There's a war on. He knows that. He knows it's bad. He knows it means fighting. He knows it means no more jam on toast, no more cream and no more sweets, he knows it means white feathers pressed on poor Joe Patience – the conchie down the street, mum taking in washing and sewing clothes and Granny Summerfield saying "they were finished. They were all finished".
But what five–year–old Alfie really cares about is that it means Dad has left and four years later he hasn't come back. So Alfie needs to find him. This book was amazing. I'm sure everyone has heard of The Boy in The Striped Pyjamas, after reading such a beautifully written yet heart-breaking story I knew I had to review John Boyce's new WW1 fiction novel and it was just as wonderful. Boyce has this astounding talent when it comes to his narrative. He captures the youth, innocence and oblivious mindset of a child like any good children's fiction writer should, but at the same time he never fails to imply the horrors of the world in a way that more mature readers can pick up on. To Alfie all his friend Kalena and her father from Prague have gone to is a new home, readers on the other hand know they are being sent to camps. We know something terrible will happen in the next chapter but Alfie is oblivious to the terror. It's brilliant and makes such intriguing reading. It allows you to see into the mind of a child amidst the havoc of a war but still see all the atrocities that they can only see half of. Alfie's quest to find his father after four years of waiting was such a heart–warming journey to read about. From the moment Alfie could no longer find his father's letters hidden under his mother's mattress to the first time he sets out on his journey to find him. It all felt so tangible, the love and the loyalty and the sheer determination.

I especially loved Joe Patience, the conscientious objector who was ridiculed for not wanting to kill, his story in itself playing an important part in retelling the tragedies of the war and how wrong humans can sometimes be and how sometimes right and wrong are so difficult to divide until they simply blur together in one confused muddy colour.

The ending was beautiful, realistic but still touching. A wonderful conclusion to a brilliant read. I'd recommend it to anyone wanting to read more historical fiction about this period!

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