Recommended by Teens: Lovely War

Can’t decide what to read next? Need a new book to read? Check out what our teen volunteers have been reading!

Set at the time of World War I, Lovely War follows four people with intersecting lives. Hazel Windicott is a British girl with a fond love for the piano. She is wildly talented and wants to join a conservatory one day. James Alderidge is a young man with dreams of becoming an architect; however, the war has other plans for him. Colette Fournier is a singer with a soulful tone that is caused by the pain she has endured in the past. Aubrey Edwards is a jazz pianist who faces problems because he is Black in a still-segregated world. He is a composer and has the power to move people with his music.

This novel follows impassable events of love and loss. It reimagines a time of pain and hurt into a time of hope. It follows two couples bound by war and love. The narrators of the novel are the Greek gods, and they provide an interesting perspective. They want to take the place of these mortals whose stories they are following, even through their hardships. It is a tale of love and friendship testing the bonds of these people while in the midst of war. There are endless feelings of gracefulness and love displayed throughout the novel. Also, the novel endorses artistic feelings through piano and singing, and the passion the characters have for music. - Tanya H. (Sunset Teen Volunteer)

Lovely War