Sunrise Over Fallujah

• Genre: Fiction; young adult realistic
• Originally Published: 2008
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 780L; grades 9-12
• Structure/Length: 16 chapters; approx. 320 pages; approx. 7 hours, 27 minutes on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: Birdy Perry, an 18-year-old man from Harlem, decides to enlist in the US Army to help his country after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Although he works in the Civil Affairs unit, smoothing relations with the Iraqi people, he finds himself in increasingly dangerous situations and suffers terrible losses. Once home, he questions his reasons for joining the army and the point of war in general.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Wartime violence; profanity; threat of sexual assault

Walter Dean Myers, Author

• Bio: Born in 1937 in West Virginia; raised in Harlem by adoptive parents; loved reading from a young age; dropped out of high school but followed a teacher’s advice to keep writing; joined US Army on his 17th birthday; began writing about his own experiences after reading a short story by James Baldwin; has written more than 100 books; is the recipient of Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement (young adult books), as well as many awards for individual books, including Coretta Scott King Awards, Newbery Honors, and the Michael L. Printz Award
• Other Works: Scorpions (1988); Now Is Your Time! (1991); Monster (1999); The Get Over (2013)
• Awards: New York Times Best Book of 2008; School Library Journal Best Books of the Year (2008); ALA Outstanding Books for the College Bound and Lifelong Learners (2009)