Postcards from No-Man's Land

Story

Postcards from No-Man’s Land tells two parallel stories, both set in Amsterdam, but fifty years apart. In 1994, Jacob visits his grandfather’s grave for the 50^th anniversary of the Battle of Arnhem; in 1944, Geertrui nurses Jacob’s soldier grandfather back to health during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. Both young people learn about love and betrayal in their own coming-of-age tales.

Why we chose it

A powerful, award winning novel for young adults which weaves the linked stories of three people in two different times, exploring relationships, sexuality, love and betrayal.

Where it came from

Aidan Chambers is a former teacher and former monk, and has been writing for children and teens since the 1960s. He and his wife Nancy founded Thimble Press and Signal magazine to promote children’s and YA literature, for which they received the Eleanor Farjean Award in 1982. Chambers won the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2002 for his lifetime contribution to literature.

Where it went next

Postcards from No-Man’s Land won the Carnegie Medal and the Michael L. Printz Award, and was also recommended by The Guardian as a great read for teenage boys. It is the fifth book in The Dance Sequence, Chambers’ series of stand-alone but connected stories about coming-of-age and sexuality, and was followed by This is All.

Associated stories

The earlier books in The Dance Sequence (Breaktime, Dance on my Grave, Now I Know and The Toll Bridge) contain similar themes to Postcards from No-Man’s Land, and all of them were well-received as complex portrayals of teen life.