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Duty Calls: Dunkirk by James Holland
May. 13th, 2011 09:58 pmThe Blurb On The Back:
Friday 24 May, 1940
Private Johnny Hawke, aged sixteen, awakens to artillery fire.
Hours later, Stukas scream down from the sky.
Messerschmitt fighters roar towards them. Trucks burst into flames.
Now men and mules lay dead and dying, severed limbs twisted grotesquely as blood soaks into the cobbled streets.
As Private Hawke – and his fellow soldiers – prepare to stop the German advance, there’s only one question on everyone’s lips …
How will they survive?
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
James Holland has produced a boy-friendly military adventure story that recreates the feel of the period and what soldiers would have gone for (although at times the detail was a little too much and worked to slow the action). It’s not particularly deep from a character and emotional perspective, but I doubt the target boy readership will care about that. All in all, anything that gets teens into history is a good thing and I’d be interested in reading more about the characters.
DUTY CALLS: DUNKIRK will be released in the UK on 2nd June 2011. Thanks to Puffin for the ARC of this book.
Friday 24 May, 1940
Private Johnny Hawke, aged sixteen, awakens to artillery fire.
Hours later, Stukas scream down from the sky.
Messerschmitt fighters roar towards them. Trucks burst into flames.
Now men and mules lay dead and dying, severed limbs twisted grotesquely as blood soaks into the cobbled streets.
As Private Hawke – and his fellow soldiers – prepare to stop the German advance, there’s only one question on everyone’s lips …
How will they survive?
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )The Verdict:
James Holland has produced a boy-friendly military adventure story that recreates the feel of the period and what soldiers would have gone for (although at times the detail was a little too much and worked to slow the action). It’s not particularly deep from a character and emotional perspective, but I doubt the target boy readership will care about that. All in all, anything that gets teens into history is a good thing and I’d be interested in reading more about the characters.
DUTY CALLS: DUNKIRK will be released in the UK on 2nd June 2011. Thanks to Puffin for the ARC of this book.
