And in the Morning by John Wilson Date of Publication: 2003 ISBN: 1553373480 Number of Pages: 198

REQUIRED READING ABILITY: Average
GENRES: : Historical Fiction, Realism
THEMES: Family, Coming of Age, Survival, Life versus Death, Appearance versus Reality

SUMMARY:
In 1914, fifteen-year-old Jim has a romantic image of war and can't wait until he is old enough to join up. When his father enlists, Jim begins to record his thoughts in a journal. Jim cannot understand why his mother is so weepy and unhappy or even why his girlfriend Anne is so against the war. When his father is killed in action, his mother sinks into a deep depression. She is committed to hospital and dies soon after.

Jim decides to enlist and joins the 16th Highland Light Infantry. He comes face to face with the reality of war in the front line trenches. While on leave, he marries his childhood sweetheart and then quickly returns to the battlefields in Europe.

During an advancement of the Allies’ front lines along the Somme River, Jim is hit on the head during the shelling. He becomes confused and is mistaken for a deserter. Jim's injured commanding officer, Lieutenant Thorpe, speaks on his behalf, however Jim is found guilty, is court-martialed, and is sentenced to die by firing squad.

Lieutenant Thorpe ends up marrying the pregnant Anne and brings up Jim's son as his own.

WHO WOULD LOVE THIS BOOK? A kid who...

• is fascinated by World War I or wars in general
• believes war is exciting and thrilling
• has an interest in family history
• likes surprise endings
• doesn’t mind a shocking or upsetting conclusion to a story
• likes to read journals and first person accounts
• can handle gritty, realistic, violent scenes about the carnage of war

WHAT ELSE?
This story has been awarded the 2003 Parent's Guide to Children's Media Award, and was nominated for both the Chocolate Lily Award and the 2004 White Pine Award. John Wilson is a respected writer of Canadian history, and has a number of other books to his credit.
The story is written in journal form, and is filled with excerpts from newspaper articles, radio transmissions etc. The novel is crafted so that it appears the reader is reading it along with Jim’s great-grandson, who has inherited the supposed journal, which has been kept in trust until this point.

RELATED LINKS:
Author's Biography
Critical Analysis of the Book and Characters