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My Soul, A Shining Tree
Book Review
The journey was very long but it was interesting. This shows that even in war there can still be light.
I really liked this book because reading books about war fascinate me. War is interesting and I like learning about the past even if all the events in the books aren’t true. You get to see the experience of those who fought and went through this time. It’s not always pleasant or the most fairy tale-like but it has a lot of meaning and truth within it.
This book was about three separate people and their families, all enemies of each other one day coming and meeting. They didn’t say much to each other because they were all fairly young in age and none of their parents were there at this point in time. The girls mother had recently died and her father had gone to war. All she had was her brother and her favourite tree along with her empty and cold house. Her town was torn apart in battle. The Indian fighter, fighting alongside the British army and the German teenage boy who fought as a calvary solider. Both of them away from home.
In the end they all came to England and lived quite happily, they came separately and at different times but all ended up in the same country. This book was a good book and the journey was very long but it was interesting. This shows that even in war there can still be light.
About the Book
Based on the true story of Indian WWI gunner and recipient of the Victoria Cross, Khudadad Khan. The story is told from four perspectives: Lotte, a Belgian farmgirl whose village is the flashpoint for a battle; Ernst, a German teenage cavalry soldier whose grandiose dreams of war lie in tatters; Khudadad Khan, the gunner fighting with the British Army; and a wild walnut tree.
When Lotte’s farm is destroyed in the fighting, she and her sister flee with their young neighbour Michael, to take refuge beneath the walnut tree on the ridge — a ridge currently being defended from the encroaching Germans by Indian gunner Khudadad Khan. There, they are joined by traumatised German soldier Ernst, whose horse lies lost in the trenches of the battle raging below.
As their perspectives converge, their shared humanity emerges as a light in the darkness of war, safe beneath the branches of the walnut tree that shelters them all.
Author
Jamila Gavin
Jamila Gavin is a British children’s author best known for her richly detailed historical and multicultural stories. Born in India and raised in the UK, she often draws on her heritage to explore themes of identity, family, and belonging. Her acclaimed works, including Coram Boy and The Wheel of Surya, have earned major literary awards and international recognition.
Reviewer Profile
Lilyana, 11
- Reviews: 10
- Likes: swimming, reading and kindness
- Dislikes: unkindness and mushrooms
- Favourite Book: Noughts and crosses by Malorie Blackman
- Favourite Artist: Alex Warren
- Favourite Film: Back to the Future II
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