If you had ever dreamt of attending The United States Military Academy at West Point, you ought to read Amy Efaw’s novel – Battle Dress. It is more than just a great novel that will pass the time. It is a novel that will not only inspire you, but will also challenge you to ask questions about your own character. Throughout the reading, I had asked myself questions, concerning whether or not I could have endured all the hazing, yelling, physical training, and other demands placed upon the new cadets. Of course, I’d like to think I could have successfully completed and conquered the BEAST, although, I shall never know, since I had not attended West Point. Thus, when Andi Davis, a seventeen-year old girl, leaves the bosom of her family – albeit, a dysfunctional family– to attend West Point, where military men rule, where there are statues of Eisenhower and MacArthur, where there is constant hazing, and pressure to perform at peek levels of endurance, Andi, as well as all the other, male and female, New Cadets – also know as SMACKS – Soldiers Minus Ability, Coordination, and Knowledge – are challenged from the moment they enter West Point and participate in the summer Beast Barracks program. Efaw’s description of West Point, the castle-like buildings, including Washington Hall, MacArthur Barracks, and Eisenhower Hall, and Michie Stadium, Cadet Chapel, and The Plain – are concise and wonderful, just like everything else in Efaw’s book. For instance, the dialogue is crisp, sharp, and commanding. In fact, almost all of the upperclassmen – Cadet Daily, Cadet Black, Cadet First Sergeant Stockel, Cadet Haywood, the company commander, Cadet Barrington – will shout their commands and instructions, and Efaw presents them in bold print. They are short and poignant: “DON’T SAY HI TO ME, MISS!” “FALL IN DIRECTLY BEHIND THE MAGGOT IN FRONT OF YOU!” “YOU WILL ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS IN COMPLETE SENTENCES, DIRTBAG”, “NO SANDWICH SIRS!” “YOU ARE NO LONGER IN KINDERGARTEN, MORON! YOU HAVE FOUR RESPONSES, AND FOUR RESPONSES ONLY: ‘YES, SIR’; ‘NO, SIR’; ‘NO EXCUSE, SIR’; AND ‘SIR, I DO NOT UNDERSTAND.’” On their first day at West Point, they are physically transformed into cadets, while their parents are given tours of the facilities and wait for the reappearance of their children at the end of the day. In the meantime, Andi is assigned a room, given cadet clothing and a haircut. However, the real transformation of Andi, as well as New Cadets Gabrielle Bryen, George Ping, Frank Bonanno, Christopher Scott Boguslavsky, Phil Cero, Jason McGill, and Tommy Hickman is internal. The only thing that will keep you at West Point or get you thrown out is you. You have to want to be there. Cadet Daily makes this perfectly clear in a speech to Andi when she is feeling low and considers quitting. He said,” You have the raw materials – brains, talent, drive. But that’s not enough to make it through this place,” and “It takes more than a high SAT score and a varsity letter. It takes self-discipline. Not the rules that West Point put on you, but the rules you put on yourself. That’s what character is all about.” In my opinion, this is certainly a fine and inspiring statement, and I certainly believe that this is how young adults, starting out in life, might build character, honor, integrity, and pride. And then, as Cadet Daily walks away, she yells out Company Hardcore’s motto: “NEVER SURRENDER, SIR!”Efaw’s Battle Dress is a great read, and, thus, I highly recommend this book to all readers, especially young adult readers, who are considering attending a military academy or just wishing to build character through self-discipline.
