When the Guns Fall Silent
James Riordan
Oxford, OUP, 2013, 153p
The events of Christmas Day in 1914 is the stuff of legends. It is written about, adapted for television, and heralded as one of the great symbols of humanity.
When the Guns Fall Silent is another account of this day. When veteran Jack takes his grandson to see the graves in France, he finds the grave of one of his friends has been recently visited. Upon the memorial sits a picture of a group of young men on Christmas Day in 1914, Brits and Germans together on that unique day. Jack sees a face he recognises, and visions of the war return to him.
This novel recounts how Jack ended up on the front line, even though he was too young to be there. When war breaks out and young men join the army, Jack and his friend Harry are recruited to the Portsmouth FC first team. Part of their commitment involves training with the military reserves, and the boys soon find themselves beaten down and remoulded into soldiers. Taking pride in their new-found heroism, they sign up and are shipped to France, where the horrors of war are like nothing they could have imagined.
Then, on Christmas Day, a German soldier plants a Christmas tree, and soon the two sides have agreed a temporary ceasefire. It is almost unimaginable that they can go back to killing one another the next day.
The trenches have become such a vivid image in the minds of the public that Riordan does not need to waste time describing the grime and horror, but instead can concentrate on the development of Jack and his German comrades. He also fills the book with facts about the war - little snippets of information about the suffrage movement and war propaganda disguised as fictional elements of the story.
When the Guns Fall Silent is a touching, beautifully written story; perfectly timed for republication this year.
Cosmic Disco
Grace Nichols
London, Francis Lincoln, 2013, 79p
I am a huge fan of everything Grace Nichols does. Her poetry is full of imagery that seeps into your subconscious and roots itself there in your dreams. This collection has a variety of themes, focusing on space and the natural world.
Nichols is an observational poet, finding beauty in the world and describing it through simple language and vivid images. She pinpoints details in ways you never thought about before and makes them seem so obvious; for example, her poem Sky Artist looks at the clouds and imagines who is moulding them into shapes.
Elsewhere, she personifies the seasons as if they were people, calling them Lady Winter and Miss Spring. She uses rhythm and rhyme in some, where others are left less structure. Some are short, and some are long, but all bring to mind vibrant images of the world around us.
My only slight issue with Cosmic Disco is the cover. Within the pages are black and white illustraations from Alice Wright, which perfectly match the corresponding poems and add to the power of the imagery. But I think the cover is a little childish, and might put some teenage readers off opening up the book and discovering the amazing writing within.
Sky Run
Alex Shearer
London, Hot Keys, 2013, 267p
I have confessed in the past that I am not great with teenage fantasy, particulary when it is not written very well and it is impossible to visualise the action. However, Sky Run is far from the usual fantasy fiction - it is funny, original, and has a lesson to teach the reader.
Gemma and Martin are travelling with their Gran to start school. They have grown up in isolation on a floating island in a dystopian future where the world has been shattered into small flecks of land orbitting the sun. Gran thinks the kids would benefit from some real-life experience and the opportunity to meet other children. On the journey, the threesome face strange dangers and meet perculiar people: sky-sharks and cloud-hunters and an island of people high on kelp. With each leg of their journey, Martin and Gemma learn something new about the world of which they had previously seen so little.
I surprised myself with how much I enjoyed this novel, but I think I can pin my adoration down to the characters. The book is narrated by each of the family members, starting with Gran, a tough, brave, street-wise old woman of one hundred and twenty years. She loves the kids dearly, despite her initial reluctance to take them on when the orphans turned up on her island. When it came to the end of her monologue, I was apprehensive about reading the voices of Gemma and Martin because Gran had been so welcoming and entertaining, but the children proved to be just as interesting. Martin is a curious, sometimes naive boy, whilst Gemma has the appearance of being tough as nails but is secretly a softy.
Along the way, the people they meet teach the children something new about the world. They learn not to judge people by first appearances, that an island called 'Friendly' is far from friendly, and that rats like the smell of young boys. They also pick up some strays along the way - a warrior, taken from his family and trained as a soldier, but now alone; and a young girl who has read all the books in her father's home a million times. City Island is handing out free education to all who want it, and these individuals hugely value the opportunity.
Sky Run is an uplifting novel that takes you on a fascinating and educational journey through a strange world; but what I love most is the characters, who welcome you into their adventure with open arms.
A Farewell to Arms
Ernest Hemingway
London, Arrow Books, 2004, 293p
This is a rather delayed write up, considering I actually read this novel about a month ago for the second of our staff book club meetings - a lovely gathering to discuss Hemingway. Last time, we realised that none amongst us had read the American great before, so we set out to rectify this!
Frederic Henry is an American ambulance driver for the Italian army during World War One. On a simple level, A Farewell to Arms is about Henry's love affair with an English nurse, Catherine Barkley; but that is only one small part of this novel. It is a vivid story about conflict, masculinity and the beauty of Italy.
