I read this book as a page-turner rather than a thoughtful novel but what I gleaned from the pages as I rushed through was enjoyable. There are two stories, one in 1916-1917 with young Edmund Pearson fighting on the Western Front, in love and feeling that war gives his life a clearer focus than life at home would. In our time, Greg Hobbs photograph the remains of what was Edmund's family's countryhouse, meets and befriends Faith whose faith is important to her, and feels increasingly confused about his friendship with his new school friend Jordan. ( )

I read this book with my teenage reading group for the Carnegie Medal. The all loved it, and wanted it to win, as did I, but we were astonished at the controversy it caused. Everywhere librarians and teachers were sprouting nonsense about it being inappropriate, and leading children astray, just because it dealt with the issue of homosexuality , sex, and a teenage boy struggling to find his own identity, while also tackling the tricky subject of religion.
Set alongside the story of a house, now in ruins, it is a moving book that allows the reader to share in the experiences of this boy, and for the teenage audience to finally have a character they can recognize and sympathize with, one who really is going through a big change in his life, just as they are.
It is a brilliant book,and I admire the author for having the courage to write about things that others find hard to handle. It is refreshing to see that someone is sensible enough to see that our children are going to be exposed to different opinions and beliefs, and that is only by allowing them to fully explore their own ideas that we can trust them to make sensible decisions in life. Hiding them away from things we think are bad will only draw them closer to making the wrong choices, and if we love them we should accept them, whatever life they choose to live.
I am sure this book has change the lives of some that read it, and if you read some of the reviews on Amazon this is reflected. ( )