Camp Hero (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781466283091)

Editorial Review from the Judge, Writer's Digest 21st Annual Self-Published Book Awards:

"In Camp Hero, author Charles Carlino tackles the difficult concept of creating a storyline around two separate but equally devastating national tragedies: the Vietnam War and 9-11. It isn't the tragedies themselves that are the focus of Carlino's story, rather the people who were directly affected by the devastation and survived only to find their lives turned upside down, changed forever. Some are able to heal from their wounds with the help of others, while some are forever lost in the darkness of limbo. Carlino's characters are well-drawn and thus believable and sympathetic. We feel for these people and the loved ones who suffered with them. Carlino makes his story seem as if it is unfolding in front of the reader's eyes, and this is due much in part to his decision to write the narrative in present tense. This is usually a difficult choice to make craft-wise, simply because it's hard to keep the narrative from slipping into the more normal past tense, so kudos to him for staying on track."

Editorial Review from the Judge, Writer's Digest 22nd Annual Self-Published Book Awards:

"Many are the unsung heroes of the United States of America ... the cherished American dream rests atop many a graveyard and darkened conscience. This is no less true when the American dream is itself threatened, as it was by the attack on 9/11. ... Camp Hero is a place to heal, and I enjoyed the protagonist's] philosophical question, "Is there ever a right way to die? Fighting for a belief or falling victim to an unknown enemy?" ... What emerges from this book, Camp Hero, is the true resilience of the American spirit, celebrated in all the characters and their pursuits. I liked the juxtaposition of surfing with a military regiment, for it signals in its way why, ultimately, American service people ever enter battle: to uphold the American way of life. We are beholden to our fellow citizens, other Americans, those who serve and those who fall, even as innocent civilians. ... Carlino demonstrated the bonds between falling in battle, in attack or through attempting to help another, admirably. They all show death with meaning."

About Camp Hero

This is not a story of war, nor a story about the horrors of the terror act of 9/11 - It is a story about the pain and devastation to the hearts and souls of those who lived through these atrocities. Camp Hero brings us closer than we dare to the reality and suffering of a past horror. One might call it this pain a disease, with its symptoms the recollection of an enemy. Look around - they are there, they are all around us, they dare not impose. Once beautiful flowers of mankind, they stood tall, proud, full of life's vigor, ready to greet each day with purpose. All this has been stripped away. No longer can they function as we do, no longer are they able to mend, to dream or even to exist. These children at heart are trapped in a hell. Their only salvation is the brotherhood that keeps them alive to make it through another day.

On the shores of Eastern Long Island, at the place known as "The End," stands a mighty lighthouse, casting its majestic beam for more than a century bridging the time between two worlds. High on the steep, rocky bluffs flanking its western border, you can still see the remains of a fortress, this skeleton of a once thriving outpost, still active with the many souls who lived and died there serving our great nation during World War II. It is here among the ruins that our story comes alive, offering an answer to the pain and suffering from the tragic loss of our loved ones.

It is here at Camp Hero we begin to heal.