This is a book review on “World War 1 – When the Lights Went out in Europe, Liam and Aoife’s Second Adventure” by Rod Smith. This book is about a brother and sister, travelling back in time to fight in World War 1 with their great grandad Tom. They experience what life was like in the trenches and meet some heroic figures from the war.

My favourite character in the book was Liam because he was the adventurous kind and was always in the centre of the action. My favourite parts are in one of the battles when Tom (his great grandfather ) was about to get shot and Liam took the bullet for him. After watching their relationship develop through the book, it was interesting to see he was willing to give his life for him.

I also liked the fact that the book touched on what was happening in other countries during the war as it gave a bigger picture of the impact the war had on the rest of the world.

While I enjoyed the time travel aspect of the book, allowing Liam to meet his great grandfather and join the army,  I didn’t feel the way he travelled back in time (holding his baby sister’s hand ) fit in with the story. I think a better idea would be if he found an old trunk full of some old letters in the attic that his great grandfather wrote during the war and he gets swallowed into the box of letters.

I also didn’t like the fantasy of Ferdia the horse running on water as he was travelling to France.

For most of the book I felt I was in it, until Ferdia and the magic came into it which made me think, “Oh no, not again, not again” (but I prefer fact books rather than fantasy!)

I would give the book ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ stars.

by Clodagh, 6th Class, Mary Queen of Ireland NS, Limerick

“World War I – When the Lights Went Out in Europe – Liam and Aoife’s Second Adventure ” by Rod Smith, published by Poolbeg Press, is now on sale for €8.99

Disclaimer: This book was provided by the publisher Poolbeg Press free of charge to Seomra Ranga for the purposes of this review.