Author: John Boyne
Reviewed by: Anna Robertson
Review made possible by: Random House Struik
This Irish born author captivates his readers with a story about a boy, a father and a secret.
The day the First World War broke out, Alfie Summerfield’s father promised he wouldn’t go away to fight – but he broke that promise the following day.
Four years later, Alfie doesn’t know where his father might be, other than he’s away on a special, secret mission.
Then, while shining shoes at King’s Cross Station, Alfie unexpectedly sees his father’s name – on a sheaf of papers belonging to a military doctor.
Bewildered and confused, Alfie realises his father is in a hospital close by – a hospital treating soldiers with an unusual condition.
Alfie is determined to rescue his father from this strange, unnerving place.
