Slaughterhouse-Five or The Children's Crusade by Kurt Vonnegut. Dell. 1969.
When it comes to getting started on reading Vonnegut (and I do find it to be a life long journey) Slaughterhouse-Five is a good starting point. The funny part is that the main character, Billy Pilgrim may be having experiences that differ from most American tweens, but his emotions, and the brash, rash commentary by the narrator is just what many tweens are looking for; it's what they felt has been missing. Vonnegut is the author who's books you hold close to your chest as a young person and proclaim, "He gets me."
Billy Pilgrim has it rough. He has been taken as a POW during World War II. He really wasn't enjoying the war itself much either, actually he found it horrifying. To top it off, his life at home in the suburbs of New York is so painfully dull that it's really not something he hopes to return to if he ever gets out of this war alive. Basically, he has nothing to live for, so he violently travels from place to place down the tunnel of time. This involves an alien abduction where he is is put in the zoo as an exhibit. The aliens can see their world in 4D, therefore they can see the future and explain to Billy that there is no way to change one's course in life, and that there is no use in trying. This helps Billy realize there is nothing he can do about his impending murder by a fellow POW soldier in the future, he can only allow it to happen to him as the narrator describes the scene.
Vonnegut gave a new voice to the experience of war, trauma and the state of life in the sixties. Tweens experiencing many new things in their own lives will appreciate the blunt descriptions and bizarre plot lines.
A great read for older tweens who have already been taught what World War II was all about.
ATOS Book Level: 5.0
AR Points: 8.0
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