When the War Came Home

Product Information

After Natalie's mother, the Champion of the Underdog, stirs up trouble at her job at their hometown, she and her mother go to live with her cousins in Ynysfach. Frustrated and upset about leaving her stable life behind, Natty isn't in the mood of being agreeable. But, as she settles into her new life and meeting her cousins, she slowly discovers that when the time is right, it doesn't hurt to reach out to help others and lend a helping hand, especially when the time calls for it. Bestselling author Alexandra Christo, author of TikTok sensation To Kill a Kingdom, introduces her new book, The Night Hunt (Hot Key Books), a dark... Set in Wales in the period immediately following WW1, Lesley Parr's new story skilfully weaves together two strands: the struggle for social justice and the plight of returning soldiers. There is a lot to recommend this book for upper KS2 and lower KS3 readers. The characters have depth, with both strengths and flaws, which makes for very realistic storytelling. We see this in the relationship between Natty and her mam. Natty is frustrated by the way her mam stands up for workers’ rights and puts their livelihood in jeopardy and it isn’t until the free school meal battle that Natty starts to understand the importance of standing up for what you believe in and the strength of working together as a community and group to bring about change. This is a powerful, well-written theme throughout the story, which opens up the opportunity to discuss a range of topics, such as the education system, workers’ rights, unions and the suffrage movement.

If I did learn anything from when the war came home, it would be the poverty that came post WW1 due to the fact that in primary school history I only learnt about England/ powerful world leaders that rejoice over the victory over Germany never for a second thought about the citizens that suffered after. The thing that stood out the most was the again poverty that followed outside Germany and its allies. And in small villages in places like Poland and France. If you haven’t already read The Valley of Lost Secrets, you absolutely must! I realised I didn’t write a post for this – I often find the books I enjoy the most the most difficult to write a review for.

Follow us

Sometimes it’s hard to put into words just how good a book is to do it justice and The Valley of Lost Secrets is one of those books. Reminiscent of Goodnight Mister Tom and Carrie’s War, it deserves to be a future classic. For what could have been a more emotionally charged topic, Lesley Parr brought such a refreshing sincere look to how Natty's class demanded changes to their lunch system, that you couldn't help but cheer alongside them. Led by her spirited cousin, Nerys, FULL TUMS = CORRECT SUMS is the slogan adopted by her classmates as they begin their strike. I loved the determination and loyalty shown by the students championed - even though, it is a serious matter, there was such a lightness to their methods, that made it such an enjoyable read. 😊 Yiğit Akın has written a pioneering study, examining the long-neglected Ottoman home front during World War I. When the War Came Home illuminates the war's deep social and economic impact on the empire's civilian population." When I reviewed Lesley Parr’s first book, The Valley of Lost Secrets, last year, I said that it was one of the best debut novels I had been privileged to read in a long time, and this new book is even better. The characters are so beautifully drawn; Natty loves her mother but is infuriated by the way her behaviour affects their lives. It is only when Natty becomes involved in her own battle, the fight for free meals at her new school, that she begins to realise how like her mother she really is. I also loved Nerys; a clever chatterbox , she is intensely loyal to her friend Owen and cannot bear the injustices he suffers at the hands of their truly awful teacher "Mad Dog Manford". Although Natty finds her irritating at first, she and Nerys become a real team, not only in the campaign for school meals, but also in solving the mystery of Johnny’s real identity.

When the war came home is a good book and for once it doesn’t show the more powerful people the heroes and villains of war instead Lesley Parr decides to show the poverty that came after WW1. Author Anna Kemp introduces The Hollow Hills, the sequel to her dark magical tale, Into Goblyn Wood. Natty designates a drawer in the bureau of her new room for her cousin indicating that she and Nerys's relationship is not at an end. This relationship is one of the things Lesley Parr does particularly well. There's a line early on about adults always assuming that children the same age will get along, but in fact the girls have their ups and downs of annoyance, jealousy and friendship-building that's one of the most realistic-feeling parts of the book. The years following World War I were those of change in Britain. We hear about the suffragettes and also lawful strikes as ways to bring about change.When the War Came Home reveals the catastrophic impact of this global conflict on ordinary Ottomans. Drawing on a wide range of sources—from petitions, diaries, and newspapers to folk songs and religious texts—Yiğit Akın examines how Ottoman men and women experienced war on the home front as government authorities intervened ever more ruthlessly in their lives. The horrors of war brought home, paired with the empire's growing demands on its people, fundamentally reshaped interactions between Ottoman civilians, the military, and the state writ broadly. Ultimately, Akın argues that even as the empire lost the war on the battlefield, it was the destructiveness of the Ottoman state's wartime policies on the home front that led to the empire's disintegration. It is also a multi-layered story, as we see through the eyes of the soldiers in the convalescent home, the effect the First World War had on so many, when they returned home. We don’t often see this period of history explored in depth within this age range – more often it is World War Two – and it is explored really well with care and sensitivity. In addition to all the above, When the War Came Home, also gives us a very realistic insight into what life was like during the 1920s in Welsh villages in South Wales. There is much to discuss in terms of family life, school, the effect of poverty and general day-to-day living. The humorous dialogue between Natty and her peers as they engaged in different ways to make the school listen to their demands was so fresh with feeling and honesty. And what I appreciated so much more was that with this story, there was such a beautiful balance to the other two developing relationships that were a part of Natty's new life - two broken beautiful souls that brought the war home with them and could not find a way to move on from it.