Book: Dusk   Author: Eve Edwards

1. I chose this book because I have recently been reading books about World Wars I and II. My eye was caught by the blurb and it struck me because of the way the plot seemed to twist before the book was even opened. I found the book very enjoyable especially the way the book jumped around the timeline; not many books I have read can pull this feat off well.  The historical references were truthful and relative to World War I as were the prior events to the ones described realistically in the book. I found out some things about World War I which I hadn't known before so the book's combination of fiction and non-fiction created a great mixture of the two. This book ended on a slight cliff-hanger causing me to want to read more by the author. The sequel to this book is called "Dawn" and I would read it gladly once it comes out in the summer. The author's writing style was very fluent and I could picture the events of the book's majesty unfurling in my mind's eye.  If I was asked to read more by this author I would happily do so because I enjoyed this book so much. I will certainly recommend this book to my friends and I think it is definitely in the running for the Young Quills Historical Fiction Prize. 

By Willow

2. Because World War One is such a focus in history lessons at school it's easy to become immune to what it must really have been like for the people living through that horrendous time. Dusk really immerses you in the time, not through excessively descriptive historical detail but through the characters and their emotions. The characters feel very real and very likeable and you come to care a great deal about what happens to them.  From the very dramatic opening scenes of amputation, surgery and death it's very clear that Edwards isn't ever going to shy away from the brutal realities of war.  Instead the reader is confronted very vividly with what life was like both on the battlefields and for those trying to save lives behind the frontline.

Although initially confusing we enjoyed the way that the story flashed back and forward in time, building up a more complete picture.  The timed chapters only add to the intensity. It's a tribute to the skill of the author that she also manages to emphasise the difference in backgrounds between the main characters and weaving in Flora's story.  This is a perfectly blended, heartbreaking and harrowing, historical love story which left us with a real sense of life during the Great War - and desperate to read the sequel!

By Cramlington Learning Village, Northumberland