Product Description

1915 - Scotland. It begins with a group of teenagers from two families, friends despite their social differences, on a picnic on a beautiful sunny day. Mostly romance is on their minds, but the peace of the day is shattered by the sound of a plane flying overhead - an omen of how the reality of the war across the Channel is soon to tear them away from such youthful pleasures. All too soon the horror of what is to become known as The Great War engulfs them, their friends and the whole village. From the horror of the trenches, to the devastating reality seen daily by those nursing the wounded, they struggle to survive. They are luckier than some - all but one return home - but they know that nothing will ever be the same again. REMEMBRANCE is a powerful and engrossing novel about love and war, from the Carnegie Medal-winning author Theresa Breslin.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #74055 in Books
• Published on: 2003-01-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

The Bookseller, October 12, 2001
...Breslin's light touch and beautiful prose give the harrowing sights and sounds of the war a much more human feel.

The Guardian, January 8, 2002
This is an immensely readable, passionately written epic, with an involving, fast-moving plot constantly challenging readers' assumptions.

The Herald (Glasgow), January 1, 2002
[the beginning] has a lovely lyrical, innocent, dreamlike quality that acts as an effective counterpoint to what happens later.

Customer Reviews

Gripping!!!!
At school we were told 2 read this book, i was apprehensive at first as it seemed boring, the fact that this book was about the war didn't help either. After the book had been sitting on my bedside table collecting dust, finally i picked it up and started to read.

After reading the first two chapters rather unwillingly, i got into the book. It is a story about two families with rather different backgrounds - the daughters become closer and discover similarity in their totatally different lives. We feel the emotions of two girls bonding and coping with their loss and pain together.

We feel the terror and destruction of war, yet the beauty and forgivness that can be acheived.

I loved this story and felt myself crying for and admiring the characters.I am glad i read the book after all, and don't be put off by its war background. It is a gripping tale of romance, loss and pain.

A superb elegy for the loss of youth.
Remembrance is a superb book centred on the lives of children from two families in the same northern village during WW1. Maggie and John Malcolm live in the local village shop where they wokk alongside their parents and Charlotte and Francis live in the "big house". The story progresses through the war and shows how the lives of the characters become intertwined. The boys go off to war and the girls do war work; working in munitions and nursing. Nothing is as straighforward as it seems and we hear of the boys progress via their letters home from the front line.

This is a very moving book, beautifuly written and reminded me of Vera Brittain's Testament of Youth - very similar issues and feelings are explored. This is an excellent novel for readers in years 7-9 and would dovetail perfectly with any project on WW1

I would highly recommend it.

An enjoyable read
Theresa Breslin gives the readers an insight into the terrible Great War, focusing on it from various angles. The five main characters, all young, contribute to and are affected by the war in different ways - from young men fighting in France, to the women working in hospitals and ammunition factories. The book follows the story of two families from very different backgrounds, but who are brought together by the terror of war, as they try to cope with the loss of loved ones. Each character views the war differently, giving us the impression of conflict between people during the war, but above all, we are shown how people were united, how they identified with each other despite their social differences, and how they managed to cope throughout their sorrow. A fantastic read.