Poppy

by Mary Hooper

Overview

England, 1914. Poppy is fifteen, beautiful and clever, but society has already carved out her destiny. There's no question of her attending more school; it's too expensive and unsuitable for a girl. Instead, Poppy will become a servant to the aristocratic de Vere family . . . and bury her feelings for their youngest son, Freddie. It doesn't matter that Freddie seems to have fallen just as hard for Poppy. He could never marry a girl like her.

But the set path for Poppy's life is irrevocably altered when it becomes clear that the war isn't going to be over soon. The chains of class, wealth, and her gender no longer matter--England needs every able bodied person to serve in battle in some way. Which, for Poppy, means volunteering on the front lines as a Voluntary Aid Detachment nurse. As she experiences what people are capable of--the best of humanity and the very worst--Poppy will find an unexpected freedom and discover how to be truly her own person.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781619634978
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	08/30/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
File size:	1 MB
Age Range:	13 Years

About the Author

Mary Hooper is a popular writer for children and young adults. Her historical novels have a huge fan base, as do her contemporary novels for teenagers. Mary lives in England.
www.maryhooper.co.uk
@maryhooper6
Mary Hooper is a very popular writer for children and young adults. Her brilliant historical novels have a huge fan base, as do her contemporary novels for teenagers. At The Sign of the Sugared Plum was selected as part of the 2010 Booked Up scheme and Fallen Grace has been nominated for the Carnegie Medal 2011. Mary lives in Henley-on-Thames.

Editorial Reviews

05/23/2016
A veteran of historical YA fiction, Hooper (Velvet) brings readers to the cusp of WWI as she introduces Poppy Pearson, a parlor maid at a Downton Abbey–like estate outside London. To help with the war effort, Poppy decides to leave the de Vere estate to become a volunteer nurse. Poppy is shy but capable, excited about the adventures that await her in her new role but also shocked by the sight of soldiers with terrible wounds and the reality of death that surrounds her. Hooper doesn’t shirk from describing the horrors of war (“Private Jones had lost an arm and was full of shrapnel; Private Brown had lost an arm and an ear, and couldn’t remember how”), but she balances them with Poppy’s kindhearted determination, as well as the potential for a class-defying romance (and possible heartbreak) once Freddie de Vere’s eye lands on Poppy. As the war continues and social norms are tested, Hooper gives readers a vivid glimpse into the lives of young men and women seeking to redefine themselves in a world in turbulent transition. Ages 13–up. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

07/01/2016
Gr 7 Up—Fifteen-year-old Poppy is a parlormaid for the aristocratic DeVere family in World War I-era England. She longs for more than her current status will allow, both in terms of romance—is Frederick, the family's younger son, romantically interested in her?—and ambition. She soon joins the Voluntary Auxiliary Service (VAD) as a nurse. Suddenly, she is thrust into a whole new world, learning how to care for the sick and horrifically injured soldiers who have recently come from the front. And then there's Frederick, whose letters and words seem to hint at wanting more than just friendship. As Poppy navigates her way through caring for injured soldiers and the minefield of social status and her own heart, she hopes to find her place in the world. This is a beautifully written novel by the author of Newes from the Dead and Fallen Grace. Poppy is intrepid, if a bit naive, and wholly likable. Her experience with the VAD is realistically drawn and very readable, and the descriptions of the soldiers and their stories are highly compelling. The romance is a bit rushed and forced, and the ending leaves a wide opening for a sequel. VERDICT Historical fiction lovers will gobble this up and ask for more about Poppy.—Necia Blundy, formerly at Marlborough Public Library, MA

School Library Journal

2016-05-04
This British import gives readers a look at one of the ways women served in World War I.A few months into the start of the Great War, Poppy, a 15-year-old parlor maid for a well-to-do British family, gets an offer from an old schoolteacher: she will pay Poppy an allowance so Poppy can train and serve as a member of the Voluntary Aid Detachment, a sort of unpaid junior nursing squad. Poppy begins her VAD training just as her brother, Billy, and the two sons of the family for whom she worked, Freddie and Jasper, join the army—Billy in the ranks, the others as officers. Details of Poppy's training and work in a large army hospital in England unfurl in leisurely detail from Poppy's point of view, occasionally enlivened by letters from family and friends. Poppy is pleasant but unremarkable, and the story's plot centers around an improbable half-romance between Poppy and Freddie that carries little narrative tension, so the ending, clearly a setup for a sequel, provides limited satisfaction. Though the race of the characters is never mentioned, readers will presume from the setting that they're white. For all that Poppy is working with boys wounded in a notably horrific war, the tone is light, almost distressingly so.This mildly interesting peek into a historical setting reads like an elderly person's memoir. (Historical fiction. 12-16)

Kirkus Reviews