'His [Tommo's] journey from agricultural labourer to cannon fodder is movingly told... Michael Morpurgo is expert at getting through to his readers. He writes here about events that should never be forgotten nor forgiven, and does so most effectively.'
- Independent
'Full of warmth as well as grief, conveying vividly how precious it is to be alive'
- Sunday Times
'The best novel he's written since The Butterfly Lion.'
- Times
'Deserved to last as an insight into the First World War in the same way as, say, The Silver Sword or Goodnight Mr Tom.'
- Telegraph
'A poignant, elegiac novel.'
- Daily Mail