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Front Lines by Michael Grant
Jan. 24th, 2016 10:30 pmThe Blurb On The Back:
Am I a coward?
Her face is wet but her mouth is dry. Her heart is beating heavy and slow. Her breaths are shallow. Soon no. Soon they will be there, wherever there is. It is a mission, it is a commando raid. It will almost certainly be combat.
It all leads to this.
Rio Richlin and her friends are going to war. But will they be strong enough to prove themselves on the front lines?
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Michael Grant’s YA alternate history of World War II pitches women into the front line, integrating real battles (notably Kasserine Pass) with fictional events in a standard war tale that follows the characters from basic training to first campaign with the usual trauma and development inbetween. Grant’s great at incorporating research (there’s a good bibliography at the back) while keeping the action moving and he’s created four interesting characters, each with their own fascinating backstory (my favourite being Frangie who joins the army for pragmatic reasons but who has dreams of having the army fund a college education and her desire to be a doctor). However, while I enjoyed this book I don’t currently see what the AU premise adds to the period other than to point out the sexism and racism (which could equally be brought across in a straightforward period story). I also found the unknown narrator device to be a little too reminiscent of CODE NAME VERITY (which Grant name checks as an influence). That said there’s enough here to keep me reading on and I look forward to the next in this series.
BATTLE LINES will be released in the United Kingdom on 28th January 2016. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the free copy of this book.
Her face is wet but her mouth is dry. Her heart is beating heavy and slow. Her breaths are shallow. Soon no. Soon they will be there, wherever there is. It is a mission, it is a commando raid. It will almost certainly be combat.
Rio Richlin and her friends are going to war. But will they be strong enough to prove themselves on the front lines?
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Michael Grant’s YA alternate history of World War II pitches women into the front line, integrating real battles (notably Kasserine Pass) with fictional events in a standard war tale that follows the characters from basic training to first campaign with the usual trauma and development inbetween. Grant’s great at incorporating research (there’s a good bibliography at the back) while keeping the action moving and he’s created four interesting characters, each with their own fascinating backstory (my favourite being Frangie who joins the army for pragmatic reasons but who has dreams of having the army fund a college education and her desire to be a doctor). However, while I enjoyed this book I don’t currently see what the AU premise adds to the period other than to point out the sexism and racism (which could equally be brought across in a straightforward period story). I also found the unknown narrator device to be a little too reminiscent of CODE NAME VERITY (which Grant name checks as an influence). That said there’s enough here to keep me reading on and I look forward to the next in this series.
BATTLE LINES will be released in the United Kingdom on 28th January 2016. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the free copy of this book.
