City of Fate

Book Description

Imagine your home is bombed one Sunday afternoon by a horde of enemy planes. Imagine your family has gone and you are left behind. This is the fate of five-year-old Peter and two teenagers Yuri and Tanya.

Imagine being ordered to leave school to fight the terrifying Nazis in WWII. Imagine you are right in the middle of a battle; it’s you or them – you have no choice. This is the fate of Vlad and his three classmates.

The battlefield is the city of Stalingrad, the pride of Russia. Germany’s Adolf Hitler wants the city badly, but Josef Stalin refuses to let go.

Nobody has managed to stop the triumphant Nazi invasion across Europe. It all depends on one city – Stalingrad – her citizens, her soldiers and her children.

Review

the target audience will seldom have been confronted with WWII in quite such a way … this book branches out further (thebookbag.co.uk)

the book is more subtle and clever than just dressing people up in black and white. It takes its time to ask measured questions, provoke moral debate, and more (thebookbag.co.uk)

the writing is clear and mature (thebookbag.co.uk)

a welcome look at innocents lost in a war zone (thebookbag.co.uk)

an intelligent and worthwhile effort, bravely taking us as it does away from the theatres of war Britain and her literature normally considers (thebookbag.co.uk)

a clever, moral and eye-opening look at a forgotten corner of WWII (thebookbag.co.uk)

buy [and] borrow (thebookbag.co.uk)

City of Fate by Nicola Pierce: a clever, moral & eye-opening look at WWII (thebookbag.co.uk)

excellent … vivid and moving (BooksforKeeps.co.uk)

a true and affecting report of what happened and why (BooksforKeeps.co.uk)

a truthful, proper end … to a book that will give readers real insight into one of the most important episodes or modern European history (BooksforKeeps.co.uk)

compelling and emotional, this story takes the reader right inside the action of the Second World War and shows its impact on the lives of young people (Parents in Touch)

emotionally taut and empathic, this novel will transport the reader into the very heart of the Second World War (LoveReading4Kids.co.uk)

a heart-rending story of individual courage and collective endeavour (LoveReading4Kids.co.uk)

always fascinating … the author avoids both stereotyping and sentimentality as soldiers on both sides struggle to survive (Irish Examiner)

read it, it’s an awesome book, extremely engaging! (Elev8, RTE2)

clearly illustrates the nature of war and questions the concepts of bravery and patriotism … has a very satisfactory conclusion (ReadingZone.com)

the style is simple and direct and the book should appeal to a wide age range from year 7 through to sixth form … will be a welcome addition to my library and our history department shelves (ReadingZone.com)

an extremely well structured story that doesn’t preach and doesn’t cut corners either. Thoroughly enjoyable yet horrendous and moving (ourbookreviewsonline.blogspot.ie)

an absorbing but heartbreaking account of the Battle of Stalingrad (TheSwallowsNest.net)

Nicola Pierce … skilfully recreates the atmosphere of a society that has unravelled to the point on insanity … Pierce has a very direct, minimalistic style that serves her subject well … a well-written, engrossing story (TheSwallowsNest.net)

as beautiful and memorable as her previous Spirit of the Titanic … all I can say is WOW! (FallenStarStories.blogspot.ie)

ideal read for children from 10 years plus … Reading City Of Fate should be a great benefit to any kids who are interested in World History and would be ideal as a read aloud book for teachers … Like John Boyne’s The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas and Marcus Zusak’s The Book Thief, this novel is not just for kids … I thoroughly enjoyed it and was happy to read of WW2 from the Russian perspective (BleachouseLibrary.blogspot.com)

moving, sometimes painful story .