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The Skylarks' War Hilary McKay

The Skylarks' War By Hilary McKay

The Skylarks' War by Hilary McKay


$18.49
Condition - Very Good
9 in stock

Summary

An evocative and heartbreaking novel of family and friendship in wartime from Hilary McKay, award-winning author of the Casson Family Chronicles.

The Skylarks' War Summary

The Skylarks' War by Hilary McKay

Winner of the Costa Children's Book Award 2018.

The Skylarks' War is a beautiful story following the loves and losses of a family growing up against the harsh backdrop of World War One, from the award-winning Hilary McKay.

Clarry and her older brother Peter live for their summers in Cornwall, staying with their grandparents and running free with their charismatic cousin, Rupert. But normal life resumes each September - boarding school for Peter and Rupert, and a boring life for Clarry at home with her absent father, as the shadow of a terrible war looms ever closer.

When Rupert goes off to fight at the front, Clarry feels their skylark summers are finally slipping away from them. Can their family survive this fearful war?

The Skylarks' War Reviews

McKay is at her best in this poignant family drama. * The Guardian *
Picking up a book by Hilary McKay is like slipping on bed socks on a chilly night. She knows how to look after her readers by ensuring that her characters are interesting and loveable from the start . . . McKay's cleverness is that she makes it all fresh and new while making these beautifully drawn characters feel like old friends. * The Times, Children's Book of the Week *
This belongs among the classic of children's literature . . . Funny, sad, warm, it is about growing up and finding what you love, intellectually and emotionally. * The Sunday Times, Children's Book of the Week *
This book is agony and ecstasy, and never have I read such a human and accessible account of World War I. Vivid, hilarious, and heartbreaking, Hilary McKay's radiant characters touch my heart like real people, friends and loved ones I know well. Possibly the finest writer of our time. -- Elizabeth Wein, New York Times-bestselling author of Code Name Verity and The Pearl Thief
This is McKay at her finest, all the heart and warmth of the Casson family books - with a touch of the Cazalets. It's both a thrilling family adventure and a truthful, heart-breaking examination of the impact of war... [an] exceptional historical novel. -- Fiona Noble * Bookseller, Children's Book of the Month *
Hilary McKay is surely the heir to Mary Wesley. The Skylarks' War is just lovely. -- Charlotte Eyre, The Bookseller
The Skylarks' War is bloody brilliant, the kind of classic that rings with beauty and conviction and heart-stopping emotion. Not read a novel this good since Eva Ibbotson died. -- Amanda Craig
Hilary McKay is one of the great writers of children's fiction and this story of love and loss during the First World War is one of her best, told with unflinching wisdom. -- Sarah Hughes * Independent, Best Children's Books for Autumn 2018 *
Hilary McKay is a genius. This beautiful book is so many things simultaneously: complex and subtle, beautiful and raw, timely and timeless. I never wanted it to end. -- Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock, Carnegie-shortlisted author of The Smell of Other People's Houses
One of my favourite books of the year, this is McKay at her absolute finest. -- Fiona Noble * Bookseller Children's Buyer Guide, Highlights of the Season *
I laughed, I cried and I wanted all the characters to be my best friend * Natasha Farrant *
Winning as ever, with an overall Secret Garden feel * Kirkus Reviews *
What a brilliant book. I laughed, I blubbed. The painful jolt of the Great War to one family carefully told. * Jonathan Douglas, Director of the National Literacy Trust *
I thoroughly loved The Skylarks' War. The story is at once intimate and sweeping, with Clarry the shining heart of it all. -- Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, author of The War That Saved My Life
Hilary McKay's novel is about love as much as war: the effect on children of being deprived of it and the beneficial results on adults of its persistence. McKay is incapable of writing an uninteresting character or a dull scene... I loved it. * Mary Hoffman *
McKay couples warmth and grace with wry humour like nobody else out there -- Katherine Rundell * The Guardian *
...a family book, like those of Noel Streatfeild or R F Delderfield... I find it hard to imagine anyone not enjoying it. You will smile, and you will cry... You will recognise yourself and your friends -- Adele Geras
wise and kind and utterly heart-wrenching and full of characters you will give your whole heart to -- Anna James
McKay is a superb writer, deftly spinning history into a family drama of emotional neglect, shameful secrets, unrequited love, loss and ultimate triumph over all of these in a funny, moving and emotionally insightful book that could, and should, be read by all ages. -- Sally Morris * Daily Mail *
Quite simply, The Skylarks' War is close to perfect. Wise, kind, witty and incredibly moving it will break your heart and remake it again a few times over. * Scoop magazine *
The Skylarks' War by Hilary McKay rivals Testament of Youth for delicacy and heart-wringing clarity in its portrayal of the home front during the First World War. * Independent *
a funny, moving and emotionally insightful book that could, and should, be read by all ages * Daily Mail *
A moving family story. * The Week Junior *
The best children's book I've read this year * Katherine Rundell *
Hilary McKay has a rare gift for novels about families and their interplay. Here, she weaves her story round one of the most powerful backdrops in history. And she does so with the lightest of touch which makes her history come alive. * LoveReading4Kids.co.uk - November Book of the Month *

