Published by Zonderkidz on April 2, 2024
Genres: Children's
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A girl, her dog, and the list that saved them...
As World War II enters her backyard, a young girl tries to keep her family together and cope with the war by completing a bucket list with her best friend: her dog Happy. Featuring a dog’s POV and inspired by real-life experiences of a young Pearl Harbor survivor, this historical middle-grade novel will inspire readers 8-12 to find courage in any situation.
It’s 1940, and Jody is moving with her military family yet again—this time to a small naval base in Pearl Harbor. She’s always created a “top ten” list for each new home to help her adjust, and with Hawaii being so beautiful and her loyal dog Happy by her side, it’s easy to find things to add.
But Jody’s mom is convinced the island is dangerous and starts constantly practicing first aid. Jody also learns that Happy is beginning to slow down. To cope, she starts a list of fun things they can do together, like journeying to a Fountain of Youth. “Operation: Happy” gives her something to focus on beyond the scary new experiences, like air raid drills and Yellow Fever vaccinations.
Before long, everyone’s worst fears come true: Pearl Harbor is attacked. In the aftermath, Jody’s father must stay behind as the rest of the family is evacuated, and Jody promises him she will keep everyone together. But things are hard in San Francisco, where she feels like an outsider. Worse, her mother has become depressed, and Jody worries she and her sister will have to go to an orphanage. With Happy by her side, Jody hatches a brave plan to keep the family safe… Will Operation: Happy see them through?
The dog does not die in this one. We can go ahead and get that out of the way, because the author assures her readers of this on the dedication page. However, the dog is getting older, and the protagonist creates a list of special experiences that she wants to have with Happy before the end. This can be emotional for other dog lovers, but Happy survives through the entire book, and the story focuses on how the main character’s relationship with this dog helps her cope with the horrors and uncertainties of the Pearl Harbor attack and its aftermath. The story is vivid and realistic, and it can appeal to teens and adults, not just the target age range of middle-grade readers. Please be forewarned that this review includes some vague spoilers, to help parents determine if this book is appropriate for their child.
Jody is part of a military family, and Operation: Happy begins with peaceful island routines and a sense of safety, as she focuses on the European theater of war and how far they are from Germany. However, Jody’s mother is extremely anxious and dreads something terrible happening, and a sense of foreboding builds throughout the first part of the book. The kids have to participate in blackouts and air raid drills, making Jody more concerned about real danger, and then the Pearl Harbor attacks take place. Jenni L. Walsh writes about the attacks with precision and vivid sensory details, and it’s clear that she did a lot of research to present this so well. There is no graphic violence, but the story is very suspenseful and intense, and includes more descriptions of wartime violence than I expected.
The cheerful-looking cover will leave many readers unprepared for how dark this story is at times. Parents of sensitive readers should know that even though the dog doesn’t die, this book is scary and upsetting in other ways, due to the horrors of the Pearl Harbor attacks and psychological struggles afterwards. Jody and her family deal with trauma as a result of what happened, and her mother sinks into a depression and stops adequately caring for them after they go back to the mainland under evacuation requirements. There is also a scene where a man corners Jody’s sister in the hallway of their apartment building, and Jody sends Happy to attack him. This scene is minimal and vague, with nothing overtly sexual described, but parents should be aware that this book includes an attempted assault on a young teen and depicts the victim’s resultant trauma and anxiety.
Although this book is from Zonderkidz, a Christian publisher, this is not a faith-based story. There are a few peripheral references to God and church, but only enough to make the book feel historically accurate. If someone is expecting this to have a message about trusting God during times of crisis, they will be very disappointed. This book has a totally secular feel, and its primary message is about how the main character’s inner strength and connection with her dog help her be brave during hard times, especially when her mother disengages and stops taking care of the family.
I’m still giving this book a four-star rating, but that’s because I’m assessing it in the same way that I would assess a secular book. If I was specifically rating this as a book from a Christian publisher, I would be much harsher. I enjoyed this for what it is, but I wish that the story had included faith-based elements and shown how someone can rely on God in dark times, instead of feeling like they’re alone and the only one holding it together. I’ve read many secular books published in the forties that had more religious overtones than this, and the author could have included meaningful faith-based elements without substantially altering the plot or making this preachy.
Operation: Happy: A World War II Story of Courage, Resilience, and an Unbreakable Bond is a powerful, engaging novel that will appeal to many dog fans, and to many kids who enjoy historical fiction novels. It can also appeal to older readers, due to the story’s thematic depth and realism. I enjoyed the historical accuracy, and I appreciated learning at the end that Walsh based this novel partly on true events, using a real girl’s experiences from Pearl Harbor as the framework for this fictional story. However, even though I enjoyed this, parents of sensitive readers should be aware of the complex, heavy topics involved, and Christian families should know to not expect faith-based elements.