Gr 9 Up-Drafted to fight in the Vietnam War, Kohler got the chance to pursue his desire to make music when he was asked by his captain to put together a rock band. He recruited three other soldiers, found inexpensive instruments in the local town, and set about practicing and then playing for fellow combatants in the 127th Military Police Company. Soon, he became more serious and tried to get the Electrical Banana gigs in all the clubs in Qui Nhon and beyond. From his eye-opening perspective, Kohler draws in readers with some gut-wrenching accounts of warfare, lightening the mood with references to bands, songs, and his love of music. This memoir reads like an action-packed novel and pairs well with Walter Dean Myers's Fallen Angels (Scholastic, 1998). It could provide an outstanding cross-curriculum tie-in between social studies and English.-Dylan Thomarie, Johnstown High School, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

The war memoir gets a unique spin with Kohler's recollection of his time playing rock and roll in the Vietnam jungle. The 19-year-old Kohler arrives in Qui Nhon in 1967 as part of a new military-police company, but his mind is on the record deal his band had to turn down when he received his draft notice. Word of his talent gets around, though, and soon Kohler and three fellow privates are buying instruments from local merchants and rehearsing covers of everyone from Herman's Hermits to the Velvet Underground. Their band the Electrical Banana quickly becomes the in-demand entertainment for nearby companies, and Kohler is determined to play every gig, even when it means traveling unarmed through VC territory. As scenes of panic and carnage alternate with the wild cheering of weary soldiers, the theme hits you in the gut: the restorative power of music is real, and no band, no matter how famous, could have been any more important than the Electrical Banana. A sober but ultimately inspiring read.--Kraus, Daniel Copyright 2009 Booklist

A memoir about starting a rock band in the middle of a war zone. Drafted into the Vietnam War, Kohler served in a small port town, enforcing the law as part of his military service. Under orders from his commanding officer, the young MP formed "Electrical Banana" with a few fellow draftees and enjoyed a wildly popular run of gigs, including a performance on the front lines, before returning home to restart his music career. With its focus on overcoming adversity and creating positive situations, the narrative could devolve into a blathering self-help book, but Kohler and co-author VanHecke avoid that trap entirely. Reluctant readers will find plenty of action and suspense in the war scenes, while those who are musically inclined will appreciate the trials of starting a band, no matter what the circumstances. Brief sidelines regarding both the motivations for and the difficulties of the war emerge, but it does not overtake the plot, and Kohler avoids getting bogged down in the politics. Humorous and light, with a hint of despair, the narrative depicts life continuing beyond conflict. (Memoir. YA) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.