Private Peaceful

Private Peaceful by Michael Maorpurgo

This novel is a juvenile historical fiction account of a young British soldier in WWI. The first half of the book deals with Thomas Peaceful and his brother Charlie growing up in the English country side during the turn of the 20th century. Quickly we learn of the harsh realities of Thomas' life. His father is killed in a logging accident when Tommo is very young. He struggles with bullying, classism, adolescent love, and an older brother Big Joe that is 'special' (as his mother puts it) because of a bout with childhood disease. Largely though, Tommo seems quite happy, especially because he always has his big brother Charlie with him.

In their teens, World War I breaks out. The home they live in is owned by the rich man in town. Most of the people work for this man (The Colonel). Tommo's mother, father, and sister-in-law have or do work for him. The Colonel tells Tommo's mother that in order for her to stay in the cottage that he so willingly provides for her, she must send her boys off to war.

Thomas and Charlie sign up even though Thomas is too young. During this time that was a common occurrence. They are shipped off to the front lines.

A running theme through this book is the struggle with authority. Not really in the way we think of it most of the time where youth don't like to be told what to do by anyone. It is the struggle to go against authority when the authority figure is bigger and more powerful, yet they don't have your best interest at heart.

A quote from the book that I want to remember, "Charlie was swiping at the wasp, and the wasp wasn't just stinging him, he was stinging all of us. Charlie was was beginning to be thought of as a bit of a liability in the company, a bit of a Jonah." I really enjoyed this quote because it drew a very clear picture. Charlie is the protector and the one that stands up for himself and Tommo. But as we all know, standing up for yourself many times brings greater struggle.

I really liked this book. It was descriptive and captivating. I read it in about 2 hours. I wasn't necessarily hanging on every word and biting my nails, but it seemed like nearly every chapter ended in a way that I just had to read the next to find out what happened.

Rating.........4
Rating.........G It does take place during war time, but it is geared toward a younger audience so it isn't overly graphic.