Aggie is a typ­i­cal teenage girl grow­ing up in Israel. When it comes time for her to enter the Israeli Army she decides to try out for an elite com­bat unit, despite the increduli­ty of friends and fam­i­ly. This is the sto­ry of Aggie’s growth and bond­ing with fel­low sol­diers, as well as her first tastes of romance and of dan­ger. While Aggie’s expe­ri­ences are spe­cif­ic to Israel, her emo­tions are uni­ver­sal. The book is an engag­ing, easy-tore­ad, sur­pris­ing­ly apo­lit­i­cal sto­ry that teen girls will relate to (both sto­ry and jack­et design are aimed at a female audi­ence). At the same time, read­ers will learn quite a lot about Israeli life with­out even real­iz­ing that they are doing so. This 2009 Syd­ney Tay­lor Hon­or Book is a high­ly rec­om­mend­ed young adult nov­el. Grades 8 – 12.