Beware of the spoilers to Front Lines that lurk beyond this message...
Rio, Frangie, and Rainy survived the North African campaign and are ready for their next battle. The Germans have been hurt by these three girls and their siblings in arms but they are far from defeated. As the girls and the American Army move to Sicily for the next showdown, Rio, Frangie, and Rainy will be tested like never before. Even though they know the lengths that they will go to save their own lives, the three of them will find this to be one of the most difficult battles of their lives. The world thinks that these three women along with thousands of other girls are heroes who should be praised, but they are not heroes, they are soldiers. So far, too much blood has been spilled, millions of lives have been lost, there is opportunity for gain, and an endless siege is looking to break them. At the end of the day, they will face the war until they win or until they die.
Ahhhhh Silver Stars. The sequel to Front Lines. Before I talk about this book, I have a confession. I started reading this book once and then I put it down because I thought it was too boring. I think I finished the first chapter and I realized I wasn’t enjoying it so I just gave up on it. Which is totally unlike me. I try my best to finish reading all of the books that I pick. As far as I remember, I have given on only two books in my entire life. If you’re wondering, they are Sophie’s World and Rose Under Fire. I think it may have been a case of book hangover, especially since I read Front Lines right before it and I was expecting to dive right into the action once again and that didn’t happen so I abandoned it. But the second time that I read Front Lines and followed it up with Silver Stars, that didn’t happen probably for two reasons: A) I was re-reading Front Lines so my mind wasn’t as blown so I wasn’t “drunk” on the book and B) I already knew that Silver Stars didn’t start off with action and I was expecting it. Putting down Silver Stars is something that I regret. I really wish that I had read it earlier because I loved it.
The storyline of Silver Stars was not at all what I was expecting. Front Lines was very well balanced with life at home for the girls which was juxtaposed against war life especially training and how different their day to day activities were. Silver Stars on the other hand, was all war. It really took me into the mindset of living and experiencing the war. It makes sense that all this book is war because that is what took up most, if not all of the mental real estate that people had. Soldiers were worrying about fighting in the war and their survival, everyone else was worrying about their relatives, their struggles due to rationing, and their survival. Life without the war ceased to exist. The closest thing that I compare it to as a student is when you have an exam coming up that you are extremely worried about and all you can think of is that exam. Except that worry would just continue for several years without relief. That sounds absolutely horrible and I would not wish it on anyone.
The thing that I liked the most about this book was the development. My favorite thing about reading books is seeing the character’s change and grow. I love going on that journey with them. Because the first book talked about the lives of Rio, Frangie, and Rainy prior to them joining the war, we saw their growth from the girls they used to be to soldiers. Some people may think that it's over, they have turned into the people that they are meant to be but it really isn’t over. Michael Grant was able to show the nuance between being a soldier and being an experienced soldier. I think that is the main aspect that we get to see in this book. Yeah, the girls are soldiers but now they are the soldiers that have been here before, they know what to expect. The other less experienced soldiers are looking at them for cues on how to survive this situation that they’ve been thrown into. It was really interesting to see the fierceness in Rio grow and to see how it changes the relationships that she has with other characters. Especially characters who have known Rio before she became this war hardened soldier. We as readers can more clearly see the difference between who Rio used to be and what she has become in the backdrop of the evolution of Rio's relationships.
The same goes for Rainy and Frangie except their evolution is slightly different because they aren’t growing into traits that the war has brought out of them. Rio’s strength and ferocity is something that she has discovered through training and battles. On the other hand, Frangie has always been a caring and loving person so her growth is more about maturity and testing the boundaries of what she can handle. This applies to Rainy as well, if you remember from the introduction of Rainy, she has always had a spine of steel. You couldn’t make Rainy do something she didn’t want to do no matter how hard you tried. The growth that Rainy experiences really tests her stubbornness and strength, which I love. I really love that Michael Grant showed how experiences can change the inherent qualities in these characters. It’s also a nice balance against the things that Rio is experiencing because reading the same script of: girl discovers hidden inner strength, three times would have been mind-numbingly boring.
You may be thinking, wait a second, didn’t I just say that Rainy and Frangie have the same type of evolution where they are gaining a better understanding of personality traits that they already have? Didn't I just contradict myself? You are absolutely right! They are both diving deeper into the qualities that they already possess. However, I think that because the characteristics are so different, Frangie's compassion and the need to save people versus Rainy's commitment and a steel spine, the evolution is completely unique.
With all of that out there, the only thing that is left is the plot. The plot was amazing, which I’m sure comes as a surprise to nobody given the author of this book. The steady build towards the next battle of the war, brilliant climax, and the narrator (I have a pretty good guess about who it is!) at the beginning and end were the best as usual. So given all of that, I think it is pretty obvious that I gave this book 5 stars and I will stand by those five stars for the rest of my life.
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