We’re going to do another read-along on Gazette665 this autumn, and our new book is family friendly and historical fiction! I’ve read this historical novel before and it was one of my favorite history story books in the high school years.

It’s got fast-paced adventure! It’s set in World War II (so we’ll continue “World War II Wednesdays)! There are airplanes, prison escapes, good character qualities, faith struggles, and a glimpse at different responses to the war in Europe.

Gunner’s Run

By Rick Barry

Young Adult Historical Fiction.

Journey Forth, BJU Press, 2007.

While this book might not be available in your public library (worth checking anyway), it is available new or used at inexpensive prices through Amazon.

Need more convincing to read along with us? Here’s the book’s official teaser: In 1943, nineteen-year-old Jim Yoder serve as a waist gunner aboard a B-24 in the United States Army Air Corps, but through a strange chain of events, is trapped behind enemy lines in Hitler’s Europe, alone, on foot, and on the run, and finds himself returning to his family’s staunchly pacifist Mennonite roots.

We’re going to do the Wednesday blog posts a little differently than in our summer read-along. Since Gunner’s Run is historical fiction, I don’t want to do chapter summaries which would give away the story. So…I’ll pick a couple historical themes from the chapters and expand upon those. For example, we might talk specifically about the B-24 aircraft and look at diagrams or discuss what really happened to captured pilots – basically adding more detailed historical information to the facts already woven into the story.

I hope you’ll read along with us or at least enjoy the extra history on the book. Get your copy of Gunner’s Run this week and we’ll be discussing Chapters 1-3 next Wednesday.

Warning: This book’s plot moves quickly and you may wish to read the book faster than the blog posts. That’s totally fine! I think I read this book in two days because it’s exciting. If that happens, it’s wonderful…and you’ll still be able to enjoy the blog posts and discussions as we get to the later chapters.

Happy Autumn Reading…

Your Historian,

Miss Sarah