Rating: 
Summary: "...dealing with life's emotional geography..."
Review: The story is all encompassing with enough of "literary gaps" to draw the young adult reader in: heart, body and soul. The above reviews have told enough of POSTCARDS' plot (too much really), so instead I invite you to partake in a reading experience of a lifetime. The dual storylines, multi-faceted character and no-easy-answers themes pulsate throughout the novel. POSTCARDS lives up to the author's own mission statement. "I will not compromise on language or content. At 15 people can handle the same language as me, they're just as complicated as me, and are very interested in thinking about important questions for the first time." (Aidan Chambers as quoted in Moira Dunkin's report online at:...)Weaving the threads of Anne Frank's and James Joyce's writing into his own tapestry of an exquisite masterpiece, the LA Youth Writer's Group magnificently sums Chambers' feat of writing up:
The judges, from the LA Youth Libraries Group, were unanimous in their choice: "It is a rites of passage book that supports young people in dealing with life's emotional geography. The writer trusts young readers to make up their own minds about life's big issues. This is an outstanding novel which lingers in the mind; every word is well chosen." (see: above Library Association Record website cited above) The only "no man's land" that exists is the land that doesn't bring POSTCARDS to the teen reader. Kudos to Aidan Chambers! Kudos!
Rating:
Summary: "...dealing with life's emotional geography..."
Review: The story is all encompassing with enough of "literary gaps" to draw the young adult reader in: heart, body and soul. The above reviews have told enough of POSTCARDS' plot (too much really), so instead I invite you to partake in a reading experience of a lifetime. The dual storylines, multi-faceted character and no-easy-answers themes pulsate throughout the novel. POSTCARDS lives up to the author's own mission statement. "I will not compromise on language or content. At 15 people can handle the same language as me, they're just as complicated as me, and are very interested in thinking about important questions for the first time." (Aidan Chambers as quoted in Moira Dunkin's report online at:...) Weaving the threads of Anne Frank's and James Joyce's writing into his own tapestry of an exquisite masterpiece, the LA Youth Writer's Group magnificently sums Chambers' feat of writing up:
The judges, from the LA Youth Libraries Group, were unanimous in their choice: "It is a rites of passage book that supports young people in dealing with life's emotional geography. The writer trusts young readers to make up their own minds about life's big issues. This is an outstanding novel which lingers in the mind; every word is well chosen." (see: above Library Association Record website cited above) The only "no man's land" that exists is the land that doesn't bring POSTCARDS to the teen reader. Kudos to Aidan Chambers! Kudos!
Rating:
Summary: An excellent book for any teenager
Review: The story of Jacob really captures the joys and trials of being a teenager. The plot is also very intriguing and historically accurate. This is an excellent book.
Rating:
Summary: a must read!!!
Review: this book is beautifully written. the emotions bought to life in this books are magnificent, especially the parts about geertrui's life in holland in the war. this book is masterfully written and is a very enjoyable, unput-downable book.
i think this book also captures quite well the attitude of the dutch, i loved this book so much that i now really want to go back to amsterdam to see all the places mentioned and meet all the people! READ THIS IT'S GREAT!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Great book, but definately for kids 14+
Review: This book is very different. There are two main characters, one a 17 year old English boy in the 90's and a Dutch family friend who is dying in his time, but knew his grandfather during WWII. The book is set in Amsterdam, so it incorporates a lot of Dutch, which is frustrating at first, but then it becomes second nature to find the translation of the phrase, or to remember it from earlier, and this adds to the sense of place. There are a lot of adult themes covered in this book, so it's best if you have a mature teenager reading it, and are prepared to discuss it afterwards. Some of those topics include: homosexuality, bisexuality, euthanasia, war, and marital fidelity. This book is well written, so chances are that you won't get lost, and the different writing styles make it difficult to get bored. As soon as something gets exciting in one part of the story, it switches off, making you want more. Belongs on the bookshelf of the mature adolescent, and the discerning adult reader of adolescent fiction.
