The Skylarks' War

Author(s): Hilary McKay

Middle Fiction

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 is a beautiful story following the loves and losses of a family growing up against the harsh backdrop of World War 1, from the award-winning Hilary McKay.

Ruth's Review:


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 emotionally detached and frequently absent father, until the shadow of World War 1 looms. When Rupert goes off to fight at the front, Clarry feels their skylark summers are finally slipping away from them.

This is an enchanting family drama spanning 16 years as the loyal, young Clarry quietly defies her father and matures into a strong, confident and well-educated young woman. McKay, who won the Guardian Fiction Prize for her first novel The Exiles, captures brilliantly the norms of the era, but also doesn't shy away from the war's brutal impact on families. It's classic-style fiction, featuring well-rounded and eccentric characters, which will be loved by fans of E. Nesbit and Noel Streatfeild and also contemporary author Kimberly Brubaker Bradley (The War That Saved My Life and The War I Finally Won). Perfectly suitable for age 11+ but probably appreciated more by older readers, especially adults.

18.00 NZD

Stock: 0


Add to Wishlist


Product Information

The Costa Children's Book Award winning evocative and heartbreaking novel of family and friendship in wartime.

Winner of the Costa Children's Book Award 2018

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 classic-in-the-making. Her 2018 titleThe Skylarks' War marks the centenary of the end of the First World War.

General Fields

  • : 9781509894963
  • : PAN MACMILLAN UK
  • : PAN MACMILLAN UK
  • : 0.3
  • : October 2018
  • : 2.3 Centimeters X 13 Centimeters X 19.7 Centimeters
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : Hilary McKay
  • : Paperback
  • : 1
  • : English
  • : 823.92