My Father's War

Sophie Masson (author)

Scholastic Press, Australia: March 2011; 232pp

ISBN: 9781741698282

Genres: adventure, historical fiction, war

Issues: family, friendship, resilience, war

It is 1918, and the Annie's father has been away fighting for two years but he has stopped writing to his family. Is he missing in action? Dead? Deserted?

Annie's mother, a strong-willed French woman, is convinced that the Army is keeping the truth from her. She is determined to find out what has happened to her husband – even if it is the worst possible news. But when Annie's mother abandons her daughter at a guest house in order to pursue her enquiries alone, Annie is devastated – and angry. With the help of her friend, Paul, Annie begins to piece together the clues her mother left behind. Now she has to find both her parents. How can an Australian child do that in a war-torn land with the Germans bombarding the townships and life so very far from normal?

Well researched and capturing the social conditions of war-ravaged France, My Father's War is a well crafted historical adventure story. While it is highly unlikely that any child would ever make it so close to the Front, this 'poetic license' allows Masson to use the quick passions, reactions and perceptions of a child to give history a very realistic face. Annie and Paul remind readers that children were caught up in a war that was not of their making and over which they had no control; it dominated their lives, changed their circumstances, often took away all that was most precious to them. The use of the diary form is particularly effective in this context as it allows the reader to see how Annie's experiences force her to develop an almost adult maturity and determination.

Touching, interesting and with strong characters, this is another highly readable title from Scholastic's 'My Australian Story' series.

Same author: The Tempestuous Voyage of Hopewell Shakespeare; The Understudy's Revenge