Young Quills reviews

Gurkran’s review
What happens? Did you find the plot interesting? 
I found the plot interesting because I like learning about the First World War.

Who are the main characters?
The main characters are Lily and Ben.

Who was your favourite character? Why?
Lily was my favourite character because she helped her friend when he got hurt.

Did you like the book?
Kind of, because I found it sad and I like happy and funny books.

What was your favourite part? Why?
My favourite part was when Lily said, “It’s me” and when she was caring for her friend, Ben.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
I would recommend it to year 4 to year 6 because it’s quite easy to read and happy.

Star rating ★★★

Finn’s review
I enjoyed this book because it had feeling and because it is about the past.

I liked Lily most because she was caring, brave, and adventurous.

I learnt that men and women volunteered to be soldiers and nurses. It was interesting to read because it was set in the time of World War 1. I would think of it as a thought-provoking story. It makes you think about what it was like in World War 1.

I would recommend this book for 5 – 10 year olds and people who want to learn more about World War 1.

Amrita’s review
What happens? Did you find the plot interesting?
Lily joins the nursing army. I did find it interesting.

Who are the main characters?
The main characters are Lily, Ray, and Ben.

Who was your favourite character? Why?
My favourite character was Lily because she didn’t only become a nurse to help her friends but she did it to help others.

Did you like the book?
I loved the book because it was emotional but at the same time, interesting.

What was your favourite part? Why?
My favourite part was when Lily helped Ben when he was unwell because it was a kindness and it was a good example for the future to be kind and respectful to others.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
I would recommend this book because not only is it a book about the war, there is also a bit of history because on the start of the book is Florence Nightingale’s speech. 

Star rating ★★★★★

Asha’s review
I did enjoy reading the book but I didn’t like the beginning because it was a bit boring. I did like the middle and the ending.

My character that I found most interesting was Lily because she decided to be a nurse so she could help people in the war which was very kind.

I learnt that men had to go to war at a certain time of life if they are needed.

I would recommend this book to other people because they could learn something new like me.

Ruby’s review
I really enjoyed reading this book because it was interesting and gave me a fuzzy feeling inside. It was that incredible!

My favourite characters were definitely Ben and Lily because of their really strong, loving friendship and when they got married it was such a great ending to a powerful book.

This book taught me some interesting facts like the War ended on the 11/11/1918 at the 11th minute at the 11^th hour and to this day we still remember them.

Although I already knew about the war I felt included and it was like I was there when I was reading it because it seemed so real and from someone’s experience.

I loved the timeline of this book and how Lily aged and what she achieved through her life.

I would absolutely recommend this book to others and I will definitely be going out to buy it myself!

Congratulations on your awesome book and carry on doing your job as author because you are incredible!

Olivia’s review
Which of the characters did you find most interesting, and why?
Ben and Ray because they were in the army.

Which of the characters didn’t you like, and why?
None.

Did you learn anything new about the past from the book?
Girls were nurses in the army and for wounded people.

What made the history or the time it was set in interesting?
Children ate wild berries.

Would you recommend the book to other pupils?
If they like learning about the war they should read this book.

Elisia’s review
Which of the characters did you find most interesting, and why?
Lily, because she was good at helping.

Which of the characters didn’t you like, and why?
None.

Did you learn anything new about the past from the book?
I learned that you can do anything.

What made the history or the time it was set in interesting?
It was exciting and fun.

Would you recommend the book to other pupils?
Definitely. This book is one of my favourites.

Summer’s review
Which of the characters did you find most interesting, and why?
Lily, because she helped all of her friends.

Which of the characters didn’t you like, and why?
I liked all of the characters.

Did you learn anything new about the past from the book?
I learned that the war was dangerous.

What made the history or the time it was set in interesting?
It seemed interesting because I got to see what it was like in the past.

Would you recommend the book to other pupils?
Yes, definitely.

Liliana’s review
I really enjoyed reading my book because it is about the war and I enjoy learning a bit more about interesting things like this.

I found Lily most interesting as she was helpful and would do anything for her friends Ray and Ben. I learnt that they had no hospitals apart from small tents and they went to war very early. It was a long time ago so we got to see what it was like with no electrical devices and what games they played.

I would recommend it because it is a simple short book that anyone can read.

Alex’s review
Which of the characters did you find most interesting, and why?
I liked Lily because when her friends went to the war she helped Ben when he got injured.

Which of the characters didn’t you like, and why?
I liked all of them.

Did you learn anything new about the past from the book?
Yes, that nurses that went to war helped people and after the war, poppies grew.

What made the history or the time it was set in interesting?
I like learning about the past, I find it interesting. This is a really good book.

Would you recommend the book to other pupils?
Yes, I recommend it for 4 – 10 years.

Natasha’s review
Characters: The characters were Lily and Ben. I liked them both and Lily made me feel inspired also. Ben made me feel grateful for what I have.

Plot: Lily and her friend loved playing with each other. As they got older, Ben injured himself in the war and Lily was a nurse at the time, and Lily helped him to survive. Ben and Lily got married and spent a life together.

