Review by Allison Johnston
Published by Bloomsbury
Three young men in a terrible war, each facing the same challenge – fear, the longing for home, the will to survive – brought together in a shocking, moving denouement.
We have Axel Meyer, the young German lad, bewildered by the horror and breakdown of humanity he witnesses among his
comrades; Eddie Hertz, the gung-ho young American pilot, defying the odds to seek glory in the skies, and ‘brave young’ Will Franklin, who has lied about his age and realises heroism is not all it’s cracked up to be.
The action takes place on the morning of November 11th 1918 – the sting in the tail is that a mission to track down Germans in a forest is planned, but our protagonists are unaware that it has been cancelled; there’s one more plane to shoot down before glory is assured but war will soon be over, and what’s the point?
Paul Dowswell is rightly praised for his ability to bring history alive in his stories.
Beautifully written, he does not flinch from the horror; our boy soldiers are at the mercy of the ‘adults’ – their commanders. He conveys well the pull of heroism – it is an uncomfortable fact that young men want to fight – a message that will have resonance to knowledgeable young adult readers today.
Given that the narrative is strong; told in chapters by each young voice, the ending was perplexing. No I didn’t expect – or want – a happy ending (it is not), but it felt rushed. That said; this is a fine book that will satisfy mature readers.
