Army Brats: David, Pernilla and the Magic Dino Dragon

Henry Louis Haynes

Description

With so many forces aligned against them, including their parents, will David and Pernilla end up star-crossed like Romeo and Juliet?
The young adult story "Army Brats: David, Pernilla and the Magic Dino Dragon" invites readers to explore 1969-70, a time of the first moon landing, an unpopular war, racial unrest and rapid social change. For many teenagers at the time, life revolved around rock and roll and sports, not video games, texting and social media.
Fifteen-year-old David Stevenson must discover who objects to his interracial rock band and taboo romance before the person terrorizes these military brats again. A magic dino dragon that comes from Vietnam helps detect lies, locate missing people and objects, and assists with a larger mystery.

Sujets

• Univers ado
• Suspense
• Suspense
• Young Adult
• Thrillers
• Young Adult Fiction
• Suspenso
• Pernilla
• Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: AuthorHouse
• Date de parution: 26 octobre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781665572590
• Langue: English

Extrait

ARMY BRATS: DAVID, PERNILLA and the MAGIC DINO DRAGON
 
 
 
 
 
HENRY LOUIS HAYNES
 
 
 

 
AuthorHouse™
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.authorhouse.com
Phone: [phone]
 
 
 
© 2022 Henry Louis Haynes. All rights reserved.
 
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.
 
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
 
Published by AuthorHouse 10/12/2022
 
ISBN: 978-1-6655-7258-3 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6655-7259-0 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022918451
 
