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A Rose for the Anzac Boys Kindle Edition

by Jackie French (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 114 ratings
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The 'War to end all Wars', as seen through the eyes of three young women

War is being fought on a horrific scale in the trenches of France, but it might as well be a world away from sixteen-year-old New Zealander Midge Macpherson, at school in England learning to be a young lady. But the war is coming closer: Midge's brothers are in the army, and her twin, Tim, is listed as 'missing' in the devastating defeat of the Anzac forces at Gallipoli .

Desperate to do their bit - and avoid the boredom of school and the restrictions of Society - Midge and her friends Ethel and Anne start a canteen in France, caring for the endless flow of wounded soldiers returning from the front. Midge, recruited by the over-stretched ambulance service, is thrust into carnage and scenes of courage she could never have imagined.

And when the war is over, all three girls - and their Anzac boys - discover that even going 'home' can be both strange and wonderful. Exhaustively researched but written with the lightest of touches, this is Jackie French at her very best.

AWARDS

Shortlisted - 2009 ABIA Awards
Honour Book - 2009 CBCA Book of the Year Awards (Younger Readers)

PRAISE

'Highly recommended for teenage to adult readers' - Readings

'A book of many voices. Poignant, graphic and compulsive fiction about women who volunteered during WWI' - Sunday Age

'Beautifully written. An important story. The use of a sixteen year old protagonist will make the story more real and more confronting for teen readers' - Aussie Reviews

'A well-researched story about the invaluable support women provided during the war. Recommended for secondary school-aged children' - Australian Bookseller and Publisher

'... rousing stuff, and it hasn't been watered down. French doesn't shy away from the nightmarish conditions of trench warfare. Highly readable, scrupulous in its history ... an ideal text for schools' - Sydney Morning Herald

'... entertaining and uplifting' - Sun-Guardian Blacktown

'This is a moving story about the love, kindness and humanity of the people involved in the bloodshed and carnage of World War I' - Launceston Examiner

'Jackie has woven her usual magic with her deft light touch and humour in this gripping story' - Toowoomba Chronicle

'A warm tribute to extraordinary women in extraordinary times. We must remember them' - Woman's Day

'Younger readers will enjoy this story about the soldiers of World War I and the volunteers who supported them' - Brisbane News

'Comprehensively researched and beautifully written' - South Coast Register

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Previous page
  1. Reading age
    12 years and up
  2. Print length
    290 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    HarperCollins
  5. Publication date
    1 April 2010
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  9. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  10. ISBN-13
    978-0732285401
  11. See all details
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Product description

About the Author

Jackie French is a full-time writer who lives near Braidwood in the Araluen Valley, NSW. In 2000, HITLER'S DAUGHTER was awarded the CBC Younger Readers' Award. TO THE MOON AND BACK won the Eve Pownall Award in 2005. Most recently, A ROSE FOR THE ANZAC BOYS was named an Honour Book in the 2009 CBCA awards.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B003FLPW1I
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollins (1 April 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 625 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 290 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 114 ratings

About the author

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Jackie French

Jackie French

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Jackie French is a highly esteemed writer for children and adults with more than 100 books to her credit. She lives in Australia with her family and usually one or more wombats. Her web site is www.jackiefrench.com.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
114 global ratings

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Top reviews from Australia

Paul Watkins
5.0 out of 5 stars Another outstanding book by Jackie French
Reviewed in Australia on 12 August 2023
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The best books are ones that cause unexpected emotion while reading and stay with you for days afterwards – this one did exactly that! I read in the Author’s Notes that she cried while writing it and I sure cried while reading it. As a military historian I was impressed with the historic references and more particularly the characters, and how relatable they are. It’s easy to imagine them in real life.

Days after reading it, I still have three immensely powerful scenes from the book stuck in my mind. One particular scene (sorry, no spoilers) had me in tears for some time (yes, I’m a grown man) due to how it captured the witnessing of a death in a most emotionally perfect way. Incredible writing!

I'm a Kiwi myself and this book is about a teen Kiwi girl volunteering to help in WW1. A moving story of how she is surrounded by love, death, anguish and friendship, not to mention bravery.
I can easily give this one 5+ stars and highly recommend it to all ages, 10+
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hazel arnold
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in Australia on 22 May 2015
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Thoroughly enjoyed it!
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Song
5.0 out of 5 stars A look at women in WW1
Reviewed in Australia on 22 April 2020
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A look at how many women contributed to and gave their lives during the horrific days of WW1.
So much unknown history of these women and how the author has woven stories from personal diaries into an enjoyable read that brings tears to the eyes over and over again.
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Kindle Customersheila Robinson
5.0 out of 5 stars A rose for the Anzac boys
Reviewed in Australia on 27 April 2021
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Such a great story,so realistic and cruel couldn't put it down until the last word.If you enjoy first world war stories,read this one
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kaaren smith
5.0 out of 5 stars A Rose for the Anzac Boys
Reviewed in Australia on 27 May 2015
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A riveting novel that speaks close to what may have happened during World War 1.
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Top reviews from other countries

Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars NOT YA Fiction--A Believable Passage to WWI
Reviewed in the United States on 29 November 2015
Verified Purchase
I've been reading a lot of English-language histories, memoirs, and diaries of women, mostly nurses, who worked in France during WWI, as background to re-enacting a French Red Cross volunteer in a cantine. All of these are moving, but many are colored by the conventions of their time (look at the positive, protect those at home from terrible realities, glorify or romanticize the roles or effort, depending on the agenda or needs of the writer). Many are hard to wade through, although all contribute to our understanding of that unforgivable war.

Unlike the historical record, "A Rose..." is a first-person novel, based on solid research, told from the perspective of a New Zealand teenager who goes to France to run a railway canteen with two British friends. These things happened in reality. It pulls no punches, and preaches no sermons. It provides a convincing, emotionally honest story of one young woman's losses and maturation. The age of the protagonist doesn't make it YA--it can be read by anyone. Descriptions of battlefield and behind the lines service are gut wrenching. This isn't for the delicate or romantically inclined. It is, though, an exceptional insight into the life of ordinary young women in an extraordinary time. It gave me a more immediate sense of what "average" women's lives might have been like day to day in that context than anything else I've read. More importantly, I couldn't put it down.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A boom everybody should read
Reviewed in the United States on 17 July 2019
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The “Great” war should not be forgotten. And this book reminds us of the horrors and the nobility. Every man, woman and child should read it.
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Red
5.0 out of 5 stars The story follows Midge, who goes to France along ...
Reviewed in the United States on 9 November 2014
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The story follows Midge, who goes to France along with two friends to set up a canteen for soldiers. Along the way, Midge spends some time as a volunteer ambulance driver and in a hospital at the front. The author deals with the subject of PTSD (shell shock) and what happens after the war, as well.
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Timothy J. Batten
5.0 out of 5 stars Very moving, without being soppy
Reviewed in the United States on 4 January 2018
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Well written, moving but not soppy. And I learned something about WW1 and the role of women, and perhaps the subsequent societal impact if this
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kylie
5.0 out of 5 stars real tear jerker loved it
Reviewed in the United States on 24 August 2013
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great book another I couldn't put down felt that it could have been very close to what did occur back in the war times get your hankie out because you,will need it
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