From School Library Journal
Grade 9 Up-Jim Hay, 16, is caught up in the patriotic fervor sweeping across Scotland as the British troops prepare to enter World War I. After his father leaves for France, the teen avidly follows the war news in the local papers and includes headlines and anecdotal clips throughout this diary. His father is killed in action and 10 days later his mother dies from shock and grief. Within weeks, Jim has signed up and is soon in the trenches. His diary entries and letters home to his girlfriend reflect his growing awareness of the horrors of war. Recalling his desire for a German helmet to keep as a souvenir, he somberly notes in his journal, "I think I even wanted one with a bullet-hole in it. It all seems so macabre now. Helmets are not toys-they save lives here." During an offensive attack against the Germans, Jim receives a serious head injury, and, disoriented, wanders away from his unit. He is court-martialed for desertion and executed by firing squad on July 10, 1916. Wilson brilliantly captures the thoughts, feelings, and na‹vet‚ of a young man caught up in a conflict he does not fully understand and is ill prepared to face. The format effectively draws readers into the narrative, and characterization is solid throughout. Historical anecdotes lend even more somber realism to the story. Jim's growth as a human being, his increasing self-awareness, and, especially, his shocking fate are not soon forgotten. A compelling, fascinating, and ultimately disturbing book that is not to be missed.
Robert Gray, East Central Regional Library, Cambridge, MNCopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Gr. 8-12. Although this novel focuses on World War I, it's a timely reflection on the realities of war that presents a powerful, timeless anti-war argument. Jim Hay is just shy of 16 when his father enlists in Britain's Highland Light Infantry. To chronicle the war and record his father's exploits, Jim begins a diary, but within weeks he finds himself writing about his father's death in France and his mother's subsequent insanity. Then Jim joins his father's regiment, and he experiences war for himself--in the trenches, on patrol, and in the Battle of the Somme--setting down his own reactions, which range from excitement to horror to guilt, for his sweetheart back home. Mock-ups of newspaper clippings provide background to the events, and the diary form lends immediacy and intimacy to the gripping story, which Wilson has based on actual diaries kept by members of the Highland Light Infantry. A terrific addition to a social studies or history curriculum.
Connie FletcherCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
