World War I Through the Eyes of a Young Woman

Published tomorrow June 24^th 2015

NZ Writer

Anna Mackenzie  Evie’s War  

Random House 2015   $19.99pb  304pp  
ISBN 978 1 7755 3766 3  
Themes:  Diaries/ Edwardian Social Attitudes/ Women in Wartime/ Women’s Rights Movement UK 1914-18/ World War I- 1914-1918

Evie, aged 18, arriving in England just before the start of World War I had expectations of the Grand Overseas Tour –the British Isles, then off to Europe all with her very conventional family. However, the outbreak of war means there is to be no touring and soon Evie, and much against the wishes of her family, is working as a VAD looking after wounded soldiers in a local hospital and later as a driver for a casualty clearing station in Belgium not far from the Front Line. Although there are many descriptions of the soldiers whose terrible wounds, both mental and physical, Evie has to attend to, the story does not focus on them. It is the detailed story told in short diary entries, of the war from a young woman’s point of view and is most meticulously researched and additively presented.

More info at : http://www.randomhouse.co.nz/books/anna-mackenzie/evies-war-9781775537656.aspx#sthash.7vSVHtKd.dpuf

Highly Recommended.

Year 9 up/ Age 13 up – to adult readers.     

Non-Fiction - age 10 up

UK Writer  (illustrated with images from many different sources)

Jim Eldridge  50 Things You Should Know About the First World War

QED Publishing 2014  $19.99pb  80pp

ISBN 978 1 7817 1589 5

Causes and effects, battles, people and events are carefully explored in this fact-packed, easy to access book. We do seem to be being saturated with information about World War One at present. Much of it is excellent but to find another of the few books that spreads the events out in front of you in such a logical manner is indeed a find. Each page contains approximately 50% image, 50% text which makes it useful for a very wide age range and range of reading abilities.

 

Year 6 up/ Age 10 up