The Yellow Birds, Powers - B

                      The author is a combat veteran infantryman who was in Iraq in 2004 and 2005. The focus of the novel is 'Murph,' an eighteen year old who seems lost at sea thoughout the whole process. The narrator tells Murph's mom that he'll take care of him and bring him back. His company's sergeant overhears the promise, and decks the narrator for his foolishness. Murph cannot handle the pressure and fails to survive the tour. Survivor's guilt is a theme and, more importantly, despair overrides  the entire telling of their training and combat experience.