Rating:
Summary: Great book, but definately for kids 14+
Review: This book is very different. There are two main characters, one a 17 year old English boy in the 90's and a Dutch family friend who is dying in his time, but knew his grandfather during WWII. The book is set in Amsterdam, so it incorporates a lot of Dutch, which is frustrating at first, but then it becomes second nature to find the translation of the phrase, or to remember it from earlier, and this adds to the sense of place. There are a lot of adult themes covered in this book, so it's best if you have a mature teenager reading it, and are prepared to discuss it afterwards. Some of those topics include: homosexuality, bisexuality, euthanasia, war, and marital fidelity. This book is well written, so chances are that you won't get lost, and the different writing styles make it difficult to get bored. As soon as something gets exciting in one part of the story, it switches off, making you want more. Belongs on the bookshelf of the mature adolescent, and the discerning adult reader of adolescent fiction.
Rating:
Summary: Stays with you
Review: This is a book you will not forget. The way in which the book weaves back in forth in time (between WWII and the present) is well-crafted..this is a very difficult thing to accomplish, and only a few writers, such as Connie Willis, have done it well.
The principal characters are well developed; the secondary ones (particularly the hero's new girlfriend) much less so. A bit of political correctness detracts from the '40s scenes. Would an anti-Nazi Dutchwoman, on the run from the Germans, really express negative feelings about the gun her companion carries? Would she really say "Must you take that," and think snide thoughts about "Men and their deadly toys." More likely, she would ask if there wasn't another gun for her. This seems like an importation of '90s feminism into a place where it doesn't belong. Overall, well worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: A good book.
Review: This is a very good book. You do have to have a certain level of maturty to understand it though. I read it last year at age 12 and understood it well. Aidan Chambers wrote this book in alternating chapters, so it's a little hard to follow at first, but you catch on quickly. It's a really good book, though.
Rating:
Summary: Wow... thats it... wow
Review: Where to start? Aidan Chambers manages to wonderfully mix History with the troubles of teenage life (me being 16, i understand that perfectly) Jacob (main character) is a lad with an unconventional homelife, who, at 17, travels to Amsterdam to visit his Grandfathers grave instead of his Grandmother. His first few days are, shall we say, hateful, but, as the story unfolds, his stay becomes interspersed with joy, increasing his love of the city. In his short time in Amsterdam, he makes life changing discoveries, crosses milestones every teenager dreads and he discovers a whole new side to his family. Life as a teenager is never easy, however, judging by the changes in Jacobs life, maybe we all should make a life changing journey to Amsterdam to visit old relatives... both dead and alive. However, Jacob's story is just half of the novel... the other half takes place in Arnhem (those who do European History will know this was a major Battle in WW2) where another life changing experience shocks the reader into loving a character, who in Jacob's time, is only a minor one. Chambers covers... "depression" in this wonderously diverse novel. Well deserved the Carnegie Medal.
Rating: 
Summary: This book made me vomit.
Review: Winner of the Carnegie Medal--one of the United Kingdom's most prestigious literary prizes--Postcards from No Man's Land is a powerful tale of past and present, told through dual narratives. When 17-year-old Jacob Todd arrives in Holland to attend a ceremony commemorating the World War II Battle of Arnhem and to pay his respects to his dead grandfather, little does he know that his journey will bring him new ideas about love, life, death, and art; friendships with young people who cross gender lines; discoveries of his own identity and sexuality; and a shocking truth kept secret for 50 years and revealed in a diary written specifically for him by Geertrui Van Riet, the now ailing woman who had taken care of his grandfather during the war and, unbeknownst to her family and his, shared with him a passionate but short-lived love affair. Philosophical, comic, painful, emotional, heart-warming, and sensual, the novel is written with exquisite detail--perhaps a little too much detail at times--and a sophistication rarely seen in American novels for teens. The setting of Amsterdam, a city both modern and old, is a perfect reflection of the parallel narratives. The characters are likable and admirable yet realistic, and demonstrate strength and open-mindedness as they attempt to work through personal conflicts and difficulties, many of which are never resolved--an aspect of the novel which may dissatisfy some readers. Not to be regarded as just a work of historical fiction, the novel's treatments of the universal young adult themes of first love, independence, and friendship demonstrate careful thought and originality. Already translated into eleven languages, the novel will surely maintain its resonance among generations of readers to come.
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