My favourite part was when Ben and Lily got married because they were just meant to be. And all I would say is don’t judge a book by its cover!

I would recommend Peace Lily to ages 7+.

Joe’s review
I liked this story because it is by the same person who wrote Where the Poppies Now Grow, which we have been reading at school. This book is also about World War One but this time it is about a nurse. I thought the nurse was a friend of Ben and Ray, soldiers who were in the first book, and that she wanted to help with the war as well as the boys. This book is a poem as well as a story and it has beautiful pictures all the way through.

Henry’s review
This book is about a group of friends called Ben, Ray, and Lily. Ben and Ray go off to fight in the War and this makes their friend Lily very sad. When Lily is old enough, she decides that she will go off to war as well. Only she will go to war as a nurse to save lives and help wounded soldiers. She is a hero.

Oliver T’s review
Peace Lily is a great historical book novel which proves that war is a terrible thing, not something people should want to start.

I would recommend it to people over the age of 9 as this is a suitable age for children to understand it.

I learnt to always keep believing and never give up, as all hope seemed to have been lost when Lily’s friends got shot but she never gave up.

The thing that stands out most is where, in the war hospital, every bed was full of terribly sick patients. This proves that war is life-snatching.

The history was interesting as Lily’s friends somehow managed to make it home, which shows that you just have to be resilient to make a miracle happen.

The character I found most interesting is Lily as she treated every person the same e.g. she saved many lives in the hospital. I liked every character as there were no nasty parts of the book.

Katie’s review
My favourite character is Lily because she is the main character and you know how she feels.

The rest of the characters that I did not like are her parents because they were not in the story a lot.

I found the book interesting because it was set in wartime and you get to know what the nurses did. I would recommend this book because it was easy to read and there were pictures on every page of the book.

On one page there was lightning.

I would recommend it to ages 8–9.

Oliver K’s review
The book is about a girl called Lily and how her life changed during the First World War.

The text rhymes and there are lots of pictures to help you try and understand the story a bit more. I liked the book because it was not difficult to read and there was not much gore.

I would recommend this book to everyone and especially younger readers due to the fact that they like looking at pictures.

If you can, try to buy this book because it is brilliant.

Lydia’s review
I enjoyed this book because I understood the setting. We have been learning about WW1 and it was good to read a book set in that time period.

I found that the most interesting character was Lily because of the things that she went through in her life.

I learnt from this book that the nurses in the war were always in tents. This was so that they could prepare at any time.

There wasn’t any secret planning involved in the book. This was unusual considering that it was a book about war.

The thing that stood out for me in the book was the risks that everyone in the book took. However, they all took the risks for good reasons.

I would recommend Peace Lily to another person probably the age of 7 or 8. This is because it is easy enough for them to read, however still fascinating and enjoyable.

I hope this encourages more people to read Peace Lily.

Daisy’s review
My favourite character in this book was Lily because it was about her life and she was a really important person in the war.

I didn’t really like Ray because he was kind of a step-in character and barely said anything. I learnt that even if a soldier was really badly injured, they could be saved. It was all about war which was interesting to see what a lifetime was like then and what soldiers were like. It was exciting to see what would happen next and also sad that so many soldiers got injured.

Even though it was a picture book, it was still fun and interesting to read.

I would recommend it for younger people to read, but it was nice reading it myself to younger people.

Jess’s review
I would like to bring you to the attention of a brilliant book that I have just finished reading called Peace Lily. It is about a girl who has always wanted to be a nurse. Finally, when the opportunity comes to become a nurse (to help Britain in the war) she takes it.

In my opinion, Lily was the most interesting character because it was fascinating to see her grow up and her passion for nursing increase.

This book helps people learn about how women contributed to the war and that they played a vital part in it. Peace Lily is especially good for ages 5 to 12 because it really is moving but in the same way, light-hearted too because it gets really happy heart-breaking in the middle and then everything goes happy.

I feel like the bit that wowed me the most was the illustrations by Martin Impey and how they’ve made it so that children can understand and learn from Peace Lily.

Thank you for reading my book review.

Tyler’s review
Peace Lily is a very good book to read because it has a lot of pictures if you don’t understand something. In my opinion, I believe that books with pictures can help explain things better than just words. I think that this book should be read by 7+.

It takes you back in time to read what it was like to be a WW1 nurse. It’s an authentic novel. I found Lily the most interesting because she signed up to be a nurse but she didn’t have to do it. I didn’t like Bill because he didn’t really talk much.

I found out that there were posters for women to join the war effort.

Olivia (St. B’s)’s review
I am sorry that I didn’t really enjoy this book. It is quite short but very sad.

I learned a bit about people taking care of others during the war. I am happy that the ginger-haired girl got married at the end though.

Caitlin’s review
I really loved the character Lily as she was so kind and caring. I did not know that ladies were in the wars so it was interesting to see what they did as nurses. I found it exciting as I didn’t know what would happen next. The pictures were really lovely and went well with the story. I read it every night for a week and would really recommend it to other people.

