LoveReading4Kids Says
LoveReading4Kids Says
January 2022 Book of the Month | A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month January 2022
With a strong Welsh setting and a deep sense of community When the War Came Home sensitively explores the impact of World War One on some of the survivors – both soldiers and civilians. Furious that she has to move home when her mother loses her job, Natty is sure that she is going to hate living with her cousins in a different Welsh valley. Everything, especially school, is very different. But Natty’s view of her new home is changed because she meets two young men who have come back from fighting in the First World War. The war may be over but her cousin Huw still suffers great grief from losing his best friend as well as terrible flashbacks when there are loud bangs while Johnny, a young boy from the local hospital for ex-soldiers, doesn’t even know who he is. Natty is determined to help both the boys and to solve a mystery. It is an excellent story which gives a thoughtful insight into the long term effects of war.
Julia Eccleshare M.B.E
Find This Book In
| Suitable For: |
|
| Other Genres: |
|
| Recommendations: |
|
About
When The War Came Home Synopsis
The First World War has ended, but it hasn't gone away. When Natty has to move to a new village, she meets two young soldiers who are still battling the effects of war. Huw can't forget the terrible things he's seen, but Johnny doesn't even remember who he is.
As Natty tries to keep a secret and unravel a mystery, she finds her own way to fight for what she believes in - and learns that some things should never be forgotten ... This mesmerising historical mystery includes an interactive clue so readers can unravel the mystery alongside the characters.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781526621009 |
| Publication date: |
6th January 2022 |
| Author: |
Lesley Parr |
| Publisher: |
Bloomsbury Childrens Books an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing PLC |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
298 pages |
| Suitable For: |
|
| Other Genres: |
|
| Recommendations: |
|
Press Reviews
Lesley Parr Press Reviews
'A heartfelt, hopeful tale of the human spirit's incredible ability to recover - Emma Carroll
This wonderful second novel firmly establishes Lesley as one of our finest writers of historical fiction. We should talk about her in the same way we talk about Hilary McKay, Emma Carroll & Tom Palmer ... I hope it reaches the wide audience that it truly deserves - Phil Earle
Praise for The Valley of Lost Secrets;
With echoes of Carrie's War and Goodnight Mister Tom, Parr brings her own fresh voice to what already feels like a wartime classic. This story is quietly brutal and brilliantly heartfelt. I absolutely ADORED it. - Emma Carroll, author of Letters from the Lighthouse
Atmospheric, direct and gripping, with a superbly assured narrative voice, this book is woven through with powerful themes: grief, belonging and making peace with the past. - Guardian
Beautifully told ... This appealing book is about losses healed, lies uncovered, cruelty defeated and goodness rewarded - Children's Book of the Week, The Sunday Times
Author
About Lesley Parr
Lesley Parr is the author of three novels for children for which she has won the Tír na nÓg Children's Book Awards, the King’s School Chester Book Award and the North Somerset Teachers Book Awards, as well as being shortlisted for many others.
Her debut, The Valley of Lost Secrets, was published in 2021 and was both a Waterstones Book of the Month and longlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal. Lesley grew up in South Wales and now lives in England with her husband. A former primary school teacher from a Welsh working-class background, Lesley is passionate about seeing more working-class voices in fiction for children.
More About Lesley Parr
