The incredible WWII saga of Joe Johnson Jr. (1926--2017), who left home at age 12, enlisted in the U.S. Army at 14, and survived three years in Japanese POW camps, is recounted in this rousing account from bestseller Brotherton (Blaze of Light). Stationed in Manila, Joe fell in love with a teenage prostitute named Perpetua, who soon became pregnant. Shortly after he snuck her out of the brothel and paid for her room and board at a local convent, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and invaded the Philippines. Joe witnessed the deaths of most of his unit during the battles of Bataan and Corregidor before being captured. He endured constant starvation, regular beatings, and multiple nights in an eiso, a wooden cage the size of a small coffin, before being sent with more than 1,600 other POWs on a ship to Japan. By the time they arrived six weeks later, only 450 prisoners were still alive. Suffering severe malnutrition and a grisly leg injury, Joe was held at the Fukuoka POW camp until Japan's surrender in August 1945 and briefly reunited with Perpetua, who had become a nurse, while recuperating in the Philippines. Full of near-death escapes and unlikely twists of fate, this will appeal to fans of Laura Hillenbrand's Unbroken. (May)

The wartime experiences of a teenage American soldier in the Philippines. Most readers will know that Brotherton's hero is headed for trouble, but the author takes his time recounting the gritty life of Joe Johnson, a poor boy from a dysfunctional family in Depression-era Texas. Though it was clear to military recruiters that Johnson was too young to serve, in 1941, the rapidly expanding Army was eager for warm bodies, so he slipped through the cracks. Even before his unit began training, there was a call for volunteers to join the fight in the Philippines, and he stepped forward. Manila, near his base, was full of temptation for an adolescent anxious to prove his manhood, and Johnson fell in love with a teenage prostitute. Their relationship continued after the war until his mother cut it short. During the early period of the war, Johnson spent five miserable months fighting on Bataan and Corregidor before American forces surrendered in April 1942. Although World War II enthusiasts are aware that the Japanese treated both prisoners and civilians viciously, even die-hard military buffs will be horrified at the sheer sadism that Johnson witnessed and endured during three and a half years of captivity in the Philippines and Japan. Luck, youth, imagination, and a refusal to lose hope contributed to his survival, although he spent months in the hospital after being released. As he did in such previous books as Blaze of Light and A Company of Heroes, Brotherton has done his homework researching official records, interviews, and Johnson's extensive writing, which included "journal entries, musings, essays, bundles of wartime letters, photos, original poems, wartime documents, hard copies of emails to friends and family members, and more than ten hours of compelling video and audio interviews." However, he recounts his story like a novel, with invented dialogue and insight into the thoughts of his characters. Some readers may be put off by this approach, but this florid account of Johnson's experiences is hard to put down. Overheated but still a good read. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.