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
Dedica tion:
To salute the service and sacrifice of military personnel and their families
The wise unite us; the fools divide us
Patriotism, yes; nationalism, no
Honor those who came before; pave the way for those who come after
The Crispus Attucks 21 st Century Unity Society (CATCUS) informs this work.
Gens Una S umus
CONTENTS
Author’s Note and Introduction
List of Characters
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
About The Author
AUTHO R ’S NOTE AND INTRODUCTION
The young adult story Army Brats: David, Pernilla and the Magic Dino Dragon salutes the millions of forgotten Americans, those whose families have lived in this country for many generations, built our infrastructure and served honorably in the nation’s wars and conflicts. These Americans and their stories and contributions are often ignored.
Readers are invited to explore 1969-70, a time of the first moon landing, an unpopular war, racial unrest and rapid social change. Although this is a story from another time, it deals with contemporary issues and is very much for this time.
The leading characters are 14 and 15 years old. However, the vantage point of the narrator is that of an older person recalling his childhood experiences.
The story features:
Military families: Americans love to praise the military, yet military families and their struggles and triumphs are underrepresented in our literature.
Historical fiction: The story takes place in 1969-70 at a time when the teen currency is rock and roll music and sports participation, not video games, texting and social media.
Magical Realism: Truly amazing what the Magic Dino Dragon can do, especially its life-saving actions at the end of the story.
Diversity: The Army base setting lends itself to a natural diversity of characters. The rock and roll band the major characters form is composed of Black, White, Latino and Asian members. Diversity must also mean diversity of viewpoint and diversity of thought, and the story shows this through everyone from a girl attracted to the Black Power movement to a conservative Army general who is the protagonist’s father.
Magnetic leading male and female: The two major characters are witty, intelligent, talented and compelling. More than that, they have tremendous chemistry between them. However, there are many forces aligned against them, including their parents. Will they end up star-crossed?
Unorthodox: The African American experience is contained in a lot more than just the stereotypical urban and inner-city experience. It is time to hear other African American voices, too, and that is what this work is about.
Strong father figure: In modern young adult fiction, a strong fatherly image is a vanishing breed. Not here. The protagonist’s close relationship to a strong, successful role model father is one of the keys to this novel.
LIST OF CHARACTERS
David Stevenson is a rare occurrence in American young adult fiction: a dynamic, male, African American lead character and first-person narrator who has no ties to inner-city communities or urban environments.
A ninth grader, David is torn between two cultures. His dad has recently become one of the first African American generals in the U.S. Army and base commander of his fort in Arizona. David lives in the cocoon of a military environment, yet he has also experienced the sting of racism and can feel the tensions bubbling up in the war torn, racially divisive late 1960s and early 1970s. He has all the privileges of being a brigadier general’s son, yet people sometimes still expect him to act and sound like he’s from the ghetto. David embraces his father’s careful approach to change, such as when his father makes sure the Army base has a Black Santa Claus for the first time.
Pernilla Olson is a wisecracking, flower power, free spirit of Scandinavian heritage. She insists on having fun, breaking rules and telling off-color jokes. The thing she values most in an acquaintance or friendship is someone who can make her laugh. Although she is intelligent, kind, generous and empathetic, Pernilla is also impulsive, and this leads to many mistakes with varying degrees of consequences. Later, as she recovers from being injured and hospitalized, Pernilla develops even more empathy and compassion, as is shown in scene after scene.
From the moment Pernilla moves onto the Army base, she turns David’s world upside down. After a rocky start, David and Pernilla bond around songwriting, being members of the same rock and roll band, and having fathers who served together in the same unit in Vietnam. But not everyone is in favor of their integrated band or their budding romance that is still taboo in 1970.
Pernilla is drugged and assaulted and left in an alley with a needle in her arm. A man intentionally slams into David near the restroom entrance of the gymnasium at the junior high school prom and escapes on a motorcycle. Then a note arrives at David’s door that reads: “I can’t stand integrated bands. I hate mixed-race couples. Segregation is our way. I have now warned you three times. Don’t make me warn you again. Wake up!”
Who is causing these problems? This mystery must be resolved before the bigoted person strikes again.
LaKisha Lambert - David’s ex-girlfriend provides a stark contrast to the lead male character. She is caught up in the late 1960’s Black Power movement and demands immediate change. Her beliefs and attitudes are perhaps a forerunner to the logic behind Black Lives Matter, and her musical style anticipated hip hop. LaKisha feels David has abandoned her for Pernilla.
General Stevenson - A World War II, Korean and Vietnam War combat vet, the brigadier general is a strong role model and attentive father who often provides counsel to his teenaged son. He is a revelation because it seems Black teens are almost invariably portrayed as growing up in single-parent households, usually headed by a woman.
Ava Nguyen is a Vietnamese orphan the Olson family has adopted. Her father sacrificed his life to save First Sergeant Olson in the jungles of Vietnam. Ava is increasingly confident and assertive as she learns the American language and customs. Even as she adapts to America, Ava insists on maintaining her Vietnamese customs and traditions.
Ava brings with her from Vietnam a four-foot Magic Dino Dragon she has inherited from her grandpa and late father. Under their instructions, the Magic Dino Dragon cannot be used commercially or given a name until it proves its worth beyond a doubt. The dragon is constantly learning and can understand many languages and facial expressions. It is skilled at detecting lies and locating missing people and objects. In the final chapter, it does prove its worth by helping to save the lives of the major characters in the story. It can now be named.
Olaf Olson - Pernilla’s twin brother and the band’s energetic drummer, Olaf is physically strong and mentally tough. Like his sister, he is often in a jocular mood. But he also brings calm to chaos and reason to riot.
U.S. ARMY FORT, SOUTHERN ARIZONA, AUTUMN 1969
CHAPTE R 1
Standing by the back door of the blue school building, she gazed out the window at the afternoon rain. The dismissal bell for our junior high school had sounded about five minutes ago.
“You’re the new girl?” I asked, walking over to her. “Pernilla Olson, is it?”
“Got it,” she said, turning to face me. “And you are— David?”
“Right, David Stevenson.”
“Yay, I remembered.”
“Probably not too hard to match my name with my face since I’m the only Black kid in our class. Sorry I didn’t get to speak to you more on your first day. It’s nerve-racking, I know. So welcome to Fort Lawson Junior High School.”
She looked back out the window. “Didn’t know it rained in Arizona.”
“The monsoon season is over, but it still rains every now and then.”
“I was going to wait for the rain to slow down a little before I ventured out. I don’t have an umbrella.”
“You’re in luck. I happen to have an extra umbrella in my locker. When you see it, you’ll know why I use it only as a spare. Come on, let’s go get it.”
As w