Read this book as a school assignment, bawled my eyes out during the last pages for poor little Tommy since sir couldn’t cry himself. Another thing, it honestly felt like such an abrupt ending like the author had a word limit because there was no ending that was ‘peaceful’ as such. Another critique is that i honestly don’t understand why the characters lacked emotion and had a full rant about it with my classmates, but i do understand he was in a war and stuff but i think we all would feel a little sympathetic if our closest friend or practically twin brother died. All in all it was an okay book, personally i didn’t quite enjoy it however i see how other people would!

This review features spoilers!!

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ R E V I E W
< P O S I T I V E S > :
○ The book name! The word 'private' hints at the book's main theme unlike other named-after-a/the-main-character book titles, such as 'Hetty Feather' by Jacqueline Wilson.
○ This book is dedicated to British soldiers unlawfully killed by their own series in World War 1, which is incredible! How did I read this twice before now and not know about that?
○ I love Charlie's (name! It's my favourite name of all time! and) his daring, yet loyal personality.
○ I found it really interesting Charlie did not want to enlist because he 'never met a German', so therefore has no motive to fight.
○ I also enjoyed Grandma Wolf's situation with the colonel!

< N E G A T I V E S > :
○ I'd say this book needs a minimum age rating, due to the soliders' trauma, as well as multiple usages of the word b******.
○ I also found some of the language not very layperson-friendly, and the writing sometimes too formal and abstract for me.

< N E U T R A L > :
○ I read a Goodreads review by Danny Gould that said

Spoiler

"Not very peaceful, mate, he got bloody shot!"

Spoiler

which made me laugh. Does Danny realise the book/surname is inspired by a World War 1 grave? I didn't, until I read the book's Wikipedia, and besides, I had presumed it was named after Thomas, which would still make sense.



˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ D E T A I L S
○ WRITTEN ON: F170323
TRANSCRIBED ON: G110623

○ HOURS TAKEN TO READ: 5 hours, 15 minutes
RATING: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ½
(rounded up to 5 stars because Goodreads does not have a half star option)

Really good but ruined my emotional integrity every time i left english class. Little Soldiers - The Crane Wives

I was lent this book by a friend who clearly knows me well... I think I’m well informed about the first world war & over the years I’ve been particularly captivated by personal accounts of the experiences of service personnel described in the best histories from the likes of Martin Middlebrook & Lyn Macdonald.

I know that a lot of the the soldiers at the front joined up because they were spoiling for a fight & conditions in the trenches were actually better than in the slums at home; the danger of death & injury was a risk worth taking with no worse consequences than those faced if they’d not gone at all; I know that injustices were done at all levels & as a mental health professional I feel strongly that we should have been so much more compassionate than we were in caring for people affected physically & psychologically by their traumatic experiences & wounds.

I thought I knew what was coming, reinforced by how this novel echoes that personal style with its sympathetic account of a soldier’s early life, yes, with its love & compassion, injustice & abuses of power but its humanity & hope & heartache as well. But it surprised me with what happened in several ways; the final outcome was only revealed in the last few pages & I simply didn’t see it coming; the impact made me proper cry instantly & seriously made me think; earlier the petty vindictiveness of the local colonel landowner & the mysteries of the family’s life experiences & allegiances confused & surprised me despite my supposed well-read authority on these subjects.

It was challenging too; could I ever hope to behave in the most selfless ways portrayed here? Who would I be in this story? Would I be loyal or betray the trust of my friends? Would I boldly lead from the front or cower in the corner? Would I really avoid the pitfalls that tripped up the characters or succumb as easily as they did to temptations & distractions?

It reads like the central character is going to be shot at dawn for desertion or cowardice & it’s a shock when we realise the truth... brutality & injustice & the misuse of power & betrayal & exploitation & sickening poor timing & bad luck seep through this book like the mud seeps into the soldiers boots in the trenches but love & loyalty & honesty & laughter & care & protection & forgiveness lift us into the sky above the bitter, selfish cruelty to fly high with the larks in hope of a better life in light & hope...

This is serious, multi-layered, well-composed literature in a few short pages which would benefit anyone who picks it up; I read it in a day & its influence will last much longer. I’ll return it to my friend with gratitude for opening my eyes to a new perspective on a subject I thought I’d already long since mastered. I’ll eagerly search out more from Michael Morpurgo too!

This was a amazing book and was extremely well written. It was very sad and emotional and personally, I CRIED SOOO MUCH! It was amazing and I would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to read a war book or just want something to read.