Book excerpt: They offered up the innocence of a generation . . . Evie is 18, straight out of school and excited by the prospect of a tour of Europe. Instead, she finds herself immersed in war; first in the Home Counties – where the young New Zealander is confronted not only by society’s restrictions and her family’s expectations, but by the burgeoning women’s rights movement – then as a VAD nurse tending injured soldiers in a local hospital. After personal tragedy changes the course of her life, Evie impulsively travels to Belgium, experiencing first-hand the shambolic horrors in a Casualty Clearing Station just 10 km behind the Front Lines. War, at first distant, becomes increasingly personal. When her health gives out, Evie returns to England and a new battle: that of meshing her hard won independence and experience with the still Edwardian attitudes of her family. From where can she find strength for love and the resilience to face the future? A heartbreaking and brilliantly poignant novel. 2016 Storylines Notable Junior Fiction Award