Most of you do not know this about me, but I have always been fascinated by military protocol. For a nation that champions individuality and creativity, its military seems to be one of the last bastions of enforced conformity and groupthink. Coming from both a collectivist and individualistic culture, I can see the pros and cons of this military protocol. BATTLE DRESS was a solid glimpse into the mysterious world of West Point, although Andi’s internal conflicts were a little roughly drawn.Creative insults and capital letters flood the pages of BATTLE DRESS, appropriate for the strict discipline surrounding West Point. I enjoyed how the book so thoroughly created the terrifyingly intimidating environment of the Beast: small details such as the different uniforms required for different activities, the time (these cadets have to get up unbelievably early), and the language really contribute to making you feel as if you were experiencing Beast too—without the ridiculously early wake-up calls and five-mile runs, that is.So I appreciated the details that made Beast come to life for me, but felt much less connected to all the characters, including Andi. There is a sort of running conflict between Andi and her unsupportive, mentally abusive family, and Andi’s feminist side. What exactly a kind of space does a female occupy in the still male-dominated military world? Andi’s feminine roommate, Gabrielle, and a handful of stereotypical sexist squad members contribute to the theme of women’s rights in the military, but in a way that always felt very glossed over and underdeveloped.Interestingly enough, I think this book might’ve worked better for me if it had just stuck with a straightforward presentation of Beast and not tried so hard to make Andi have complicated emotional issues. I felt like Andi’s struggles to overcome her family’s disappointment, contributing to and combined with her obsession with proving herself in Beast, lent a forced feel to the story. No, I’m not questioning the fact that she has family issues—but issues as delicate as that one need to be carefully and thoroughly developed, and I think that BATTLE DRESS may have relied a bit too much on Andi’s family’s inarguable meanness to carry that part of the plot along.Overall, however, BATTLE DRESS will make a great read for anyone interested in West Point or the military training culture. Amy Efaw’s personal experience translates well onto the page, and the book does not disappoint in that aspect.
What do You think about Battle Dress (2000)?
I didn't know what to expect when I picked this book up. I'd just finished reading Richelle Mead's The Indigo Spell last night when I decided I'd give this book a try. I read the first few pages before school and right away my interest was captured. So when I sat down to read after school, imagine my surprise when eight o'clock rolled around. Then ten o'clock snuck in through the window as I turned the last page. Battle Dress is a fast read, relatively easy to follow, and it utterly captivated me. For one, the book isn't about some teenage girl falling in love with some hot soldier. I mean, those stories are nice, but when the plot don't revolve around a love life, it makes the story seem more intelligent. Andi wasn't a damsel in distress. She wasn't forced to go. She wasn't fooling around with any upperclassman. She was trying to find her place in the world. The whole story is really about Andi deciding to live her life for her, to have faith in herself, and feeling like a part of something great. I feel this is a theme everyone can relate to personally. We all feel out of place sometimes and we all need to find ourselves. Andi was so stuck on what her family thought of her and what people thought of her family that she wasn't able to have confidence in herself. Going to conquer the Beast was her was of discovering who she was and who she could be. Battle Dress is a captivating story and anyone could find some way to relate to it. We all need to do a little soul searching to know what to do with our lives. But one thing is always true: you have to keep trying.
—Kelly
I should mention that I'm not a big fan or war or army books, but this one managed to hold my interest. The heroine was confident at times but self-conscious at other times, and her voice felt very real (maybe because the plot is artially base off of the author's own experiences?). I like the fact that this book confronted how the women-at-West-Point 'issue' isn't really an issue at all- girls can be just as tough as guys.I don't really have much to say about this book (other than what I already did, obviously) but it's a good girl-power story about a tough young woman becoming her own person, realizing her potential, and escaping- while still embracing- her past and her dysfunctional family to rise up to a better future. My one complaint is that there is a crapload of caps lock, but that's to be expected. The setting is a military academy, after all.
—Lauren (Likes Literature)
"My time for approval seeking was over." That was the best line ever. It popped out of the book just as I was tired of Davis trying to impress others.I was interested in reading the book because it kind of crossed my mind joining the military as a navy nurse or medic (just like Ping before West Point), and I wanted to get some ideas. The book's setting was in the army, and it provided a glimpse of at least their intense first year training. The scenarios were realistic, with the author having experiences at West Point herself. Man, was the training tough. Respect!Anyways, in the story, I have liked Davis' resilience. It was sort of an underdog story, and it was so absorbing how Davis slowly got out of her shell and proved that she was meant to be there.Concerns about sexism were also touched on. I think sexism would always be there. I liked how they dealt with it though--acting not because you were the best, not because of your sex, but because you're you. It's still about the uniqueness of an individual in the end.
—Florence