About Hilary McKay

Hilary McKay is an award-winning author, having won the Guardian Fiction Prize for her first novel, The Exiles, and going on to win the Smarties and the Whitbread (now the Costa) Award for The Exiles in Love and Saffy's Angel. Hilary McKay's Fairy Tales was her first book with Macmillan Children's Books and is a critically acclaimed collection of clever retellings. Her 2018 title The Skylarks' War marks the centenary of the end of the First World War and is a classic in the making.

Table of Contents

  • Chapter - 1: Clarry and Peter, 1908-1911
  • Chapter - 2: Lessons and Stars, 1912
  • Chapter - 3: Journey to Summer, Summer 1912
  • Chapter - 4: Rupert
  • Chapter - 5: Shilling Ticket
  • Chapter - 6: Swimming Lessons, 1912-1913
  • Chapter - 7: Growing Up
  • Chapter - 8: Simon the Bony One
  • Chapter - 9: The Miss Pinkses' Academy
  • Chapter - 10: Girls Can Do Anything
  • Chapter - 11: Grammar School Girl, August 1914
  • Chapter - 12: Rupert in Uniform, Winter 1914
  • Chapter - 13: Over By Christmas
  • Chapter - 14: Tripe Sausages
  • Chapter - 15: Letters Home, Easter 1915
  • Chapter - 16: Simon Comes to Stay
  • Chapter - 17: The Photograph
  • Chapter - 18: Horse Transport, Summer 1915
  • Chapter - 19: Lucy
  • Chapter - 20: Sausage Rolls, Winter 1915
  • Chapter - 21: Saved by Books, Summer 1916
  • Chapter - 22: Death of a Friend
  • Chapter - 23: How-Do-You-Spell-It?
  • Chapter - 24: More of Less Content
  • Chapter - 25: Clarry the Dark Horse
  • Chapter - 26: The Key to the Cricket Pavilion, Summer 1917
  • Chapter - 27: In Flanders
  • Chapter - 28: Violet and the Pink Beret
  • Chapter - 29: Peter's Speech Day
  • Chapter - 30: Simon Enlists
  • Chapter - 31: Peter's Plans and Clarry's Dreams
  • Chapter - 32: Clarry Visits Oxford
  • Chapter - 33: Clarry's Butterflies
  • Chapter - 34: A Dog Called Rupert
  • Chapter - 35: Grandfather and Grandmother
  • Chapter - 36: Behind the Front Line
  • Chapter - 37: Wild Run
  • Chapter - 38: The Telegram
  • Chapter - 39: Odysseus
  • Chapter - 40: Rupert is Missing
  • Chapter - 41: The Great Search
  • Chapter - 42: Mr Rose
  • Chapter - 43: A Friend with a Boat
  • Chapter - 44: Facing the Music, Spring 1918
  • Chapter - 45: Miss Vane and Mr King, Summer 1918
  • Chapter - 46: Rupert Goes Back, Autumn 1918
  • Chapter - 47: The Death of a Giraffe, November 1918
  • Chapter - 48: Armistice Day
  • Chapter - 49: Afterwards
  • Chapter - 50: Love to Everyone
    • Unit - i: Author's Note: The World Behind the Story
    • Unit - ii: Glossary
    • Unit - iii: Bibliography

Additional information

GOR009560746
9781509894949
1509894942
The Skylarks' War by Hilary McKay
Used - Very Good
Hardback
Pan Macmillan
2018-09-20
320
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in very good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us

Customer Reviews - The Skylarks' War