and their experiences (which is often lost in news reports about the armed forces).Cultural markers include Army vocabulary and idioms, all of which are contextually obvious to a reader without an Army background. The setting of the novel is various bases, battlefields, and villages in Vietnam during the war. There are very few main characters but numerous peripheral characters and it was often difficult to tell them apart/remember their identifying characteristics. The plot has many highs and lows, leaving this reader constantly hopeful and fearful for the narrator and his best friend.Highly recommended for a high school library
    • 5/5
      Myers does a sensational job describing the intensity of emotions that occur in America and in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. He takes the time to let the reader become involved with the characters and be a part of the story, and share in victories and their losses. Bravo to Myers for doing the extensive amount of research in creating this story and bringing the characters to life. However, readers should beware that this book is graphic in language and setting. Parents should read this book first, before they let there 13 year old read it, with the UNDERSTANDING of why Myers wrote this story and what he is conveying to the reader about this particular time period in history.
    • 5/5
      Walter Dean Myers's Vietnam War story is as raw and believable as any novel about the war. The story is told with no cliches and with incredible characters. Pee-wee, in particular, is one of the funniest, most sympathetic characters I've read in young adult fiction. Myers uses a simple and clean writing style that makes this book suitable for even the most reluctant readers. This would be one of my first recommendations for a reluctant boy reader with an interest in the military.
    • 5/5
      Richard Perry is a 17 year old boy from Harlem, who decided to join the army and fight in the Vietnam War. This book details his perspective of the war and his struggle to keep his mind and body alive. Walter Dean Myers does an excellent job of making the reader feel as though they are enduring the war with Perry. Each page is full of suspense and many ethical questions about war are raised. "Fallen Angels" would be very useful for a high school history class, because it would allow students to feel what it was like to be a young soldier in the time the war, and also it would allow students to debate the ethics of war.
    • 4/5
      This is a young adult book, but I would not use it or recommend it until high school because of language and violence. I did enjoy it though and with the right reader it would be a good share.
    • 3/5
      Perry joins the army to help his family back in Harlem. He doesn't know what to expect when he is shipped to Vietnam. He quickly forms bonds with the other guys in his platoon as they experience some truly horrific things. A very good book but not an easy sell to anyone.
    • 4/5
      Tells about the Vietnam War without too much graphic detail. This book touches on themes that are still very much alive today - especially the importance of friendship. Wonderful read.
    • 5/5
      This book was amazing. Walter Dean Myers made me understand how difficult it really is to understand the experiences that soldiers face as they are in combat. Richie was just a boy in an unexplainable war and his deep and troubled feelings are made so real by Myers.
    • 3/5
      This is a gritty novel about a kid from Harlem enlisting in the army and going to Vietnam. It is called juvenile fiction but the language is just like Vietnam adult fiction. But the hero is not immoral and prays so I guess that is why it is deemed fit for juveiles tor read--altho our library had it on the adult fiction shelves. There is some poignancy in the story but I did not find the story overly compelling, though it is pretty realistic and certainly not likely to inspire a guy to wish he had been able to fight in Vietnam
    • 5/5
      The dense and hot jungles of Vietnam now a war zone! Fallen Angels puts the hectic combat of the Vietnam War into the eyes of a young soldier. Rick Perry just graduated High School and knows he cannot afford college. He decides to join the Army and he very well knows he is heading to Vietnam. The only thing is he is unsure what to expect there. In Vietnam He meets his squad who becomes like brothers to each other. They want to get out alive, so they all help and care for each other. There are problems in the Vietnam War. Disease, fear, death, the fog of war (uncertainty) all these things take their place as Pvt. (Private) Rick Perry endures the chaos combat of the Vietnam War!
    • 5/5
       Wyatt LaRose9/14/12Mr. BronsonBook ReviewFinal Draft Fallen Angels Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers is a book that will drag you in and make you feel like you were at the Vietnam War. This book is about a man who leaves for the Vietnam War and leaves his mama and his brother Kenny behind. He learns to survive and push through the worst times. He learns what the value of life is and also death. Many of the men he is with become his friends. Some of them become very close and talk about back home while others are gone before he even knows them. This fast paced book does have scenes that should not have been included simply because there was no reason for them. The scene would start then end and not affecting anything else. The main character, Perry goes through a lot of changes in this book. He goes in not knowing what he is doing. While he is in the war he gets a total new point of view. This book is mainly a story about a man who learns what its like to live in a war. This was a great book and everyone should make some time to read it sometime soon.
    • 4/5
      I have to say I was not overwhelmed by this book. I realize Fallen Angels was a break through book...one of the first YA war books. And from that perspective it is good.However, I had problems with it. I could not visualize the battle grounds at all. I couldn't visualize the army bases. I could barely visualize the characters.I did get, loud and clear, some of the atrocities inflicted during the Vietnam War. I did get some of the fear that the soldiers felt. But, overall, I did not think Fallen Angels was a powerful book. I know...I'm one of the few.I'd suggest Purple Heart by Patricia McCormick for a powerful war book.