Author:Michael Mopurgo
Genre:War, Friendship, Young Adult, Juvenile Fiction
Publication:Egomont, November 1, 2011
Pages:182 pages, Paperback
Source: Kindly provided by Penguin Publishers in exchange for a honest review! Thank you so much! :)
Source: Kindly provided by Penguin Publishers in exchange for a honest review! Thank you so much! :)
In 1914, Joey, a beautiful bay-red foal with a distinctive cross on his nose, is sold to the army and thrust into the midst of the war on the Western Front. With his officer, he charges toward the enemy, witnessing the horror of the battles in France. But even in the desolation of the trenches, Joey's courage touches the soldiers around him and he is able to find warmth and hope. But his heart aches for Albert, the farmer's son he left behind. Will he ever see his true master again?
*SPOILER ALERT!*
While I am typing this sentence, I am trying to think of a review that will give this book justice. I can honestly say, that this is one of the best books that I have EVER read. I have always enjoyed Michael Morpurgo's books and it's quite safe to say that almost all of them usually left me with a tear in my eye, but War Horse? I was blubbing like a baby, it a truly beautiful and uplifting story.
When Albert's father took Joey and sold him, I was furious and upset, I wish I could've been there and called Albert so he could stop him, but of course I couldn't and I was so frustrated with Albert's father.
As Joey was passed along from person to person, my empathy for Joey was so great it made my heart wrench. When Captain Nicholls died, I wasn't sure what to do, he had promised Albert that he would take care and protect Joey with his life and when he died, I was like that poor horse. But throughout the story, Joey finds and makes friends, and in the terrible conditions he faces, he manages to find a glimmer of love somewhere.
The ending was just...wow! I was crying for most of the last couple of chapters. It was such a beautiful bond that Joey and Albert had, and how everyone just admired and respected that horse, that he had battled through the whole of war, lost one of his best friends and that he had caught a life-threatening illness, yet he still managed to find his true master in the end.
War Horse is such a beautiful tale, of friendship and love, and it shows that even when you are in the most brutal of situations, if you have love by your side and a good friend, it can get you through any situation.
You have to read War Horse and I can honestly say, that even one of the hardest people on earth could be weeping while reading it. This is a story I KNOW I will treasure forever, even an hour after reading it I'm still breathless after such a heart-wrenching tale. Read this book, you will not regret it.
I give it: 5 CUPCAKES!
