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When the War Came Home

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Yiğit Akın's treatment of the Ottoman homefront represents a critical breakthrough in the study of the First World War. Drawing upon highly original and interesting archival sources, as well as previously untapped published material, Akin vividly depicts the many hardships faced by Ottoman civilians during the course of the conflict. The book's artful prose makes it an engaging read for both students and scholars of the war, adding to its critical value for readers well beyond the field of modern Middle Eastern history." She goes to rush past Huw, her whole body stiff again, but he reaches out and touches her arm. He tilts his head to show he wants her to come close to him and whispers, ‘Sorry.’

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: Sometimes it’s hard to put into words just how good a book is to do it justice and The Valley of Lost Secrets is one of those books. Reminiscent of Goodnight Mister Tom and Carrie’s War, it deserves to be a future classic. When the War Came Home might be set after World War 1 - and highlight the PTSD and grief experienced by so many soldiers - but it also features a battle against something many young readers today will have more direct experience: poverty, hunger & social inequity. Parr masterfully weaves these two very different - and quite harrowing - types of struggles together in a way that's accessible to younger readers without trivializing either issue.Set in the early 1920's, this wonderful novel explores the after effects of World War 1 on both the surviving soldiers and the families they return to. Natty lives in the small Welsh village of Libanwy with her mother, Ffion, who is a vocal supporter of women’s rights. When her outspokenness causes her to lose her job at the local factory, she and Natty are forced to move to the neighbouring village of Ynsyfach to stay with relatives. Huw was just fourteen when he decided to lie about his age and sign up for a soldier’s uniform and an adventure, and the result is disastrous. Although I knew of this happening (in probably most wars) I haven’t come across a character so young who has lived through it, to show a reader the results. The sights the soldiers saw are never really described; When the War Came Home is all about the aftermath. The story also evokes a feeling of what is was like to live in the Welsh villages between the wars. The poverty of some families and the difficulties ordinary people faced have echoes in today. I had a proof copy so I cannot say what the illustrations by David Dean were like; the front cover completely captures the book with the poppies for remembrance. Reading the book, the same week as Remembrance Sunday, was a powerful reminder of past wars. If my heart broke for Huw, then my heart hurt for Johnny. Johnny, that young soldier that Natty befriends at the side of the river, a soldier that suffers from 'memory loss with no obvious damage to the brain.'. 💔💔 A solider that Natty is so desperate to try and find a way to have his memory returned, who can't bear the thought that he could live a life without knowing who he is. As young as she was, she tries so very hard to help him from the way she learns how Huw copes with his own grief. And somehow, along the way, one boy's pain becomes the other's, as well, and in that heart-wrenching moment, my heart seized with what was about to happen. 🥺🥺 Nerys, her best friend Owen and Natty soon have something much bigger and closer to their hearts (and stomachs) to contend with. Natty slowly begins to understand how her Mum sees the world – where she sees a wrong, she tries to put it right.

It’s like she melts. Her shoulders go down and her face softens. She kisses his cheek and practically skips out of the kitchen.” Finding an ally in someone he never expects, they set out together to uncover the secrets that lie with the skull. What they discover will change Jimmy – and the village – forever. There is a lot to recommend this book for upper KS2 and lower KS3 readers. The characters have depth, with both strengths and flaws, which makes for very realistic storytelling. We see this in the relationship between Natty and her mam. Natty is frustrated by the way her mam stands up for workers’ rights and puts their livelihood in jeopardy and it isn’t until the free school meal battle that Natty starts to understand the importance of standing up for what you believe in and the strength of working together as a community and group to bring about change. This is a powerful, well-written theme throughout the story, which opens up the opportunity to discuss a range of topics, such as the education system, workers’ rights, unions and the suffrage movement. Because that moment, when Huw and Johnny's stories overlapped - my heart was just -- You know that feeling when you're about to uncover something - and there's this tingle in your gut, so unexplainable a feeling that you're about to stumble upon some truth when solving a puzzle or figuring out a clue in a crime scene and you can't believe how it all ties together. 🙏🏻🙏🏻 The author laid the groundwork so naturally - with such subtlety and tenderness, that when the pieces fell together, I felt so anxious - my heartbeat was actually palpitating! That would this be the moment of truth - would the truth come out - would it all work out? Would these young boys who had to become much before their chance to heal from what they have endured? 😢😢

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I enjoyed this historical novel for tweens immensely! A mum standing up for women’s and worker’s rights is not a character trait I’ve seen before in a tween novel, and it also helps mould the plot and the growth of the main character. The excitable and always positive Nerys keeps everyone on their toes, with her brother Huw adding a sobering thread. In her sophomore Middle Grade book, When The War Came Home, Lesley Parr once again touches my heart with a story that is both light-hearted and still poignantly beautiful. When the War Came Home is a story so full of hope, determination, love, family and friendship. It utterly captivated me and had me reading into the wee small hours as I couldn’t bear to tear myself away from the idyllic Welsh countryside and the wonderfully warm, beautifully drawn cast of characters and their spirit and resilience. Natty was so hurt by his pain that she was so eager and determined to make him feel better, to make him fell less of the ache that was from his haunting memories. For memories are something we cannot escape no matter how hard we try; but, for Johnny, another young soldier that Natty befriends, it's all he could ever hope again. 😟😟 WW I has long been a topic of interest for Ottoman scholars, but the Ottoman home front has been largely ignored or, at best, unevenly treated. In this book Akın (Tulane Univ.) shows that the length and scale of the war meant that everyone in the Ottoman empire was affected....Akın's research was extensive (he even usedoften-ignored folklore), and it enabled him to provide vivid descriptions ofthose left behind struggling to meet the state's growing material demands, succumbing to starvation and banditry, and becoming increasingly alienated from the state."

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