Skip to content | Skip to institutional links

Common menu bar links

Archived Content

This archived Web page remains online for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. This page will not be altered or updated. Web pages that are archived on the Internet are not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards. As per the Communications Policy of the Government of Canada, you can request alternate formats of this page on the Contact Us page.

English Titles

		CHARLIE WILCOX'S GREAT WAR SHARON E. McKAY TORONTO: PENGUIN CANADA, 2003. 268 P. ISBN 0143014714 AGES 12 AND UP
Charlie Wilcox's Great War Source

This book continues the story of Charlie Wilcox, now 17 years old. We first meet the young protagonist in the award-winning book Charlie Wilcox, though it is not necessary to have read the first story to enjoy this sequel. Its Prologue and Who's Who help identify the characters, and a helpful glossary is also provided. In it, Charlie recounts his story in a series of flashbacks to his friend Claire.

He explains how he worked as a volunteer medic at the Front in France. While stitching up one of the wounded, he realizes that the patient is the enemy. Dr. Daniels, a fellow Newfoundlander, tells him that he has no business being a medic if he doesn't treat everyone. Charlie realizes that it is easier to kill if you think of your enemy as a monster. Since Charlie is so young, Dr. Daniels tries to send him back home, but Charlie gets himself into an adventure that would not be out of place in a spy story. The plane he is in is shot down behind enemy lines. He and the pilot steal a German plane, which then gets shot down by their side, and they must jump. Fortunately, German planes carried parachutes (British planes did not); unfortunately, the two landed right in No Man's Land. McKay's descriptions make you feel like you are right there with Charlie.

-LS