Having read so much children's literature recently, Hemingway's prose was initially somewhat hard to get into; but as I read on, I found myself engrossed in the long, descriptive passages and the conversational style. What I particularly enjoyed was the fact that he did not indicate who was talking in sections of dialogue, leaving it up to you to work out who was saying what. As I got to know the characters better I could work out who was talking by their style of speech and the voices I had created for them in my mind.
This is not a particularly action-packed novel. Sometimes, when people were killed, it took a moment for me to realise because nothing was written literally. The realities of war felt distant from the protagonists, as if they could protect themselves by blocking out the death and devastation around them.
In terms of the plotting, this novel is a perfect model of realist writing - opening a window into the life of a soldier, viewing for a short while, and then closing. More modern fiction tends to be preoccupied with the psychology of the characters, embedding flash backs to contextualise their childhood. I found myself wondering how Henry had ended up in Italy, and Hemingway never satisfied my curiosity, but I really appreciate this. Instead, A Farewell to Arms presented me with a perfect snippet of the lives of Frederic and Catherine.
Doll Bones
Holly Black
London, Doubleday, 2013, 244p
Zach's dad thinks he's too old to play with dolls. At twelve years old, Zach spends a lot of his time hanging out with Alice and Poppy, and together they embark on the most epic of adventures in the safety of their own back gardens. But when Zach's dad throws away all his toys, Poppy and Alice resort to borrowing the most valued of all their play toys, the Queen.
But the Queen has a secret, one she shares with the children by haunting their dreams. Her real name is Eleanor Kircher, and she died in 1895. Now, she wants to return home to her grave, and the children take it upon themselves to do this for the poor toy. So they set off in the dead of night, learning more about the dark history of Eleanor along the way.
Wrapped in a black cover with a horrifying illustration of a doll on the front, Doll Bones is made to cause nightmares. The Queen is a strange toy, and so much happens around her that is impossible to explain. Adults seem to see her as a human rather than a toy, and at night, the doll seems to come alive, moving unexpectedly whilst the children sleep.
This novel is not as haunting as some of the books I have read recently, though it is well written and has many spooky moments. Dolls are one of those objects that are conventionally terrifying, being inanimate and yet strangely alive. But this book caused no sleepless nights, which is arguably a very good thing!
There is more to this novel than the Gothic, and that is the physical and emotional journey that the friends take. They are all on the cusp of adulthood, soon to grow into teenagers and experience all the trials that brings; but they have this one last adventure together, and we, the reader, are lucky enough to be able to go with them.
Richard Hammond's Great Mysteries of the World
London, Random House, 2013, 424p
Non-fiction isn't really my forte, which is why it has taken me some time to read this book, dipping in and out over the last few weeks.
However, it has been a very interesting read, if not somewhat superstitious. Richard Hammond has set out to uncover the truth behind some of the greatest mysteries, from the Loch Ness monster to the Roswell Incident. He outlines the context behind peculiar incidents or legends, travelling across the world to solve them.
The book is broken up into four sections, looking at creatures, alien encounters, underwater mysteries, and treasure trails. And at the back, there is space for the reader to draw their own conclusions based on the evidence provided and their own beliefs. The version I have of this book is a large hardback, though I expect Random House will soon release each section of this book in smaller parts; having a celebrity face on the cover never hurts!
I remain a little sceptical about many of these mysteries, though I imagine it will excite the minds of some young readers. Hammond struggles to find much original information about any of the incidents or legends through his travels, shedding no additional light on the truth. It all felt a but like a good excuse for a series of exotic holidays.
The Great Ice Cream Heist
Elen Caldecott
London, Bloomsbury, 2013, 181p
This week, Book Trust were excited to announce the selection for the Bookbuzz scheme 2014. To join in the celebrations, here is my review of one of the short listed books - The Great Ice Cream Heist.
During a long and potentially boring summer, Eva's father volunteers her to help rennovate the local community centre. There, she makes friends with Jamie, despite being told repeatedly that he is nothing but trouble. When the centre is vandalised, everyone assumes Jamie and his brothers are responsible, but Eva really wants to give Jamie the chance to prove his innocence.
The friendship between Eva and Jamie defies parental consent and social expectations - all the other kids at the community centre think Eva is silly to befriend such a devious boy. But Eva shows them that there is more to Jamie than the bad behaviour of his family, and that you can never judge a book by it's cover.
Through her friendship with Jamie, Eva is also able to work through her confusing feelings about her mother, who died in a skiing accident. Eva's father is overprotective, bubble-wrapping Eva to protect her from harm, be it physical or emotional. But with Jamie, Eva feels most alive, and comes to understand the value of adventure.
Caldecott's novel also explores the challenges of dyslexia for a teenager. Eva struggles with reading, describing the words on the page as they blur together into a incomprehensible mess. She has to recruit friends to help her read - she is embarrassed by her problem but her friends are happy to help.
The ice-cream heist comes towards the end of the book, where adventure peaks and madness ensues. Eva's story is uplifting and heart-warming, a great fun read.
You can find the rest of my reviews for the 2014 Bookbuzz selection here.
