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Thanks to Netgalley and Henry Holt and Company for the advanced copy

Alfie Summerfield discovers on his fifth birthday that his father is going off to war, World War I to be exact, and will return when the war is over, before Christmas. That time before Christmas lasts for more than four years. He was told by his mother that the reason why letters didn't come in through the mail was because he was on a secret mission, but to Alfie, all he could translate this to was that he was dead.

It wasn't until a chance meeting, while he was shining the shoes of a doctor, that he came to learn that his father was very much alive and was in a hospital that was just a train ride away. Now nine, Alfie has grown to be quite clever and finds his way to his father's hospital room, but the man he finds there doesn't seem like his father at all.

When I realized that this book was written by the same author of "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas", I knew that I was in for a treat. I was definitely not let down.

I thought that everything about this book was excellent: the prose, the layout, the story, how it came together, etc. It is not a very long book, but rather gets to the heart of the story, which I appreciate from an author. I felt very connected to Alfie and his determination to get his family back together.

I would highly recommend this book to everyone.