Stay Where You Are and Then Leave

January 6, 2014
Boyne (The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket) delivers an original look at what was known as “shell shock” during WWI through the eyes of Alfie Summerfield, a milkman’s son in a working-class London neighborhood. Opening on Alfie’s fifth birthday, July 28, 1914 (the day the “fighting had started”) and closing on his 13th, the story focuses on the fall of 1918, when Alfie discovers that his father—who had enlisted, against his family’s wishes, and who Alfie fears is dead—is in a nearby hospital. Readers who persist through the relatively slow first half will be rewarded with the excitement of Alfie’s daring adventure of bringing his father home; the closing chapter reunites all the characters, movie-ending style, mending frayed or broken relationships and tying up the loose ends a little too neatly. The book’s strength lies in Alfie’s appeal as a perceptive, hardworking, loving, and brave boy; some of his neighbors are intelligently and engagingly fleshed out, as well. Boyne gracefully renders the opposing strong feelings the war inspired, but uneven pacing weakens the overall effect. Art not seen by PW. Ages 9–12.

January 15, 2014
Another child's-eye view of war from the author of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2006); here the child is working-class, the conflict, World War I. The fighting starts July 28, 1914, the day Alfie Summerfield turns 5. Eager to defend king and country, young men--including Alfie's dad, Georgie--enlist in droves, leaving wives to manage households and families. Everyone says it will be over by Christmas, but four years later, the war grinds on, having transformed Alfie's stable, working-class neighborhood beyond recognition. Czech-immigrant neighbors have been taken away, their candy shop boarded up. Released from jail, a conscientious objector and old family friend is reviled and beaten when he returns home. Georgie's letters stop coming. Alfie's mother, now a nurse, insists he's on a secret government mission, but Alfie fears he's dead. Hard times get harder. Skipping school to shine shoes at King's Cross railway station, Alfie learns Georgie's hospitalized with shell shock and vows to bring him home. Alfie's the novel's strong suit: self-centered, altruistic, schooled by years of war, yet clinging to the belief that he can control the uncontrollable. His authenticity lends credibility to the sometimes-far-fetched, coincidence-heavy plot. (Conversely, a didactic tone creeps in when the viewpoint shifts from Alfie.) A vivid, accessible tale of the staggering price war exacts from those who had no voice in waging it. (Historical fiction. 9-14)

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March 1, 2014

Gr 5-8-Boyne, much like in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (David Fickling Books, 2006), takes readers into the throes of war as seen through the eyes of a child. Alfie will always remember the day the fighting started because it was his fifth birthday, the day his whole world changed, the 28th of July 1914. Alfie's father, a milkman in their London neighborhood, enlists believing "the war will be over by Christmas." Four years later, Alfie is nine and the war rages on. Alfie begins shining shoes to help support his mother who works multiple jobs. Alfie believes his father to be dead until one day, while working, he discovers him in a hospital nearby. Sadly, the reunion is not the happy one Alfie expects. This is an excellent and approachable introduction to the traumas of war. All the characters are well developed and multilayered. Their thoughts and actions are authentic to the time and Alfie is no exception. His youth will not deter older readers since much of what is happening around him is so vivid. Detailed descriptions of character and place take readers into the heart of wartime Europe. There are some outlandish moments, including a scene with the Prime Minister, but this does not detract from the story or seem too incredible within the plot. This is not simply a book about the horrors of shellshock but also a comprehensive depiction of many different aspects of life during the World War I. Artwork not available at time of review.-Kristyn Dorfman, The Packer Collegiate Institute, Brooklyn, NY

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2014
Grades 5-7 Alfie was five years old in 1914, when his dad joined the British Army and left for France. In 1919, Alfie and his mother, who works in a London hospital, are barely making ends meet. Though she claims that his father is on a secret mission for the government, Alfie fears that he's dead. Discovering by chance that he's in a hospital, the boy secretly visits his father, who is shell-shocked and mentally unstable. Alfie carries out a plan to bring Dad home, whatever the consequences. Boyne has an eye for period details, an ear for dialogue, and a knack for creating individual, consistent characters. However, the fact that they're mainly adult characters may limit the book's appeal to children. A further barrier is that many of the British historical and cultural references will be unfamiliar to American kids. Still, this involving narrative will find readers, probably among those who enjoyed Boyne's The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2006). Illustrations not seen.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2014
Four years ago, nine-year-old Alfie Summerfield's dad, Georgie, went off to fight in WWI. For a while, letters from Georgie came regularly. Then they stopped altogether. Now Alfie (accidentally) learns that Georgie is in a nearby hospital, suffering from shell-shock. The third-person limited narration keeps readers experiencing events solely from Alfie's intelligent but childlike point of view.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

May 1, 2014
Nine-year-old Alfie Summerfield's milkman dad, Georgie, went away four years ago, one of the first men on respectable Damley Road to sign up to fight in WWI. Since then, Alfie's life has changed drastically: his mum now works all hours as a nurse; his best friend Kalena Jancek and her sweet shop-owner father are gone, interned as spies; school is optional, and most days he skips it in favor of shining shoes at King's Cross Station. For a while, letters from Georgie had come regularly -- first cheery and upbeat and later filled with horror and misery. Then they stop altogether. Alfie doesn't believe his mother's explanation that Georgie is on a "secret mission for the government," but it's not until he accidentally glimpses some papers belonging to one of his customers that he learns Georgie is in a nearby hospital, suffering from shell-shock. As in previous Boyne work (The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, rev. 9/06), unlikely encounters and occurrences abound (Alfie not only meets the prime minister but manages to both locate and rescue his father). While the plot is a veritable alphabet soup of WWI British home-front tropes -- from the belief that it would "all be over by Christmas" to mob attacks on foreigners to the white feathers (for cowardice) handed out to unenlisted men -- it's made palatable by the third-person limited narration, which keeps readers experiencing events solely from Alfie's intelligent but childlike point of view. And the portraits drawn of the shell-shocked soldiers are heartbreaking. martha v. parravano

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)