Books with author Jon Wilson

The Caught in Conflict Collection is an imprint of fast-paced, historically accurate, morally-complex quick reads for Adults and Teens. They can be read in any order.Over the course of a single night in 1945, in a ditch by the flickering light of a burning Tiger tank, a young German soldier tells his life story to a wounded Canadian. Growing up in Germany in the 1930s, Dieter has been seduced by the pomp and propaganda of the Nazis. Now, having seen battle and having discovered the evils his countrymen are capable of, the best he can hope for is survival."…a though-provoking novel about the experiences of war." CCBN"…a compelling and thoughtful story of war that should appeal to a wide range of readers." Q&Q

Fifteen-year-old Jim Hay believes that war is a glorious adventure and cannot wait for his turn to fight. But as his father marches off to battle in August 1914, Jim must be content to record his thoughts and dreams in his journal. All too quickly, however, Jim’s life begins to unravel. His father is killed in action, his mother suffers a breakdown, and when Jim does at last join up, it is as much to find refuge as it is to seek glory. In the trenches of France, his romantic views of war are dispelled, and his longing for adventure is replaced by a basic need to survive.

The final book in the epic Middengard Sagas, "The Girl in the Light" sees the bonds between Alice, Toby and Josh crumble when Sam, the mysterious boy in the dark, comes into their lives. Meanwhile, in Middengard, Orla, Ellie, and Isolde must do the impossible – defeat Mimir, the dark goddess whose hatred of Ellie knows no bounds. Perfect for fans of Philip Pullman and CS Lewis, this final installment of the Middengard Sagas won't disappoint.

The Caught in Conflict Collection is an imprint of fast-paced, historically accurate, morally-complex quick reads for Adults and Teens. They can be read in any order.It's August, 1914 and Jim Hay thinks war is a glorious adventure. He can barely wait for his turn to fight, but as his father marches off to battle Jim must be content to record his thoughts and dreams in his journal.Amidst the war fever, Jim's home life suddenly becomes tragically complex and, when he does at last join up, it is as much to find a refuge as it is to seek glory.What Jim discovers in the trenches of France is enough to dispel any romantic view of the war. Soon his longing for adventure is replaced by a basic need to survive, and the final tragic outcome, as Kitchener's New Army goes into battle on July 1, 1916, is one he never could have imagined."Wilson brilliantly captures the thoughts, feelings, and naivete‚ of a young man caught up in a conflict he does not fully understand and is ill prepared to face. The format effectively draws readers into the narrative, and characterization is solid throughout. Historical anecdotes lend even more somber realism to the story. Jim's growth as a human being, his increasing self-awareness, and, especially, his shocking fate are not soon forgotten. A compelling, fascinating, and ultimately disturbing book that is not to be missed."Robert Gray, East Central Regional Library, Cambridge, MN"Although this novel focuses on World War I, it's a timely reflection on the realities of war that presents a powerful, timeless anti-war argument…the diary form lends immediacy and intimacy to the gripping story, which Wilson has based on actual diaries kept by members of the Highland Light Infantry." Connie Fletcher

A dramatic Arctic adventure set during Sir John Franklin's doomed search for the Northwest Passage George Chambers is a fourteen-year-old aboard HMS Erebus, one of two ships under the command of Sir John Franklin on his quest to discover the Northwest Passage. But when the Erebus and Terror are trapped in crushing ice, 129 men of the crew die from cold, scurvy, and starvation. Only two remain alive when George begins to recount his story: himself and Commander James Fitzjames. As his strength dwindles and starvation weakens him, George recalls the events that led him to Canada's desolate North, and the expedition's failure - including gravediggers, a close call with a polar bear, standing up against sailors threatening mutiny, and his own impending death. George does not know whether the story he tells will be all that survives of Franklin's doomed Arctic expedition.

