I thought it was worth sharing this

I recently read “Thirteen Never Changes” by Budge Wilson. I thought of posting two quotes from it rather than writing a review because I felt in that way I would give a better impression of the book. So, here goes,
“……Later on, long after everyone had gone to bed, I could hear Dad down the living room. Crying. In a strangled way, like Hilary, but crying. Me, too. I cried a lot. What a lot of crying in this house. But I guess that’s what war is all about. Not piper’s bands or marching parades or people staring bravely in to the sunset. What war is really about is a lot of crying……”
“…..Today Norman enlisted. It was awful. I don’t think I can talk about it, even to you. I can’t stand to see Mother and Dad suffer like this. I’m not sure I’ll ever be brave enough to be a parent, now. When you get a new baby, you must just think, it’s a BABY. You know- you buy bootees and little sweaters and hug it a lot. You feed it and comfort it, and it must be a really lovely feeling. But what you can’t be thinking is, when this baby grows up and gets big, he’s going to go off and be in a war. How could you stand even looking at him if you knew that?.........”
PS- this book will make a nice gift for a girl on her thirteenth birth day.