A Place Called Heartbreak: A Story of Vietnam

by Walter Dean Myers

Describes the ordeal of Major Fred Cherry, who was shot down in combat over Vietnam and spent seven-and-a-half years as a prisoner of war in Hanoi.

Genres: Historical Fiction

80 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

pseudonyms:
Stacie Williams
Stacie Johnson

Walter Dean Myers was born on August 12, 1937 in Martinsburg, West Virginia but moved to Harlem with his foster parents at age three. He was brought up and went to public school there. He attended Stuyvesant High School until the age of seventeen when he joined the army.

After serving four years in the army, he worked at various jobs and earned a BA from Empire State College. He wrote full time after 1977.

Walter wrote from childhood, first finding success in 1969 when he won the Council on Interracial Books for Children contest, which resulted in the publication of his first book for children, Where Does the Day Go?, by Parent's Magazine Press. He published over seventy books for children and young adults. He received many awards for his work in this field including the Coretta Scott King Award, five times. Two of his books were awarded Newbery Honors. He was awarded the Margaret A. Edwards Award and the Virginia Hamilton Award. For one of his books, Monster, he received the first Michael Printz Award for Young Adult literature awarded by the American Library Association. Monster and Autobiography of My Dead Brother were selected as National Book Award Finalists.

In addition to the publication of his books, Walter contributed to educational and literary publications. He visited schools to speak to children, teachers, librarians, and parents. For three years he led a writing workshop for children in a school in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Walter Dean Myers was married, had three grown children and lived in Jersey City, New Jersey. He died on July 1, 2014, following a brief illness. He was 76 years old.

Reviews

[Heather Anderson · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was an utter bore to read. I kept hoping it would pull me in, but it failed to make me feel any connection whatsoever to the main character. Basically, there’s a guy, who’s a pilot. He gets shot down and taken prisoner. He’s there for over seven years. He’s beaten and questioned, but doesn’t give in. The prisoners get rescued; the end. Honestly there was little more to the story than that. I had hoped this would be a good book to pass along to my kids to read for school, but I won’t waste their time.

[grllopez ~ with freedom and books · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an amazing man!

This is a juvenile historical fiction about COL Fred Cherry, U.S. Air Force pilot who fought in both Korean and Vietnam Wars. During a mission in Vietnam, he was shot down and parachuted into enemy territory, where he spent 7.5 years as a POW. He endured torture and isolation.

Considering it is juvenile, it was still a little graphic. I don't know how COL Cherry survived. He died in 2016, at age 87. I wish he was still alive so I could have written a letter to him to tell him thank you for his service.

[♥Dee♥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book was short, sweet and to the point

[Wilson Munyama · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this book because the author was really descriptive in the times or dates important things happend.