Reviews

Lines of Courage by Jennifer A. Nielsen

emueller89's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

maurakeaney's review

3.0

This is a review of the audiobook edition. My 9 year old son and I read Lines of Courage together as an audiobook, and we agree on the 3 star rating...we liked it, but didn't love it. Following FIVE intersecting characters of different nationalities and backgrounds did seem to fit the goal that author Jennifer Nielsen had of giving readers an idea of the scope of how massive World War I was, but as a reader, it was difficult to follow all the changes in narrator, and the frequent switching made it difficult to develop much of an emotional investment in any of the 5. It also led to some pacing issues, where some character's stories seemed to fly by, and others went at a snail's pace.

Our audiobook was due to expire with 20% left and my son wasn't able to listen to the last chapters with me, and usually he would beg to borrow it again from the library so we could finish it together, but for this book, he just wasn't that interested and was fine with me summarizing the ending. The author's note was excellent and worth waiting for, but the conclusion of the book - while perhaps satisfying to readers who were emotionally invested - felt highly implausible at best.

Recommended for elementary library collections where Jennifer Nielsen is already popular or if there is a thirst for 20th century historical fiction; otherwise, I might skip this one. I did add it to my library collection because Nielsen's WWII books have had some interest and we don't have much set during WWI.

kayla_turtlelover's review

challenging hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

jasmine_jazzie's review

4.0

Rtc

violettsu's review

5.0

Gosh, this was amazing. That ending…I can’t even begin to describe how perfect it was. I read the last 80 pages abnormally quickly (it took well under an hour). The characters were amazing. My two favorites were Kara and Juliette. This book had me feeling every single emotion on the face of the earth, and now I’m mad at myself for waiting such a long time to read it.

Perfect out of five stars.

kpud's review

3.0

For some reason, this reminded me of reading the American Girl books when I was a kid. I really enjoyed it, especially the bits on the ambulance train which I haven’t read about before.

erincataldi's review

emotional informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

There are lots of WWII books for kids but not many from WWI. I thought this was an excellent book that outlined many different aspects of the war and humanized kids from all sides of the conflict. Obviously this book is intended for middle grade readers so it isn't as brutal and horrific as it could be, but these kids go through a lot, see horrible things, friends murdered, towns leveled, gruesome injuries. Five different teens find themselves connected by courage and an Austro-Hungarian medal. Throughout the course of the war, all of them are gifted this medal for one courageous act or another. There is a daughter of a German general, a fourteen year old Russian soldier, a young woman working on an ambulance train, a Jewish boy trying to brave for his mother, and a young girl separated from her family by the Germans. Their stories are all heartbreaking and I love the way they all weave together. The only thing that is too over the top for me (as an adult reading this) is that some of the main officers seem a little too nice. I don't want to spoil anything, but there is no way that men in their position would be as lenient as they were under the circumstances. Very good middle grade novel about WWI.

ringringringer's review

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

chantelled's review

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

violet_the_coffee_addict's review

4.0

It was refreshing to finally read a YA War Thriller that does not take place in World War 2! I enjoyed the way that the author wrote from five different perspectives because the moral lines are much more blurred in World War One than Two. In WW2, it is much clearer who is right and who is wrong. I will admit that I did enjoy some perspectives more than others, but in all, this was a solid book.