"Cracker: The Best Dog in Vietnam" by Cynthia Kadohata - Book Review

Cracker: The Best Dog in Vietnam by Cynthia Kadohata. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2007.
Genre: Historical Fiction

This story stars Firecracker, or “Cracker”, for short, an incredibly intelligent and sly German shepherd, and Rick Hanski, a young man who has never had any confidence in himself throughout his life. When Cracker’s owners’ landlord says the dog has to go, Cracker is signed up to be a war dog and taken away to an army base to be trained. It is there that she and Rick meet. Rick has joined the army to prove to everyone who didn’t believe in him that he can do something great. At first, Cracker thinks herself too good for him to be her master, and she doesn’t care to show it. It takes a lot of discipline, but the two become friends, and by the end of the book, inseparable. They go through some tough times together. At one point, Cracker becomes lost in Vietnam, and Rick feels lost without her, but they are reunited. On more than one occasion, she saves his life. The ending of the story was very satisfying, but I won’t reveal it to any potential readers of the book.

“In December 2005 I read John Grogan's Marley & Me, never putting it down once started. And in February 2007 the same thing happened with Cracker! I applaud the spirits of both dogs and the skill with which the authors have depicted them.”
-Patsy Side, of Teenreads.com

The really unique thing that I found with this book was that it was told through the perspective of Cracker, a dog, which gives the whole story a very playful mood about it. It’s as if a child is telling the story. The narrator’s limited knowledge leads her to believe that when something doesn’t seem right, it is someone else’s fault, or that there are no exceptions to things that always seem routine. In this way the story is given a dash of humor in addition to the drama and emotion of the plot. It was this style of writing that intrigued me when I picked up this book in Barnes & Noble and flipped through it, and it was interesting enough that I purchased it. It takes a good author to do that, and Cynthia Kadohata did it. I’ve never read another book where anything like this has been done. Of course, there probably are more books told through the perspectives of animal protagonists, but this is the first I’ve seen, and it pulled me in like the moon to the tides.

“Grrrr! For I am the all-powerful Cracker! Cracker spotted a bird carcass lying in the alley. She picked it up between the tips of her front teeth and flipped it into the air, growling as it sailed above her. When it plopped down, she pushed at it with her paw, She growled more, then leaned the side of her head on the asphalt, staring right into its face. It might have been dead for a week, but who cared? She would kill it again. That’s how powerful she was. She hopped to her feet to attack it—and spotted a mouse! Alive! This was for real! She took off.” (Page 1).

This story was very interesting for me to read because not only did it teach me both about the controvertible methods of war dogs and how they were treated back in Vietnam, but also about how love, friendship, and bonding can overcome anything, including the horrors of war. I myself have never known the joy of having a dog as a friend. My family had a Dalmatian, which they gave up when we moved to our new house. I was two, and it’s as if we never even had her, because I have no memory of her whatsoever. For this reason, I enjoyed reading this book and imagining the powerful bond between Rick and Cracker, and how impressive it must have been to see the two of them fighting side-by-side in a war where all hope seems lost. It was an awesome book, and I would recommend it to anyone who loves animals, war, history, or happy endings. The story compiles all four in a magnificent way that made me want to read it again and again. Two thumbs up!