The author of this book, D. Edward Bradley (book crossing screen name: dedward), generously gave me a copy of this book at our first-ever Kingston meetup last night.

From the back cover: "The time: September, 1941. The place: a high-class English boarding school for boys near London. Thirteen-year-old Harry Lockwood fights for survival at Markham College, where the misuse of power by sadistic prefects creates a closed society ruled by fear and violence. As if this is not enough, Hitler's bombardment of Britain with terrifying V1 flying bombs and V2 ballistic missiles threatens to destroy him. This is a story of loyal friendship betewen four boys, of young love, of tragedy and joy."

This particular copy will be part of a book ray and will be sent to the following people before being released into the wild:

1. sparky-redhead
2. minerswifebb
3. mozzfan
4. solittletime
5. mississippimom
6. bluenoser
7. TexasWren
8. N8an
9. gumshoe007
10. kellyhp
11. kymberlie
12. MaryZee
13. tootshelling

Update: I've been told that this little book has been collecting loads of interesting material on its travels. N8an and gumshoe007 thought it would be a great idea to send the book and all this collected material back to dedward after the book ring is finished. I think this is a wonderful idea and just wanted to post this update to let you all know what's going on with that. So, would the last reader (at this point it is tootshelling) please be so kind as to return the entire lot to the author, dedward, at the end of the ring. Thanks!

I quite enjoyed this book. It was a good story and it gave me a glimpse of what life might have been like for young students in England during WWII. It would seem that what went on inside the school was as terrifying as the events of the war. The relationships Harry had with his friends, and with Jenny, ensured the book wasn't all about terror and tragedy though.

I'm sending this one on to sparky-redhead on Monday.

Released on Monday, February 17, 2003 at Private Release to Another Book Crosser in Kingston, Ontario Canada.

Woo Hoo!!!! It's finally here! Jenny-lou-who sent this book to me as part of a Public Demand Bookray, LOL. She met the author at her local Meetup and he was kind enough to autograph this copy and give it to her for BookCrossing. I can't wait to read it!

I just finished reading this book. Though it was a thoroughly enjoyable story, to some extent I have to echo Skyring's comments http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/532377 about having trouble swallowing the idea that such young boys spoke with the syntax used in this book. There was also one instance in the early chapters where the game of soccer was referred to as both soccer and football. Having lived in the UK, I'm knowledgeable enough to know the difference between American and European football. It seemed inconsistent to me for that one single reference to the word soccer to be there. One last tiny bit of critical commentary.....Perhaps it is also a sign of the times we live in, but would these kids that are in their early to mid teens REALLY have travelled so far and wide all on their own, just to get to and from school? Was there no concern at all for kidnapping or any other kind of crime? And did their parents REALLY leave them all on their own with a member of the opposite sex like that? Somehow I doubt it.

Again...A thoroughly engaging and enjoyable story. I look forward to taking Harry to a war memorial here in town for a photo prior to sending it on to the next person on the list.

Alas....No photo at the war memorial for Harry's War, :-( but I did get it in the mail to minerswifebb today before taking Rocky to the local dog park. Air Mail to Canada wasn't that expensive ($3.75) and the difference in time was 7 days vs. 4-6 WEEKS, so I did it. I hope she enjoys the book as much as I did.

Received this book in the mail today from sparky-redhead...thanks! I am going away for a few days but my husband wants to read it first, so will have two reviews later! I must say I am very curious about this book and look forward to reading it! Thanks to the author for making it available.

I just want to note that my husband thoroughly enjoyed this book. Of the last 3 books he has read he says it is the best. Those other books are In A Sunburned Country and Round Ireland With A Fridge, so D.Edward Bradley is in good company!
It is next on my tbr list...currently reading Lucky for the Cdn. Book Ring

Thoroughly enjoyed this book....a glimpse into a place and time that rings true. I had heard that life in an upper class boys school could be rough and this books paints a a picture of ruthless prefects and house masters that is chilling! Add to that wwII and it makes for a good story.
Sparky-redhead...my husband who is about the same age as this author, used to travel at 11 years old on a bus that involved a 3 hour ferry ride across a lake to see an optomotrist...it took him all day and it was an adventure for him. He lived on a ranch and at about the same age would take a horse into the mountains, stay at old trapper cabins and fish for a few days! I never did meet his mother, but figure she must have been too busy to worry! Also times *were*very different then, much more innocent I think. also kids grew up with much more responsibility on their shoulders...to be respectful, to look after themselves and others etc. Harry in the book was a Boy Scout and that and Girl guides were great organisations for kids to experience being part of a team and all that involves. So I don't think that Harry's travels on his own to and from school were that uncommon. And sex? In the context of the times I'll bet it didn't worry Harry's mother to leave him and his 'friend' Jenny alone. (little did she know eh?)

