Joining the United States Air Force: A Handbook (Joining the Military)
*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