The Line Of Fire

By Barroux
Reviewed By Kat Winter

First Published:
http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2014/mar/27/review-line-of-fire-barroux
28 March 2014

The French author and illustrator Barroux was walking down the street one day in Paris and saw two men covered in grime and dust, putting some stuff on the pavement. "We're emptying out the basement. Help yourself, if you like!" they said.

In the middle of the junk, Barroux spotted a small cardboard box holding an old, battered diary. It was written by an unknown French soldier at the beginning of the first world war, and Barroux was intrigued. After reading through it a few times, he decided to turn it into a graphic novel. He called it "Line of Fire".

I chose this book because my great-grandfather was a 17-year-old English soldier who fought in the First World War. I thought this book would give me an idea of what it was like. This book describes how the soldier felt when he had to leave his family to fight on the other side of the country. He was scared, excited, cold, tired and worried for the other soldiers and his family. When he was injured he felt guilty – he felt he had abandoned the other soldiers.

Barroux drew the pictures, which were very realistic (apart from the noses, which looked like beaks). The pictures were simple charcoal drawings, and I liked them a lot.

I recommend this book to older children who enjoy learning about history, and I rate this book 8 out of 10.