Heaven Is for Heroes

Sharon's first novel is a slow but sincere contemporary wartime romance. Seventeen-year-old Jordie's older brother, Levi, is a Marine, who has just been killed in Iraq during a mission with his childhood best friend, Alex. Alex returns missing a leg and with no memory of the incident. Despite her grandfather and mother's acceptance of the official military report, Jordie can't shake the feeling that her traditionally reckless brother's death wasn't an accident: "He and my mother would be just as happy to believe a lie. If I wanted the truth, I would have to find it myself," she thinks. Athletic and willful, Jordie makes it her mission to heal Alex and find out what really happened, rereading the letters Levi sent her from Iraq and learning more about his "dark side." As Alex struggles through physical and mental rehabilitation, Jordie worries about their potential relationship and her post%E2%80%93high school plans. Although the dialogue can be overly dramatic and the plot is somewhat overwrought, the underlying emotions come across as authentic. Ages 12%E2%80%93up.