Released on Wednesday, April 16, 2003 at post office in Greenwood, British Columbia Canada.

As mozzfan has way too many books on her tbr pile at the moment, Harry is off to solittle time.Enjoy!

I am delighted that Harry arrived to visit today. This is my first book ring/ray book, though I've signed up for several, so I'll try to get it out to the rest of the list quickly.

I meant to also thank D Edward Bradley for contributing the book and Jenny-Lou-Who for arranging this book ray. It is giving several of us a chance to explore Harry's world through Harry's War.

I finished Harry's War a couple of days ago and am waiting for a response to a PM for a mailing address for mississippimom so that I can forward it on its way.

I'll do another journal entry soon with my thoughts on the book, just wanted to update it's travel status for now.

I enjoyed reading this book for the glimpse it gave me of another time and place, but I have to admit I was appalled at the cruelty evident in the boys' school system which appeared to have been not merely tolerated but sanctioned and sometimes required by the school authorities. The ritualized punishments designed to put fear and dread into the students, along with the unflagging belief in the older boys' versions over anything the younger ones said, to the point where it was better to say nothing at all than to admit to a beating, actually upset me more than the backdrop of wartime air raids and attacks.

I didn't find it unbelievable that Harry would travel to and from school alone at that age, as I was traveling from Maine to New York City by bus alone at that age too, but the fact that he never mentioned the conditions at school to his mother, until he ran away, seemed incredible to me. I've heard the British phrase "Stiff Upper Lip," but there's a limit to what one should have to endure in silence.

Mailed today to mississippimom, who is next in this book ring, via priority mail.

yipppeeee..... I've got Harry and I'm really looking forward to reading about his life at this crusty old boys school...
Thanks to solittletime for getting this to me via priority mail!
This is my first bookray and it was a wonderful surprise to open the mailbox and find this package... What was unexpected was the postcard and other little tidbits Harry picked up on his journey to Mississippi.... like little souvenirs of his travels... what fun!

Just from reading the journal entries so far it looks like Harry must have had a really tough time. I've never believed in corporal punishment at schools...detension, extra homework or other forms of punishment yes, but never hit one of my boys! My husband and I never hit our boys and I sure as heck wasn't going to let them be hit by a teacher or principal!
Anyway.... I'm looking forward to reading about Harry...and a BIG Thank You to D. Edward Bradley for sharing this with us!

Does anyone know whose picture was used on the front cover? Possibly the author or one of his relatives?

The picture is a 'doodlebug'.... Just had to look it up after reading the book....

I enjoyed reading about Harry's life at Markham College... The book is an education in itself... When I first started the book I thought I was reading about boys in their late teens or early twenties attending college (university). To find out Harry was only thirteen and that his 'college' was actually what I would call prep school or high school made it all the more interesting.

I don't know which was more depressing, Harry's war with nasty upper classmen, or Hitler's bombs/missiles invading his youth with near death experiences and nightmares. Either way, Harry's was not a very happy life. I was glad when he met Jenny and she brought a little joy into his rather sad existence. She seemed to be the one ray of sunshine in Harry's dreary life.

Now I want to read the sequel "Another Kind of War" just to make sure Harry's all right...

Harry's off to visit bluenoser In Nova Scotia today.

Oh,BTW, the picture on the cover is dedward as a young boy!
Isn't that grand!

Thanks mississippimom. I found "Harry's War" safe and sound in my mailbox when I arrived home from work this evening. Good timing as I finished "The Royal Game" during my lunch break today and "Cat Crimes II" while walking the dog this evening.
I'm excited at the prospect of finally reading this book.

