the United States Air Force: A Handbook (Joining the Military, 1)" />the United States Air Force: A Handbook (Joining the Military, 1)" />
This book is for the teenager or young adult who is interested in enlisting in the United States Air Force. It will walk him or her through the enlistment and recruit training process: making the decision to join the military, talking to recruiters, getting qualified, preparing for and learning what to expect at basic recruit training.
The goal of the McFarland Joining the Military book series is to help young people who might be curious about serving in the military decide whether military service is right for them, which branch is the best fit, and whether they are qualified for and prepared for military service. Features include lists of books, web links, and videos; a glossary; and an index.
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Snow Wildsmith is a former teen librarian now working as a book reviewer and writer. She specializes in comics for teens and children, reviewing for Booklist, Good Comics for Kids, No Flying No Tights, and more. Co-author of The Parent's Guide to the Best Kids' Comics, Snow grew up in a military family and now lives in North Carolina.
*Starred Review* A wealth of military nonfiction exists for middle-grade readers, most of it geared toward kids with parents in the service. Fewer are the titles aimed at teens considering wearing the stripes themselves, and rarer still are those that are strong enough to become part of the essential new Joining the Military series. Each volume tackles one branch of the military, and though a good deal of information gets repeated, the whole set is recommended for helping teens make this momentous life decision. Wildsmith is frank about the negative aspects of service—the risk of war, the impingement on personal freedom, unwanted travel—and opens with a 15-page questionnaire that serves as a wake-up call to the unprepared. For instance, enlistees need at least a GED, can’t be a single parent, and so on. Whole chapters are devoted to jump-starting discussions with parents and spouses before the book digs into the history of the Air Force, the nine categories of jobs, how to enlist, and how to prep for (and survive) basic training. Invaluable lists populate the text-heavy yet readable pages, from body-fat requirements to chain-of-command charts to packing lists (“six pairs of white or neutral cotton underpants; no thongs”). There’s little flash to be seen here, just page after page of insight. Authoritative, exhaustive, sober, and indispensable. Grades 9-12. --Daniel Kraus
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