A unique First World War diary, illustrated with more than a hundred stunning pencil sketches, for children learning history and also for adults interested in a new perspective on the War and authentic wartime artefacts.Russell Rabjohn was just eighteen years old when he joined up to fight in the First World War. In his three years of soldiering, he experienced the highs and lows of army life, from a carefree leave in Paris to the anguish of seeing friends die around him. Like many soldiers, he defied army regulations and recorded everything he saw and felt in a small pocket diary. Private Rabjohn was a trained artist, and as such he was assigned to draw dugouts, map newly captured trenches, and sketch the graves of his fallen comrades. This allowed him to carry an artist's sketchbook on the battlefield--a freedom he put to good use, drawing everything he saw. Here, in vivid detail, are images of the captured pilot of a downed German biplane; the horrific Flanders mud; a German observation balloon exploding in midair; and the jubilant mood in the streets of Belgium when the Armistice is finally signed. With no surviving veterans of the First World War, Rabjohn's drawings are an unmatched visual record of a lost time. Award-winning author John Wilson brings his skills as a historian and researcher to bear, carefully curating the diary to provide context and tell the story of Private Rabjohn's war. He has selected each of the diary entries and the accompanying images, and has provided the background that modern-day readers need to understand what a young soldier went through a century ago. The result is a wonderfully detailed and dramatic account of the war as seen through an artist's eyes.

The Caught in Conflict Collection is an imprint of fast-paced, historically accurate, morally-complex quick reads for Adults and Teens. They can be read in any order.In this companion novel to Flames of the Tiger, set during the Battle of Stalingrad, three participants—one Russian soldier, one German soldier and a boy caught in the middle—struggle to survive the largest battle in human history. None of them know how their fates will be intertwined as the cataclysm engulfs them."The action-filled text flows easily from steppe to city battle scenes…Wilson takes an overlooked moment or perspective in history and makes it come alive." Albany Public Library, NY"Four Steps to Death is a thoroughly anti-war novel…Wilson shows just how miserable and futile the practice of war is for those who must fight." Quill & Quire"This absorbing, well-crafted tale…is a haunting description of the tragedy and irony of war…In this vivid narrative, the awful cacophony of war comes to life…the skilled author succeeds without moralistic preaching in highlighting the harsh reality, the utter misery, and the heartbreak of war in this intricate but fascinating book." VOYA

Set during the last year of the American Civil War, Death on the River portrays the grim brutality of war through the eyes of a young soldier. After the older brother he worshipped is killed in battle, young Jake Clay joins the Union Army in the spring of 1864, determined to make his parents proud and honor his brother's death. His dreams of glory vanish, however, when he is wounded and taken prisoner in his first battle at Cold Harbor, Virginia, and confined to the Confederate prison camp at Andersonville, where 30,000 soldiers face violence, disease and starvation. Frightened and disillusioned, Jake takes up with Billy Sharp, an unscrupulous opportunist who shows him how to survive, no matter what the cost. By the war's end Jake's sleep is haunted by the ghosts of those who have died so he could live. When the camp is liberated, Jake and Billy head north on the Mississippi riverboat Sultana, overcrowded far beyond its capacity. Unknown to Jake, the fateful journey up river will come closer to killing him than Andersonville did, but it will also provide him with his one chance at redemption.

Howard is a lonely, geeky tenth-grader dealing with a father who's had some kind of breakdown, a flaky, overprotective mother and frightening waking dreams. Then he meets Cate, a strange girl who convinces him that he is an Adept, which means he can communicate through dreams with other dimensions and, under certain circumstances, travel between them. Howard discovers that our world is only one of several dimensions swirling in time and space, and that one of the others, peopled by unimaginably powerful monsters, is approaching Earth for the first time in millennia. The last time the dimensions coincided, our world was saved by the breaking of a powerful golden mask in the Chinese city of Sanxingdui. Together, Howard and Cate travel through time and space, meeting other Adepts and avoiding lurking monsters, in a quest to find the three fragments of the golden mask and prevent it from falling into the wrong hands.