review 1: Fifteen-year-old Elizabeth Bryant is miserable after her family's move from one part of Canada to another. When she finds an odd-looking wooden soldier doll at a yard sale, she figures it might be the sort of thing her father would like. While Elizabeth seeks a substitute for her friends back home, finding a friend and maybe a boyfriend in Evan, a boy who works in a local bookstore, the story moves between her experiences in 2007 Toronto and the doll's own history. It turns out that the doll has been passed down from one person to another, starting with a young woman who gives it to her fiancé before he heads off to fight in WWI. After Evan unknowingly provides a clue as to its origin and Elizabeth and her father verify its authenticity, it may return to its original owne... morer. But as the doll's history is revealed and Elizabeth faces her own heartbreak, it isn't clear whether the doll is a lucky or unlucky talisman. Along with Elizabeth, readers may wonder if it brings luck or misfortune. The descriptions of how war was waged on various battle fronts, ranging from WWI to the war in Afghanistan, seem true to life and emotionally wrenching in many ways. Most fascinating of all are the stories of what happened next to the owners of the doll. Since the author allows great chunks of time to be omitted before picking up the various threads of the stories, readers need to pay close attention. I enjoyed the story although I've read similar types of narratives. review 2: I found this to be a very good young adult/teen book. The story follows a doll painted to resemble a soldier. Over time, the soldier doll has been handed off from person to person as they experience and live a part of history (war, concentration camps, etc...). In present day, a teen, Elizabeth, is in possession of this soldier doll and is uncovering all of its' back stories. Thank you Goodreads Giveaway for the opportunity of winning this book and getting to be a first reader. less
