Michael and his squad are mostly going about business as usual, with the exception that Michael’s a little distracted thinking about the female lieutenant that they’d found wandering injured in the jungle. They also have a few new people in their squad, including a new squad commander. But Michael really liked the old squad commander. Then they get the word. Stand down. That means heading to the rear and out of combat. For Michael, that means the hoped-for chance to see the lieutenant again.

I was glad to go back to Michael and his squad, and for the first half of the book, I was really enjoying it. The most stoic character in the books became my new favorite in an amazing scene between him and Michael. We finally learn something about Michael’s ex, and boy is she a piece of work. And we get a glimpse of who Michael really is when he joins in with some hazing of a new guy in their squad. But even there, he recognizes that he’s acting that way because he’s upset and feels at least a little bad about it.

Then they get out of the jungle and onto a much safer base for their stand down, and things changed for me a little bit. It’s not like I can only enjoy the story when the characters are in peril—I did like reading about Rebecca’s time in the hospital during the previous book, despite being thrown because she was unexpectedly the MC of the book. My issue comes with the way Michael acts during this time. He gets pushy in a way that makes me feel really bad for Rebecca, and even worse, we find out that apparently happy, relaxed Michael is kind of a jerk and bully. I think if I’d read about him before he was drafted, I might not have liked the books as much. Still, I did like the way the author showed that after 2 months (or so) of combat, Michael already had the beginnings of some serious PTSD. It’s so real and so heart-wrenching to know that going home some day won’t necessarily be all safe and happy for him.

Overall, the story had some really good moments and was a good read. I’m not as sad as I thought I’d be that the main part of the series has come to an end, though, because I don’t know that I could have handled Michael after this. There is one book left that is about Rebecca and seems to have originally been published as a stand-alone. It’ll definitely be the first time I’ve ever read that (I read at least the first couple of books in this series when I was a teenager), so I’m looking forward to seeing if it stands up to the incredible hype. ( )

This has some tense moments, but otherwise feels a bit lighter -- and that’s a welcome change of pace after everything the characters have been through. Michael spends a lot of time moping over correspondence (or lack thereof) from a nurse he’s met once -- but in context, his reactions are very understandable. He so desperately needs something positive and hopeful to focus on, and something that isn’t far away, like his dog back home.

Michael is quite persistent in pursuing Rebecca, but there’s a line he won’t cross -- he’ll stop and walk away when she tells him to. I like that their initial interactions aren’t easy, because that feels realistic for these two particular people in this situation, and because it’s a positive sign that they’re able to get through awkward conversations -- to deal with Rebecca being standoffish and Michael being moody. I think it sets them up to be honest with each other, something they both desperately need.

“You know, anything you wanted to tell me, you could,” he said. “I mean, anything.”
She didn’t answer right away.
“I mean it,” he said.
Finally, she nodded. Miserably. “I know. But, I’m not — let’s just leave it out there, okay?”
The bush, and all its dark secrets. “I might be an okay person to tell, though,” he said. “I might really understand.”
Since he’d had a few bad moments of his own. Cowardice, and venality, and everything else he’d ever prayed that he wasn’t.
“It’s a war story, Mike,” she said quietly. “I don’t like war stories.”
He wasn’t too crazy about them himself. War stories were very — personal. Things you didn’t want to know — forget tell. ( )

Switching back to Michael's perspective, Stand Down is the final installment in Emerson's fantastic series, Echo Company. He's still a little shocked from finding the feisty Lieutenant wandering wounded in the middle of the jungle - after all he was on point and could have shot her. But when word comes that Echo Company will be on stand down (a type of break where the guys are sent to a noncombat zone), he's hoping for a chance to meet up with Rebecca and find out not only how she's doing but to see if she feels anything for him - because he's fallen pretty hard himself.So it was more than a stretch for me to be picking up Vietnam war novels (of all things) but after stumbling upon Ellen Emerson White's The Road Home I knew I would do just about anything to pick up these first four books. Too pricey to buy (try $40 a pop), I enlisted the aid of my local librarian who happily found them on ILL and had them delivered no less than a couple of weeks later. Cheesy covers and sappy teaser lines aside, these books are solid gold. I knew I should expect some intelligent writing, but once again I was blown away with the deep emotion and sheer wit of it all. Michael's journey from fresh off the plane cherry to experienced point man in a matter of months is just plain riveting. Throw in one feisty field nurse and you've got yourself a page-turner.Additionally, this isn't one of those war novels that patronizes the soldiers by making them seem overly patriotic or full of political rhetoric. Michael and his squad mates are just guys, none too happy with their current situation, who are simply trying to make it out alive with at least a bit of their sanity left. Take this quote from Hill 568 which illustrates Michael's mixed feelings about what was expected of him in the army:"One thing he was learning about the Army was that you could be tired, or sick, or in pain -- and you did the job, anyway. You might gripe and groan a little - or even a lot - but you did what had to be done. If he were at home, and had blistered his hands this badly raking leaves, say, or shoveling snow, he probably would have quit, and gone inside the house to lay down. Here, he just had to grit his teeth, and get on with it.So, he was either building character, or else he had fallen so deep into the group mentality that he was incapable of making any sort of decision for himself.Tough call."See? He's a smart aleck, grumpy but so dang lovable. Above all, he's basically just a teenager who has been thrust into a situation that quickly turns him into an adult. FYI, Michael and Rebecca's story is continued in The Road Home, which naturally switches back to Rebecca's pov - just be warned - have some kleenex handy and don't get attached to many of the secondary characters. But still, pick it up. I promise you won't regret a minute spent on trying to get a hold of any of these fabulous books. ( )