A Boy at War

A Boy at War is the first of three novels by Harry Mazer that feature Adam Pelko as their protagonist. Published in 2001 by Simon & Schuster, it was followed by A Boy No More (2004) and Heroes Don’t Run (2005). Sergeant Harry Mazer was born in New York City in 1925 and served in the United States Air Force in the European theater of World War II from 1943-1945. He was awarded the Purple Heart and the Air Medal for his service. Following his time in the Air Force, he earned his BA from Union College in 1948, and in 1960 he earned his MA from Syracuse University. His combat experience inspired many of the novels he later wrote for young adults, including the Adam Pelko series. He authored over 25 books, some of them in collaboration with his wife, Nora Fox Mazer. During his lifetime, he was awarded the Knickerbocker Award from the New York Library Association and the ALAN Award for Contributions to Young Adult Literature. He died in 2016 at the age of 90.

A Boy at War spans approximately four weeks from mid-November through mid-December of 1941 and centers around the experiences of Adam Pelko, the 14-year-old son of a naval officer stationed on the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Unexpectedly caught amid a Japanese air strike when he and his friends go out fishing on the morning of December 7, Adam bears witness to the horrors of war as he struggles to find his way to safety while also searching desperately for his father. The novel’s narrator is third person limited, following Adam’s experiences and inner thoughts exclusively.

This guide refers to the 2002 Simon & Schuster paperback edition of the novel.

Content Warning: A Boy at War depicts the attack on Pearl Harbor, which resulted in the loss of many lives, and the terror and violence that ensued. The novel also addresses the racial and ethnic prejudice that befell Japanese Americans and Japanese citizens living in the US at the time, and the text includes slurs and prejudicial language in this historical context.

Plot Summary

In November of 1941, Adam Pelko, his mother Marilyn, and his younger sister Bea move to Oahu, Hawaii, when his father, Lieutenant Emory Pelko, receives orders to report to Pearl Harbor. Adam slowly befriends Davi Mori, an outgoing, intellectual classmate of Japanese descent. The night before Adam and Davi are supposed to go fishing, Adam’s father learns that Adam’s new friend is Japanese and forbids him to spend any more time with Davi. Adam’s father is unexpectedly called away to report to the Arizona for duty that night, and Adam decides the next morning to go fishing anyway. He meets Davi and his other new friend, Martin, before sunrise. The three young men sneak onto military property and find a rowboat, and as they are about to begin their fishing trip, dozens of Japanese planes appear overhead and begin dropping bombs on the fleet of American warships docked close by. Adam watches as his father’s ship is decimated and begins sinking into the water.

In the mayhem that ensues, Martin is injured, and Davi is struck by a sailor with a pistol. Adam is separated from his friends when Davi and Martin secure transport to the hospital. Mistaken for a sailor, Adam is ordered to row the boat out to one of the ships in the harbor, and from there he is tossed about by circumstances. He first lands on the USS West Virginia and searches frantically for his father, hoping that Emory has managed to escape the USS Arizona. Adam flees the ship when the visceral carnage and danger become too much for him to bear. He is then transported to Ford Island, the main docking station for the ships in Pearl Harbor, assisting wounded and drowning sailors along the way. He finally finds himself in a military work uniform and armed with a rifle.

When he is stationed at the gate of the military base, Adam flees, finding a ride on a truck making its way away from the harbor. He commandeers an abandoned Jeep, riding along with an airman who managed to survive a plane crash. When he reaches his house, he finds his mother and sister unharmed, and together they begin an agonizing two-week wait to hear news from the navy about his father’s fate. Though he knows in his heart, based on the destruction he has seen, that his father must be dead, Adam and his mother finally receive word that his father has been declared “Missing in Action.” Adam is reluctant to leave the island, protesting that they are leaving his father behind, but when the navy declares that all dependents of naval officers and sailors lost at sea must be transported back to the mainland, Adam, his mother, and his sister are forced to comply. Adam’s last act as he leaves Oahu is to toss his lei into the water and say a silent goodbye to his father.