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Grappling with bigger life questions

Jane Peck

Friends and Enemies Louann Gaeddert. A Jean Karl Book. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2000.

Friends and Enemies is a believable work of fiction. Plaintown, Kansas is portrayed as a typical, small US town during the early 1940s, and William is a typical 14-year-old boy. However, the bombing of Pearl Harbor quickly upsets the definition of “normal” for William, his family and the entire community.

While his father, the new Methodist pastor, preaches tolerance, William struggles. His best friend is a Mennonite whose family refuses to fight; William’s own strong feelings of patriotism leave him torn. In the struggle to determine which is right – pacifism or supporting the war effort – he finds himself questioning God’s perspective in the whole matter, and whether or not there even is a God. In the end, William concedes that the solution concerning war is simply not as black and white as he had been searching for.

Young American readers may be able to relate to William’s patriotism more readily than their Canadian counterparts, but all will come away with having been challenged to grapple with bigger life questions surrounding war. However, it should be noted that on two occasions the author uses words generally considered profane in Christian circles.

Jane Peck is children’s ministries pastor at Westwood MB Church in Prince George, B.C.

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Last modified June 5, 2001.

© 2001 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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