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Waterloo: The History of Four Days, Three Armies and Three Battles
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From the internationally bestselling author of the Sharpe novels - this is the true story of...
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Substance of Shadow: A Darkening Trope in Poetic History
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John Hollander, poet and scholar, was a master whose work joined luminous learning and imaginative...
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Pleasures of the Garden: A Literary Anthology
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This collection of classic garden writing celebrates the garden as a place of solace in a busy...
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The Damned
Book
1914. The outbreak of war. In the French city of Arras, a priest is brutally murdered. The Catholic...
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The Governess and Other Stories
Anthea Bell, Stefan Zweig and Heinrich Kuhn
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An eclectic collection of four brilliant stories, including a Renaissance tragedy and an English...
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The Final Revival of Opal and Nev
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A queen of punk before her time. A duo on the brink of stardom. A night that will define their story...
Historical Fiction Music Feminism Race USA
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Hazel (1853 KP) rated Dogfight (Special Operations, #1) in Books
Dec 14, 2018
Quite often novels concerning the Second World War are assumed to be about Great Britain, Germany or life in concentration camps. However, first in series <i>Special Operations: Dogfight</i> by Craig Simpson is set in Norway in 1940 where Nazi’s have invaded.
The story is about fifteen-year-old Finn Gunnersen and his best friend Loki whose families are deeply involved with the resistance. Although they are still young boys, Finn and Loki end up playing an enormous role. Finn survives imprisonment and goes on to help a British Agent who has parachuted into Norway. As well as being a brilliant piece of historical fiction, this novel turns out to be an exciting thriller for teenagers.
Although suitable for both male and female readers, boys of ages ten and up would particularly like this book especially if they have a fascination for aircraft. There is a lot of detail about different types of planes and the author has even included a few diagrams and details at the beginning of the book.
Finn is a great hero with admirable strength and bravery. Simpson does not undermine women however and includes a couple of amazing female characters with just as much courage as the men.
<i>Special Operations: Dogfight</i> is a work of fiction but it was inspired by real events. It’s Norwegian setting makes it educational in that it teaches the reader about the effect of the war on innocent people in countries less spoken about in history textbooks. Despite some of the areas being made up to suit the story, Simpson has done a magnificent job at keeping it historically accurate and must have spent a great deal of time on research.
<i>Special Operations: Dogfight</i> is a brilliant book for young readers. For some the historical setting may be off putting but the characters feel as modern as teenagers today. The story is exciting and has a fantastic ending, including a few plot twists you do not see coming!
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Wars of the Roses: Trinity
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The brilliant retelling of the Wars of the Roses continues with Trinity, the second gripping...
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Gentleman's Guide To Vice And Virtue
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SIMON VS. THE HOMOSAPIENS meets the 1700s in this hilarious and swashbuckling standalone teen...
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A Field Guide to Reality
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'An extraordinary, wise, funny, adventurous and hallucinogenic book that combines fiction with...