Billy has lied about his age to enlist in the British army and quickly learns about the horrors of war. While the fighting takes an emotional toll on Billy’s mind and heart, his friendship with Captain helps him to heal and learn the true power of friendship.

Apart from her irritating use of the phrase "you see," which appears with distressing frequency, Sam Angus writes beautifully.
Unfortunately, that is where my praise for this book stops. To be fair, the biggest problem is probably packaging and marketing. It is marketed as a young adult novel. The cover primarily shows a charming photo of a young boy and a donkey. The blurb promises a book about learning the true meaning of friendship.
Captain (the boy represented on the cover) is an orphan who tags along with a British regiment in World War I. Billy, the narrator, joined the army by lying about his age. Supposedly, the two become friends. Captain is definitely an appealing character, but he is not well developed. The narrator grows increasingly less likable as the book goes along. The story of their friendship, such as it is, could be told in 25 pages or so. But the rest is unending and tedious military-history-style descriptions of life in the army, in the trenches, detailed analysis of campaigns and sieges, of supply shortages, hunger, disease, and the brutality of war. I may have even liked the book if I were expecting a book like that, but since I was hoping for an uplifting tale of two boys becoming fast friends, it was an extreme let-down.
Angus' editor should have removed ever single occurrence of "you see" and her publisher should have marketed this as an adult novel about the brutality of war (though it doesn't get gory, it goes into details otherwise.) ( )