Stay Where You Are And Then Leave

Stay Where You Are And Then Leave by John Boyne is a 245 page historical fiction novel set in London, England during World War I.  Historical fiction is such a great genre because you get a great story AND a history lesson all in one novel.  There are LOTS of historical fiction novels out there about World War II, but surprisingly not near as many about World War I.  This is a great read to learn more about what life felt like for civilians NOT fighting in the Great War, particularly children, and what they also did to help the war effort.  The book also sheds light on original diagnosis of "shell shock," (which we now call PTSD) and how doctors were noticing that while some soldiers came home physically scarred from the war, others were mentally scarred.

Alfie is a young boy growing up in London, England when war is declared on his 5th birthday, ruining his birthday party.  Suddenly Alfie realizes the grown ups are acting strange and not getting along - some support the way, some are against it.  Alfie's parents are immediately in disagreement when his father, who drives the milk cart for the community, says he wants to enlist.  Alfie's mother and grandmother are furious with him and beg him not to.  But Alfie's father shows up one evening in uniform and the family is torn apart.  Alfie's world flips upside down in a matter of days when his father leaves for war and suddenly Alfie's best friend across the street is plucked from her home with her father since he was born in Prague and a threat of being a spy.  Four years slowly pass and Alfie's five year old life is only a memory of better times.  His best friend is still gone and his mother is never home.  She now works long hours as a nurse at a hospital while taking on other odd jobs to help ends meet, like laundry and mending clothes.  Alfie and his mother never hear from his father anymore and Alfie is convinced he has died, but his mother continues to tell him his father is on a secret mission for the government, but Alfie senses something is not right.  Alfie begins skipping school most days a week to head to the King's Cross train station to shine shoes to help earn extra money for their family.  He meets all sorts of people at the train station, even shining the shoes of the Prime Minister.  One day a doctor has his shoes shined while waiting on his train. While having his shoes shined and reading through some of his medical records, the doctor drops the files and papers begin to blow through the train station.  Alfie helps to quickly collect them and as he hands them back to the doctor, he notices his father's name, birthday, and ID number on one of the files.  Alfie is shocked and now more determined than ever to find out the truth about his father and if he is still alive.

Stay Where You Are And Then Leave is a great read for anyone looking to learn more about World War I (which is covered in 6th grade history standards).  It is a male narrator, so I encourage this one for the guys as well as the girls.  Although this book is about war, it does not have a lot of graphic content.  However, I would still recommend this for older readers (not younger than 5th grade) because John Boyne does jump around in time quite a bit.  It will take a more avid reader to follow along with the story's action and properly follow the events.  It is also set in London, so there are some words and phrases common to the British language.  It is a very heartfelt story of a little boy who is confused about the big world events going on in the world around him, but just wants to help and do the right thing.  If you enjoy this novel, you may also enjoy The Boy In The Striped Pajamas and The Boy At The Top Of The Mountain, which are both historical fiction novels about World War II.