A delightful book with an old fashioned Christmas feel. It tells the tale of post war relationships and how they fare and the consequences arising from men having to serve. Margot has confusing feelings when her fiancé Harry returns from the war - does she tell him about their baby that she had at 16 and gave to her parents for adoption?

She struggles with being the child of a vicar whilst developing her own way in life. It was interesting to read about her still being chaperoned at the age of 19 when in company with Harry!

Thought provoking and absorbing!

I absolutely loved this read!

Despite covering a short span of time the chapters in this book were small which kept the story moving at a good pace.

It wasn't filled with flowery prose but you still get a great sense of surrounding.

I loved hearing about the fall out from the war and how it affected the every day people in a small village.

Even though it was set in 1919 I feel certain points in this book are very relevant today! Which meant I didn't feel some of the detachment I would in other historical fictions.

Very well written and overall a wonderful book! Thanks so much for my ARC copy!!!

An interesting look at the social observances of the early 1900s. Margot is pregnant, which would have been seen as a total disgrace as she is unmarried and her fiance is reported as missing.
Her parents seem almost too stoical about this, the child is adoptd into the family and it is ony when Margot returnss home that she realises she has choices to make.
Sadly the ending seemed far too rushed, and a mere indication rather than a factual end.
Thank you for a review copy.

I quite enjoyed this one, albeit a pretty quick read - it's hard to tell on the kindle, but it didn't take me long. Slightly disappointed with the ending, but enjoyed the back story, set during and just after WW!

An easy to read short story. Interesting story and something that probably happened quite a lot in those times.

A very short, lightweight book. It deals with the problems faced by a young girl just after WWI. Having given birth to a baby out of wedlock and allowed the child to be brought up by her parents, she discovers the child's father, presumed dead, is alive after all. The whole plot revolves around her decision and, along the way, we have glimpses of what the world was like in the second decade of the twentieth century. Unfortunately, nothing was gone into in any great depth and there wasn't time to grow much empathy with the characters. It's a pleasant enough read for YA, who would probably learn a modicum of history from it, but a little too lacking in tension or originality of plot for adults.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book is set during and after WW1. Margot has a baby out of wedlock, and the baby is brought up as her Mother's.
Her fiancee Harry is missing in action, and eventually comes home after rehab.
An interesting book about the fate of unmarried women in the war.Thought the ending was a bit odd,,but the book was well written.
Thanks to Netgalley for an A.R.C.

I really don't like leaving negative reviews but this book was such a disappointment.

Absolutely nothing happens in this book. There is no plot, only the barest hint of conflict, and no antagonist. I perservered, hoping something would happen but I was left wanting.

The book is also unrealistic. The premise, a baby born out of wedlock 1918 (ish, the timeline is confusing), would be the cause of huge scandal. The protagonist's family are a bit upset but not hugely.

The story lacks any depth. The characters are one-dimensional. There is a hint at the trauma men experienced after being on the frontline during WWI, but does not do the subject justice at all.

It's an easy read. But that's about it. Sadly disappointing.

A lovely little novel that ended slightly oddly. A great book for both adults and teens alike. Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this novel in exchange for a review.

A short and enjoyable book up to the last chapter. The book tells the story of Margot, who has a child out of wedlock during the first world war, but her fiancé is missing presumed dead. The story explores the attitudes at the time and the damaging effects of the war on the soldiers. Unfortunately, I thought the story unfinished as though the author had a deadline so just ended it.
This is an honest review of a complementary ARC.

A short and very readable novel from Sally Nicolls. It's set in 1919 and looks back to the Great War as well as touching on its ramifications. It's not a plot driven novel; much of it is the internal monologue of Margot, the main character. I got to the end and wondered where the story was but I enjoy character development so it suited me. Teenage readers who enjoy action might find this lacks excitement for them.

Margot is 16 in 1916 during WW1. The daughter of a clergyman who is in love with Harry who is about to go of to war at 19 years old.
They spend his last night in a hotel in Sheffield before he leaves for France.
Unfortunately Margot finds herself pregnant, which is considered very shameful.
Rather than give her baby up she is sent to secretarial college and baby James is brought by her parents. Whilst Harry is reported MIA.
This is a gentle story with an interesting outcome.

