Eventual Poppy Day

by Libby Hathorn

Painstakingly researched and extremely well written, this is a novel that moves deftly and easily from one time period to another and yet still allows the novel to retain an overall sense of cohesion. Respected YA author Libby Hathorn has drawn on family history and done extensive research to write a fascinating book that profiles two young protagonists, both seventeen years of age, who are related: Maurice, who went to Gallipoli and the Western Front and his great-great nephew, Oliver, who is trying to deal with difficult family circumstances but whose discovery of Maurice's WW1 diary changes the way he sees the world. The balance of the historical and contemporary points of view makes this title perfect for use in the classroom, but also appealing to the YA reader.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, Young Adult

384 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2015

About the author

Libby Hathorn is an Australian writer who produces poetry, picture books, drama, novels, short stories, and nonfiction for children, young adults, and adults. Best known in the United States for her critically acclaimed novel Thunderwith, Hathorn has created works ranging from serious stories of troubled youth to lighthearted, fast-paced comedies. She writes of powerful female characters in her novels for junior readers, such as the protagonists in All about Anna and The Extraordinary Magics of Emma McDade; or of lonely, misunderstood teenagers in novels such as Feral Kid, Love Me Tender, and Valley under the Rock. As Maurice Saxby noted in St. James Guide to Children's Writers, "In her novels for teenagers especially, Hathorn exposes, with compassion, sensitivity, and poetry the universal and ongoing struggle of humanity to heal hurts, establish meaningful relationships, and to learn to accept one's self—and ultimately—those who have wronged us."

Reviews

[Rosalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eventual Poppy Day is a very Australian book as it portrays aspects of Australian society that are unique due to the history of the country and the contemporary make up of it's society. The book has two seventeen-year-old main characters who are related, but who live 100 years apart. The two young men share several similarities; they are both artists and they both have relationships with women that are physically satisfying but emotionally confusing.
In 1915 Maurice enlists to fight in World War 1 and is sent to Turkey, France and Belgium, he leaves behind a girl who he thinks he loves and who he believes will wait for him to return from the war. In the chapters about Maurice, the author shows the futility of war, the disastrous effects on the soldiers and the ripple effect on their families left at home and those unfortunate people who are living in the direct line of the war fronts.
Oliver is struggling to find his path, find his love but at the same time, do the right thing by his single mother, traumatised younger sister and aged grandmother.
Through Oliver, Hathorn illustrates the difference in opinions and the confusion in contemporary Australia about Australia's war history and the bemusement about the escalation of memorials and ceremonies both in Australia and overseas. Oliver displays some aspects of the disconnectedness of people who are not impressed by the whole shebang (especially among those from non-English backgrounds) but he also illustrates the connections between generations through his reading of his great uncles war diaries and letters.
This is a well researched, well written and very topical book.

[Pauline · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew this book was going to be sad from the premise but it is also beautifully written, lyrical prose with touches of poetry. Just gorgeous - mature, insightful, hopeful. Required reading. Libby Hathorn - this is wonderful. Bring tissues.

[Saturday's Child · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is a wonderful way to keep alive the memory not only of one young man Maurice Roache, but all of the men who went to the Western Front and never left it.

[Stef Rozitis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovingly researched and well written, this book was jam-packed with lots of different things going on. I feel Oliver got a raw deal. He was sensitive, talented, affectionate- especially caring for his little sister the way he did and his mum was just awful yet the book treated this as if Oliver was more to blame for the relationship breakdown than Julia. The juxtaposition with Maurice and everything he suffered was kind of problematic, like the people who claim that boys in the modern day have a "masculinity crisis" and need to be more like the ANZACS.

The experiences of the ANZACS were treated with a good level of detail and were shown to be really harrowing. It seems Hathorn's own family history is caught up in this book which might be why she's sort of idealised/romanticised the problematic masculinities that war elicits and is dismissive towards all sorts of atrocities. I get that the individual soldiers are not to blame for the culture they (mostly as teens) were suddenly thrust into, but it's still a horrendous waste of human life and humanity rather than an inevitable tragedy. I felt that with Oliver being a pacifist there was a measure of Hathorn trying to have her cake and eat it too (and to be fair in the right wing climate of this country currently you probably have to honour ANZACS no matter what the facts are so I tried to read between the lines on that).

A peculiar pattern in the book was terrible mothers. Oliver and Maurice both had brutal, unloving mothers. Julia's excuse was her mother abandoned her. Eddie's mother had been hard and "mad". Oliver's stepmother means well but is a junkie. Dorothea is presented as the only "good mother" and is old and failing. It goes back to that sexist cliche that the making of the man is the rejection of the mother. Also while there was a sex-positive element in the book, parts of that (eg "Angel") were problematic too. At one point Maurice even goes on about women being (essentially) the nurturers and birthers of life in contrast to men being in the army (although Michael is an interesting and welcome counterpoint to this his weakness - mirroring Dan's weakness supports the idea of man as soldier, woman as birther). All female characters are beautiful too (even Maurice's mother).

It's possible I read this with bias as I don't think anyone (man, woman or non-binary) should ever go through what Maurice went through. War is not inevitable, it is a decision made by a few against the interests of the many. This book highlighted aspects of the suffering caused and sanitised others.

[Bec · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. But mostly I enjoyed the parts about Maurice and being in Gallipoli and then later on at The Western Front. Oliver didn't get the diaries until later on in the book and once he did, there was no talk of him reading them except looking at the pictures that Maurice had drawn. I would have preferred a whole book from Maurice's POV, as Oliver's Side didn't seem to gel into the story at all except that his great grandmother was Maurice's sister who he had never met.

[Alison Giles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes, like some others here I just couldn't get into it. I don't know why we needed a sex scene in the first few pages. I also don't know why we needed a character with special needs. Like Hathorn was trying to fill a quota. I love the idea of the story, with the letters and war experience but just didn't enjoy the back story. I found the 'teenager' years somewhat stereotyped.

[Bethany · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok. I just couldn't get into it. I know other people who will enjoy it but it just was not me. Writing wise I think it was good, which is why even though it is in my abandoned shelf I have given it 3 stars, but it just did not captivate or draw me in enough to finish it

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written book, worthy of a five star plus rating. Yet again, an Aussie author proves their worth on the world stage. It was lyrical, whimsical, evocative, amusing, and grappled very real issues faced by any young man, regardless of their era. The story was woven seamlessly between Maurice and Oliver using an unlikely character, an elderly lady, Dorothea as a conduit. I was so sad when I finished the novel, for so many reasons. This may be a "young adult" novel but it speaks to anyone interested in family dynamics, history and the ties which bind us throughout the ages, whether we like it, or not.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not only is this book very cleverly thought out and beautifully written, it provides a great insight into the horrors of World War I and the effects it had on so many Australian families. I felt that this book was set out to help young Australians (no different to myself) gain some appreciation for Australia's role in the First World War and respect for those who have served our country. War has never been a topic I have enjoyed studying, so having a fictional setting to guide me through some major historical events helped me immensely to understand the role of the ANZAC's. Thank you, Libby! This book you have brought to life is a masterpiece!

[Georgia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was "ok". Unfortunately it was just "ok".

The story line of this book was a great idea. However it just wasn't well written in my point of view. The POV of the book changed between the two main characters but also other characters, sometimes in the one character. Sometimes pronouns like "he" or "I" would change in the same paragraph whilst talking about the same character and was very disjointing.

It was a good story, just I felt it needed a good proof read!

[David Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book was great. Stayed true to the nature of the book. Some parts I would rather forget for reasons of my own. But enjoyed and read to the very last shred of text. I didn't want it to end.