Caleb’s review
Peace Lily has amazing illustrations and it is a lovely story which follows the children through their lives. Even the war did not split them up and they got married, which finished the story off nicely.

Oscar’s review
Lovely pictures and the story was about friendship and how this carried on through the war. It was good to see the children growing up and time passing.

Lottie’s review
I really enjoyed the book because I learnt about the war and how it was hard for people.

My favourite character was Lily because she was kind and helpful to the wounded men. When her friend joined the army she felt like she should get involved.

When Ben was injured, Lily helped him.

[Unnamed reviewer]
The plot: Lily grows up with two boys (Ben and Ray). Ben and Ray go to war, Lily becomes a nurse and saves Ben’s life. They get married.

The characters: I liked Lily because she’s got a good heart and she will just go for it. I didn’t NOT like any of the characters, really.

Did you learn anything new about the past? Not really. I knew everything that they mentioned.

What made the history of the time it was set in interesting to you? I love learning about the Second and First World Wars.

Was the plot exciting, thought-provoking, serious, light-hearted? Exciting and serious!

What stands out most? The way Lily did everything she could possibly do right.

Would you recommend it? Yes, definitely.

Phoebe’s review
The plot: There is a girl called Lily. She makes two friends called Ray and Ben. They grow up playing together until there is a war and then Ray and Ben have to go and fight in the battle. Lily sees a sign to become a nurse during the war and goes and helps. She then gets a patient and realises that it is Ben and she treats him. After the war, Lily gets married and has children.

The characters: I found Lily most interesting because she has an interesting life story and another reason I found Lily most interesting is because she has a nice personality. I didn’t like Ray because he doesn’t write to Lily during the war.

Did you learn anything new about the past? Yes, I learnt that everyone normally has a part during a war.

What made the history of the time it was set in interesting to you? It made it interesting to me because it made me feel like I was there and I’ve never had that feeling before.

Was the plot exciting, thought-provoking, serious, light-hearted? I thought it was exciting and serious. I thought that it was exciting because everyone had a part. I also thought it was serious because of the war.

What stands out most? The thing that most stands out for me is the childhood life that Lily, Ray, and Ben had because it was exciting.

Would you recommend it? Yes, I would because it has an interesting storyline and overall it was exciting.

Sam’s review
The plot: It was about a girl that gets older and her friend joins the army. One gets injured and she is a nurse so they meet again.

The characters: I like Lily because she was always looking and never gave up. And Ray because he was a soldier and I like soldiers.

Did you learn anything new about the past? The army is very dangerous.

What made the history of the time it was set in interesting to you? It was interesting because it’s in World War One.

Was the plot exciting, thought-provoking, serious, light-hearted? It was heart-filling and had a good ending.

What stands out most? To keep looking for your friends.

Would you recommend it? Maybe for more little people.

Unnamed reviewer’s review
The plot: There was this girl called Lily who grew up and had lots of friends. When she was older, she worked as a nurse. She had to nurse one of her friends, Ben, and she was saying to him, “I’ll make you better, you’ll see”.

The characters: I liked Lily as I loved her loving personality. I didn’t really like the soldiers as they were hurt and I didn’t want them to be.

Did you learn anything new about the past? No, not really.

What made the history of the time it was set in interesting to you? It interested me as I learned a bit more about what it was like when the war started.

Was the plot exciting, thought-provoking, serious, light-hearted? The plot was quite sad as it was mostly about wounded soldiers.

What stands out most? What stands out from the book is definitely Lily. Her personality is very caring, which I love.

Would you recommend it? Yes, to younger children.

Willow’s review
The plot: A girl named Lily was born in November. As she got older she made some friends called Roy and Ben. When she was older she became a nurse for some people who got injured in the war.

The characters: I found Lily an interesting character as she was determined to help other people. I liked all the characters.

Did you learn anything new about the past? I learned that there was a person called a Padre.

What made the history of the time it was set in interesting to you? The time it was set in was WW1. This was interesting as I learned about nurses.

Was the plot exciting, thought-provoking, serious, light-hearted? The plot was exciting.

What stands out most? The thing that stands out for me is learning about the war.

Would you recommend it? I would recommend it to other people as it tells you exciting facts about the war.

Bethany’s review
The plot: The girl had friends, they went too far, a friend got hurt, Lily healed him with her voice.

The characters: I found the character Lily interesting because she kept singing, “It’s Lily, it’s me” and she healed somebody doing it. I didn’t like the war nurses because when Ben got hurt they left Lily to make him better and to deal with him.

Did you learn anything new about the past? I learned that you can be a war nurse and not get hurt yourself.

What made the history of the time it was set in interesting to you? This book was set in wartime and my grandma was alive in wartime so I found it interesting.

Was the plot exciting, thought-provoking, serious, light-hearted? The plot was exciting because when Ben went into the emergency hut, you didn’t know what was going to happen.

What stands out most? The quote, “It’s me, it’s Lily”.

Would you recommend it? Yes, I recommend it to our class, all genders because boys like war and girls like adventure.