Mary Hooper does historical fiction well - fantastic research that creates a complex setting without seeming like a text book or a list of cool-stuff-I-found-out. However, I felt there was a touch of the latter in this novel. Having set up the role of women as WWI nurses in the first novel, this book explores Poppy's reaction to heartbreak and her subsequent experiences in France during the battle of Verdun and the Somme. While the emphasis is on Poppy's emotional responses to romantic betrayal, the adventure of arriving in France and the tragedy of grotesquely injured soldiers, I felt that Hooper had written this novel with a checklist of information to include - harsh class divisions amongst the English nurses, the role of American nurses and servicemen, a picnic day off, parental support and rejection regarding death/disfigurement, the horror of the Somme, the end of the war... This created a meandering plotline held together by Poppy's growing romance (understood by the reader long before the characters). Somehow, I never felt entirely invested in Poppy's emotional state, nor did I care enormously about the fate of the soldiers she was nursing.
I'm not sure if this is just a reflection of my mood while reading, or whether the characterisation is weaker than Hooper's other novels. Either way, I suspect that my critiques would not be shared by the teen audience for whom the book was written. I'd certainly recommend this for use in a History classroom and as a way into historical or war novels for girls who read romances. There are some scenes of disfigurement, so keep this in mind if recommending it to middle school students - they'll enjoy this book, but make sure they can cope with realistic depictions of war. ( )

Second in the Poppy series and set in late 1915 & 1916. Poppy has just learnt that her great love is engaged to be married to someone else to uphold the family's standing in society. She speaks to the Recruitment Office at Devonshire House and requests a posting abroad after a Michael Archer, a newly qualified doctor she has come to know, explains to her about the 'golden hour' with wounded soldiers which may determine their ability to survive. Poppy also worries about her brother, Billy, who shot himself in the foot to get away from the front lines. Poppy is posted to France and boards the HMS Paris Belle and then goes on to a hospital in Petit Boulogne. She cares for wounded from several battles, but also the Battle of the Somme. Will Poppy ever recover from her great disappointment in love and find happiness again? The horror of war injuries and the sheer exhaustion of the nurses caring for them are all covered in this well written book which includes at the end a note about what happens next, some notes about the Great War, acknowledgements and a bibliography. ( )