I enjoyed this book from 2 standpoints. Firstly Christchurch, where Harry's home is, is just a few miles away from where I lived most of my childhood. Many, many times I have taken the train from Waterloo, through Southampton, to Bournemouth and on to my old home town. Those were different times. I started travelling on public transport from the age of 7 and we spent all summer school vacations out on our bicycles, in canoes, on roller skates etc. from dawn to dusk, stopping to eat at whichever friend's house we were closest to. Our front door at home, which was right on the street, was only locked at night and windows and garden gates were never locked.
I was a bit surprised that the boys were able to buy candy, chocolate, cakes etc on a regular basis. I was born in 1943 but I can remember rationing of candy still when I was about 7, a tiny bagful of whatever was available at the "Sweet Shop" on Saturday mornings was all we were able to get even then, in 1950.
I must admit that the physical and mental abuse sounds worse than I remember it, but then I didn't go to a boy's school. We had one teacher at my junior school who would pull our hair and smack our knuckles with a ruler, and that HURTS. In senior school, an all-girl boarding school, run by nuns, the rules were very strict but we didn't get beaten, just went without supper or spent Saturday mornings writing essays about our wrong-doings. We were NEVER allowed off the school grounds, until we were "prefects", i.e. in our last year and 17 or 18 years old. We had to wear uniforms every day, even weekends, no jewelry, no make-up, no letters to boys (our letters were censored!), no novels, no rock music on the radio, no TV. The food was awful and we didn't have "tuck boxes" and yes, I did consider running away when I first went there, but I was just 11, the school was miles out in the country and it would have been a LONG walk to reach a bus stop, never mind getting home with no money.
This is heading off to TexasWren by mail tomorrow. It's interesting to see how younger readers and North Americans at that are reacting to this book.
My thanks to D. Edward Bradley and jenny-lou-who for making this book available via a book-ray.
Happy reading TW.

I have been looking forward to this one for a long time! Thanks for sending it so quicklyl, Bluenoser.
I has arrived with a packet of tourist pamphlets, which promises to be almost as entertaining to us as the book, since Johnnie and I are both armchair travelers.

I liked this a lot!! I'm so glad I had the chance to read it. I had read about the doodlebugs before,and the whole idea just seemed so terrifying. It was my first experience with the V2's though. Having been fortunate enough to have lived my entire life in a place where the worst thing to worry about was--well, trivial, I can't imagine dealing with so much at such a young age.

Well done Dedward! You have a book to be very proud of! Thank you for sharing it with me.

It is leaving for a journey to Canada today. N8an, you have a real treat in store for you!

This arrived today in the post, and I can't wait to read it - I must also say there's a supreme amount of "add-ons" in the package: Pamphlets and post-cards galore! The Miner's Wife B&B pamphlet, A Nova Scotia Postcard, Memphis Queen Riverboat Rides, Graceland, Memphis Rock and Roll Museum, Stax, National Civil Rights Museum, National Ornamental Metal Museum, Mississipi Tunica: 10 Years of Gaming and Tourism, The Mississipi River Museum, The Children's Museum of Memphis, The Pink Palace (a fave), Greenwood B.C., A walking tour of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, The Yarmouth County Museum and Archives, A postcard of the Texas Jackalope (heh), a pamphlet on Whitney Lake, Texas, and finally, the book-ray list. *phew*!

More when I'm done...

I really enjoyed this.

A great deal of the charm of this story is in the characters, and their development - Harry is a realistic kid (though he suffers from an adult vocabulary a bit, as do most of the children characters). The supporting roles are likewise well done and very interesting - I really enjoyed the character of the Matron (did she ever get a name?), who went from ogress to good friend over the course of the story in a very subtle manner.

Throughout the story, the war is nearly a character in its own right, and I found the various coping mechanisms the characters adopted were solid. Harry and Jenny's romance was at times somewhat rushed, but when surrounded by so much potential (and actual) death, it didn't seem all that impossible.

Of a very tangental note, my grandfather was one of the designers of the Lancaster bomber, so seeing it grace the pages chuffed me up a bit - and the Brit slang was pretty much spot-on throughout the book (though I have to admit, the reference to cigarettes as 'smokes' seemed off - every Brit I knew growing up called them 'fags,' but I imagine there was a bit of author's choice there, to avoid confusion with the kids fagging for the senior boys in the school).

All in all, very well done, and I shall have to hunt down more of Mr. Bradley's books.

Although Idioteqnician is next on the list for this one, I'm breaking the ray a bit to add in his sister, gumshoe007, first - I figure it's a familial right thing (my big sister always got to go first), but she's right here in the city, and this is a quick enough read that it shouldn't derail things too badly...

I also need to find a Canada sticker of somesort, to add to the USA flag on the inside cover.

Receved from N8an tonight at Meetup. I'm holding the infamous "Harry's War" in my hands! Will start tomorrow or next day. Thanks for breaking the ring for the older (not "big"!) sister.

How do I manage to always keep books longer than I thought I would. Ugh!

