The Foreshadowing - Marcus Sedgwick

Another Marcus Sedgwick novel, and another fantastic read. I swear the man can do no wrong. The Foreshadowing is something else. I tend to be drawn more to children's fantasy than historical fiction, but that has changed since I've started reading Marcus Sedgwick's work, as he so often combines the two, together with great characters and powerful storytelling.

The Foreshadowing is the tale of Alexandra "Sasha" Fox, a young girl living in London during World War I. Like her brothers, Sasha wants to help, and while Edgar enlists as a soldier and Tom trains as a doctor, Sasha persuades her father to let her begin training as a nurse in his hospital. But Sasha has a secret, a 'gift' that she cannot explain and that her family have never accepted - she can see the future. But the only future that Sasha sees is death, which soon takes its toll after seeing premonitions of the deaths of several patients in her care.

After the guilt of remaining away from active service drives her beloved brother Tom to the front line, Sasha is tormented by recurring visions of his death. Fear of losing what remains of her family, Sasha travels to France, disguised as a fully trained nurse, in an attempt to find and save her brother from the fate in her visions. Along her journey to the Somme, Sasha befriends the mysterious Hoodoo Jack, a man also cursed with visions of the future, and finds her life becoming linked to his in a way she could not possibly expect.

Although painfully naive, Sasha's bravery and single-minded determination end up teaching her a lot about herself, and her gift - or curse. Her journey is an emotional one, full with the horrors and reality of war. Sedgwick has clearly done his research into life in the trenches, making Sasha's experiences all the more real. There is also the connection between Sasha and Cassandra, the legendary character doomed with the knowledge of the fate of Troy, yet cursed to have noone believe her. What can Sasha really do about her own fate, or that of her brother?

This is a wonderful story of love, hope, fear and determination. It is also a tale of destiny, how one shapes it and make it one's own. Beautifully written and powerfully real, the supernatural aspects never seem out of place. And the ending...well you'll have to read that for yourself.

Other links:
Marcus Sedgwick's website and blog.