You can judge a book by its cover - especially this one. The setting is a small village in England in the days following the end of WWI. Charlie, older brother to Tony, has been killed but not as a hero. He is supposed to have deserted, to have run away from the battle and so had been executed as a criminal. Tony's mum refuses to believe Charlie is dead. Tony is sure his brother was not a traitor. During a victory parade in their small village Tony is handed a white feather. People in their town "who had been friends with them for years spat at them in the street or ignored them as if they were invisible."
A few days later a young man arrives at the house. He has a bundle of things from Charlie. Inside the parcel is a letter:
Dear Ma and Tony,
Fortune has deserted me. They
have taken me to prison. Heaven
knows why. I have done nothing
wrong. I only told the
Truth. Don't worry. I will
Make sure I do my best to get out of it.
Trust in God as I trust in
Him. I hope you understand, Tony.
Tell Ma I love her.
Remember the games we played as
boys, Tony? Remember now.
Take a close look at this - the setting out is the key. The real message is
Fortune knows truth make him tell
Fortune refers to Lieutenant Fortune. He is the man who accused Charlie of deserting. Now it is up to Tony to discover the truth and clear his brother's name.
This book is from Barrington Stoke and it is a slim book of only 84 pages printed with a dyslexic friendly font. I would recommend it for readers aged 9+. Here is a Q&A with the authors who are mother and son. You can read the first five pages of this book on the publisher web site. Here is a review with more plot details. Catherine MacPhail has another title set during WWI - Stars shall be bright. I have added this to my wish list.
No comments:
Post a Comment