♥!The Young Adult Book Club!♥ discussion

Eloise Crimson and the Turing Pocket Watch is essentially a skewed love story set against the backdrop of time travel.
Eloise is not your usual fop heroine who kicks ass then commits suicide because the man of her dreams dumps her. Oh no, she's not that girl at all. After finishing the book I had a minor eureka moment, maybe her stand offish nature was due to the cruelty of the war around her. Maybe it was because her mom and dad were distant. Either way I would like to propose this question. Does the backdrop of war make a love story more compelling? Or create a hyper reality state that can't be sustained when the war is over?

Love
James

I have yet to see it done well in Cinema. "Enemy at the Gates," and "Pearl Harbor," were dismal failures in this category whereas "The Battle of Britain: 1970," seemed to pull it off nicely. The tough part is mixing the two compelling elements. In my opinion, one can not overshadow the other, if they do, than the end will be anti-climatic. I recently read "The Barley Hole Chronicles which did the inverse. The love story began after the war ended.

Good contribution thank you. Interesting.

war it's just more exciting

also I can't wait to read your book

Oh wow thank you Maddison. I'm honoured your reading my novel. There are another 8 in the series and I'm currently on volume 2. I hope you enjoy Eloise she's a lovely character. James

I wasn't sure if anyone had the link so here it is. Happy reading :)

James wrote: "Oh wow thank you Maddison. I'm honoured your reading my novel. There are another 8 in the series and I'm currently on volume 2. I hope you enjoy Eloise she's a lovely character. James"

hopefully I can find it will search though

Hi James!I actually did an essay on this not too long ago. I think that in most novels, whether the protagonists are directly involved in the war or not, the setting of war makes a love story more compelling. For example, some stories would not even be able to happen without the setting of war, such as characters falling in love because they are in a war situation (e.g., "The Hunger Games"), or because characters are wartime evacuees or war brides (like in "Carrie's war"). I think what makes these stories compelling, is that when there is a war on, people are much more grounded in the here and now, and despite adverse circumstances, there is potential to truly rely on one another. Additionally, there's potential for characters to meet who may never have been able to before.

This brings me to your other question: could the same story be viably sustained without the war backdrop (I'm paraphrasing a bit here). I think some definitely could, but that the war setting sort of pushes the story forward, and allows characters to explore what love means for them on a deeper level. For example, in "The Hunger Games," (sorry I know I'm using this a lot, I just think it's a good example)Katniss may never have realized the value of finding someone who will stick by you no matter what, and who balances and stabilizes you. Had it not been for the war-like situation, she might never have really found someone who she could share that connection with on that deep of a level. Similarly, in the series "Land Girls" ( the t.v. show, not the 90's movie), a character marries a farmer because she become pregnant by an American G.I. (she's not married). Because of the war story, she was in a position where she could find someone who she might never have met before, and someone who loved and valued her.

Sorry for the long answer, but I just love wartime love stories! I can't wait to read the Eloise books, they look awesome! Great premise!!
Cheers!
Emily