The Silent Stars Go By y Sally Nicolls

A very well written book , mainly from the perspective of women trying to get back to a more normal life after the war. Wrote as a genre for young adults , poignant and thoughtful.

A beautifully written book about the very few real choices available to women one hundred years ago. Margot's story and her dilemma are totally beleivable - my family history proves that. I think I am probably too old to appreciate how the target audience would respond but young teens would probably love it.

I love a bittersweet Christmas story, so when I saw the adorable cover for this I was sold, and what a pretty title. Margot, the best-looking one of a large vicarage family, was always seen as 'difficult' and headstrong, and when she gets pregnant before her boyfriend Harry goes to the Front, this cements her reputation in the eyes of her parents. Coming back to the vicarage for Christmas, she is confronted with her son, now a cherubic toddler - and Harry, missing presumed dead but very much alive. Margot realises that she isn't the only misfit of the family - her brother Stephen is depressed, struggling to adjust after a hard war and fond of a drink, and there are tiny hints that her plain sister Jos is a lesbian.- or at least a 'spare woman,' of which there were so many. (Do read the fascinating non-fiction book of the same title). Margot isn't worried about being left on the shelf, but she is worried that she won't be the best mother/sister possible to her little son, Can she make amends and will she ever manage to tell Harry?

This is a beautifully written book full of poignancy and nostalgia. Set in December 1919 it tells the tale of nineteen year old Margot who fell in love, had a baby, gave up her son to her parents and now over the Christmas period needs to tell her former fiancé Harry that he is a father. The interaction between the traditional harmonious Christmas and Margot’s confused but deep feelings of love create an atmosphere of warmth with an undercurrent of sadness. It is a story full of emotion but it is not sentimental. It is, however ,an intelligent retelling of the consequences of wartime life which teenagers will love . I can see this becoming a Christmas story to reread every year.

4+

As Christmas approaches in 1919, nineteen year old Margot boards a train home from Durham to Thwaite in the Yorkshire Dales. She worries over the big secret she’s kept from Harry Singer who she becomes engaged to before he sets off to the Western Front. When Harry goes missing, presumed dead her family rallies round so her reputation remains untarnished. Now miraculously, Harry has returned home and Margot faces a terrible dilemma.

I think this story is as lovely as the beautiful cover and you find yourself absolutely immersed in Margot’s life and that of her family in the genteel poverty of the large ramshackle vicarage. You are swept back to the era through the language used which is spot on and very evocative. It’s colourful with all the characters and the times captured with broad brush stokes which paints a vivid picture before your eyes. The writing is so vivid it seems as if you are right there in the post war era with all its issues of loss, of recovery, of suffering but you are also at the centre of village life which is reflected in the different strata of society. I really like Margot, she’s full of courage and love with a perception and wisdom beyond her years. Her conflicted thoughts are palpable, you feel her ache and her pain. Her tension especially with the prospect of meeting Harry with all the various permutations builds really well and you have no idea what the outcome will be. The run up to Christmas and into the New Year is a perfect backdrop for the novel and part of this is heartwarming but also nostalgic and sad when you reflect on what could have been, what has been lost especially during the traumatic war years.

Overall, it’s a thoughtful, touching, poignant book with very relatable characters most of whom are very young and have experienced the worst of times and though it’s set a hundred years ago many of the issues are the same as today. It will appeal to all reading audiences not just YA or lovers of Historical Fiction.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Andersen Press for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

A short historical story aimed at a YA audience, this book covers the cost of the first world war on families and villages, particularly women. From the release I received with the opportunity to review this book I was expecting it to be about the lead up to the war and the events that happened to the characters but actually it's more about after and how Margot eventually faces her secret and meets back up with Harry, so not quite as I expected. I did however enjoy reading the story and related it to some similar tales in my own family history.

Margot and Harry got engaged when they were still in their teens.
Shortly afterwards Harry is called up to serve in World War One.
A few months later he is reported to be missing in action.
Margot then discovers she is expecting a baby.
This is a story about the sad choices that faced unmarried mothers at this time. The heartbreaking decisions they had to make and the guilt that they had to endure afterwards.
I read this book in one sitting, hoping for a happy ending.
Thank you to NetGalley and Andersen Press for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a beautifully written book that captivated me from the start and I couldnt put it down. Such a good story and based on a situation that many women probably found themselves in after ww1. A great work of historical fiction