The Inspiring Message:

Wimpy, regular, scared, or anxious – whichever type you are, you will be stronger and more in control of your life after following The Warrior Kid Code.

Anyone with a strong desire to change his life can apply The Code and see results.

Uncle Jake’s character is obviously a stand-in for the real SEAL Team author, but he’s also the voice of calm and frugality heard in nuclear families surviving on one income: Figure it out. Look around. What can you do for money since I’m not going to buy it for you? Fix instead of buy new. Break large tasks into little chunks.

Rather than sympathizing with Marc’s problems, Uncle Jake acknowledges Marc’s anger and frustration and they talk about it.

“…when people don’t control their emotions, they make bad decisions.”

“…in war, bad decisions cost lives. So warriors have to keep their emotions under control.”
-Uncle Jake

Of course, Uncle Jake being a SEAL has a big effect on the gravity of his message and his presence in Marc’s life every summer.

A father figure

Black father and son sitting on the sidewalk sharing ice cream — Image by Anne Worner on Flickr.com

The two talk a lot and spend regular time together exercising, and driving from summer school and to jujitsu class.

Uncle Jake, his time, and his attention make an impact on Marc’s life. With a father stationed overseas and a mom who works a lot, Marc could easily spend his free time playing the deadly choking game (yes, that’s a thing!), eating Tide pods, watching porn, doing drugs, and other troublesome activities of bored, unsupervised kids. Many simply play video games until their eyes bleed and their hands go numb.

It gets real

Jocko Willink’s care for kids and belief in human potential is evident in his characters. Uncle Jake doesn’t tell Marc what to do. Marc makes his own difficult choices to wake up early to workout with Uncle Jake, to work every weekend for bike money, to donate most of his earnings, and to handle his negative emotions.

This minimally descriptive book is dialogue and deed-driven, featuring hard work and real-world problems. Kids and their parents would enjoy it.

Marc’s Mission addresses procrastination, excuses, an unpleasant classmate, feeling helpless, poverty, savings, laziness, and neglect. Tremendous book!

Works Cited (in case links break or are taken down)

CBS News. “Deadly Teen Choking Game.” December 14, 2009, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzZaDmQSRv0. Accessed 29 May 2019.

Chan, Melissa. “Kids Are Playing the ‘Choking Game’ to Get High. Instead, They’re Dying.” TIME, March 12, 2018, http://time.com/5189584/choking-game-pass-out-challenge/. Accessed 29 May 2019.