Wow! I just finished this book tonight and I couldn't wait until morning to journal. I don't want to comment on all the same things as the previous readers but there seems to be a theme. As far as the language of the boys ( I read the journal entries before reading the book), I thought most of it was believable. There were definitely a few parts where I was surprised at their thoughts or words but not necessarily because of the vocab but more concerning content. Otherwise, even to this day, I find the British (young and old) use a different English than we N.Americans do. Working there last summer, I would hear someone say "shan't", for example. I would never use "shall not" or "shan't" for any reason here in Canada. So it's likely, especially in the 1940's, that young adults might use that language.

I liked the relationship between Harry and Jenny, obviously. It did seemed rushed, but I'm no one to judge the speed of attraction, lust, or lack of self-control for that matter.

But by far, I enjoyed the comraderie of the 4 boys the best. (Well, minus Wet after his early exit). I really liked the Captain and his intellectual image among the boys. I'd really like to know, though, the story behind his angry outbursts in the latter parts of the book. It was never really explained and I just wondered if there was more to it?? Maybe we'll find out in Another Kind of War.

I do hope dedward will consider sending the sequel out via jenny-lou-who again! Thanks j-l-w for starting the ray!!! I've added another sticker to the inside of the book along with flag stickers.....a RCAF sticker. Appropriate I thought, though I wish I had an RAF one instead. It could use a Union Jack sticker, too, I suppose!

This will be going off in the mail tomorrow or day after to kellyhp. Enjoy!!

I have a copy of the sequel to Harry's War...Another Kind Of War, and would like to send it out on a ray. I figured this wasn't a bad spot to put out the word! Anyone interested?

Hey minerswifebb....
I would love to read "Another Kind of War" ... I tried to pm you, but couldn't :(
I really need to know what happened to Harry & Jenny and find out what the Captain was up to...
Please sign me up for this bookray! Thanks for starting it!

I have a copy of the sequel as well, RABCK'ed to me by jenny-lou-who. I know I've promised it to someone, though without it in front of me I can't remember who (there's a sticky note on the cover). Unfortunately, with a rough semester of graduate school on my plate at the moment, I'm not doing very much pleasure reading. My apologies to whomever is sitting there waiting for me to get off my duff and read the sequel.

Received this book as part of a Bookring. I am looking forward to it.

I hate to hold onto this one any longer. I am struggling through it and it is only the beginning. I have too much on my plate right now tihe school and plan to mail it off to Kymberlie by the weeks end. I don't want to keep everyone waiting any longer.

Received today - thanks, kellyhp! Going to get to it as soon as I can so I can pass it on. Thanks for the opportunity to read this one!

Received some time in between me getting sick in September and now. Going to read this as soon as I can so I can keep the ring alive. Sorry about the delay!

Mailed this off today to the next person in the list. Hope you enjoy it!

ourteen-year-old Harry Lockwood has just set off to attend Markhaven College on the outskirts of London. It’s 1941 and World War II is happening all around him - bombs go off, airplanes fly overhead, and people he knows are getting killed. At the same time, Harry (or Woody to his friends) has to contend with growing up and with the harsh realities of life in the British educational system.

The thing that impressed itself upon me most of all from this book was the description of the British educational system. I’ve always found all of the corporal punishment and hazing that goes on in schools like the one Harry attended abhorent and that idea was only reinforced by this book. I find it unbelievable that people ever would think that treating a child in that manner would be good for them.

Otherwise, I found this book to be very interesting both in the description of the war and in Harry and his group of friends. I would like to read the sequel to see what happened to Harry, Captain, and the rest of his group from school.

Just came in the mail today. Will start on this one soon.

7/20 update - Just starting on this today. Picked up my goodies to include in this package yesterday.

I really enjoyed this book - a quick read. I just now read thru all the journal entries, and don't have too much to add.
This book is very different from what I normally read - I don't ususally find "war" stories interesting, but this one thru its young characters, gave the war a very human touch.
I don't have much to add to the discussion about the hazing that went on at the boy's school - suffice it to say that it was a very different time. But about the urgency of Jenny and Harry's meetings, from what I've heard of others that were young adults during the war, there was a sense of urgency caused by living during war times. I don't think it was very unusual for people to meet, and if someone had to leave soon for the service, it was often decided to marry quickly, while there was time. They never knew what tomorrow would bring, so there was a sense of immediacy in living in the present moment.

Sent this book, and its goodies on to Tootshelling on Tuesday, 7/27.