Henry Forester is back once again in this beloved sequel to, “Under a War Torn Sky”. After returning home from being a pilot in World War two, Henry is being affected by the then unknown disease PTWS, or Post Traumatic War Syndrome. The memories from his war experience are giving him nightmares, causing flashbacks, and changing him overall. His girlfriend Patsy refuses to marry him because she thinks that he expects her to fix him, but he is too broken for her to fix. Henry finally decides that he needs to go back to France and settle his problem by knowing the fate of his old companion Pierre. But, when he arrives, Henry is shocked to find the ruins of the magnificent city he once knew. The holocaust victims are sickening to look at and the buildings are nothing but rubble. The black market is the only way to get the items you need. But, working with what little information he has, Hank manages to find Pierre, who’s mother’s death has left him distraught and scarred for life. Pierre is living on the street in a cardboard tent. Henry takes him home to America, where Henry is sure to inform America about the horrible conditions in, “The city of love”. The book is called, “A Troubled Peace” because of an encounter Henry has with a very smart man. After France is liberated, Hank thinks that the country is at peace and their problems are over. But, the man disagrees. The people are fighting each other and the economy and cities will take years to fix. So, France now has, “A Troubled Peace”. I thought this was an amazing book. The author backed it up with history that fit well into the story. It was very clever and well written. The book is a very good WWll book because all though the holocaust was an important part of WWll, most books let it overpower the novel. Elliot, however, balanced both World War two and the holocaust perfectly. The book kept me interested and wanting more. There were very few flaws in this book. I did see a couple, though. My main problem was that the book is mainly set in France, and many of the French phrases are not translated, making it difficult to understand at times. Also, when I first started reading it, I thought the story was very dull. It was not until later that I became interested. Finally, there should have been an epilogue. I don’t think a third book would be convenient, but the ending was not good enough to be a really nice cliffhanger, but it was just enough for more to be needed. Well, overall, “A Troubled Peace” was not a disappointment. If you liked the first book, you’ll definitely like this one. I would recommend the first book (sentence 1) to historical fiction, holocaust, and WWll interests. I would recommend this to boys and girls ages 12-14. I hope the story pleases you, and grabs you in to the life of Henry Forester, just as it did to me. I thought this book was written very well. I wish I had read the first one first but I didn't know it was a sequel at the time. It's a little sad because it's about the war but has a really sweet ending. I liked the ending and the begining the best. The ending because I felt it tied everything together really well and left no loose ends. The begining because the author did a good job of setting the mood. It was a little hard to follow in some places although history is not my best subject. Over all a very exciting and heartening read.
What do You think about A Troubled Peace (2009)?
A great sequel to one of my favorites under a war torn sky. well written characters and plot.
—Nelia
I'm in love with this book so far and I can't wait till the next chapter!
—adib
Very good sequel to "Under a war torn sky". For sure a Young Adult book.
—kjelster
