Letters from the Coffin-Trenches

(Paperback)

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Poignant YA historical romance between a teen who runs away to fight in World War One, and his sweetheart back at home. Poignant YA historical romance between a teen who runs away to fight in World War One, and his sweetheart back at home. Harry Wainwright is 17, not quite 18, but he can't wait to enlist for the Great War - so instead of going back to boarding school he runs away to war. He does this with the help of his sweetheart, Jessica. They are a wholesome Edwardian couple, steeped in all the respectable morality of their age. Both are in love with romance. Their letters begin idealistically and enthusiastically but gradually both young people learn of the horror of war and its associated cynicism. Rather than a depressing read, this is an interesting chronicle of the times and a charming portrayal of innocent love. Finalist in the Senior fiction category of the NZ Post Children's Book Awards 2003.

Author Bio

Ken Catran is an award-winning children's writer of over 30 acclaimed novels for young adults, as well as having been a highly successful television scriptwriter. His books for young adults engage with the historical, the fantastical, and science fiction. He has been shortlisted many times in the New Zealand Post Book Awards and won Book of the Year in 2001. In 2004 he won the Esther Glen Award for his distinguished contribution to literature at the LIANZA Children's Book Awards. He has been the Waikato University Writer in Residence and was the 2007 winner of the New Zealand's most prestigious award for children's writers, the Storylines Margaret Mahy Medal. The award is given annually by the Storylines Children's Literature Charitable Trust to acknowledge a distinguished contribution to New Zealand children's literature.