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.
