The Eagle Trail

by Robert Rigby

WWII, German-occupied Antwerp, and life continues as usual for 16-year-old Paul Hansen – until his father is shot. Paul learns that his parents are part of a group of resistance fighters and he's whisked away by Jos Theys, his father's closest friend, to the home of an elderly couple. There Paul learns he must leave Antwerp as quickly as possible and travel south through France and across the Pyrenees into Spain, and from there to England, and freedom. It is a journey to save his life. Along the way he is aided by a collection of courageous men and women prepared to risk everything to help him in his desperate fight for survival. Danger is ever present; who can Paul really trust? A tense, hugely compelling tale of bravery, betrayal and first love.

Genres: Historical Fiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published March 20, 2014

About the author

Robert Rigby began his career as a journalist, then spent several years in the music business as a songwriter and session musician. He turned to writing for radio, television, and the theatre, and has also directed and performed in children’s theatre throughout the country. He has become an established young people’s playwright, and his award-winning work with youth theatre companies has been seen in Britain, Europe, the USA, and Africa. He wrote the novelizations of the movies Goal! and Goal II, and his scripts for television include the long-running BBC children’s drama series, Byker Grove.

Reviews

[Kirsty · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not doing it for me mostly because of my pet hate of fictional nazis. I do know some teen boys however who will adore it.

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining action book about smuggling a teenage boy down to Spain after his parents were killed/taken captive by the Nazis.

Paul was a fairly nondescript protagonist, I did quite like him but there was nothing that made me really interested in him. I was rooting for him to get to Spain, although that partly because I'm always happy to see fictional Nazis lose.

The plot itself was action packed with Paul having to get through several legs of his journey before making his way to the Eagle Trail the book is titled for. Strangely enough, they don't actually spend that long on the Eagle Trail, barely a chapter or two, but I did like the big conflict at the end and how it was resolved. I found the romance fairly dull and Josette was incredibly irritating (though that could have been the voice the narrator of the audiobook put on for her). She was putting down her neighbours for not doing anything to resist Nazi occupation, never mind the fact that if you were open about resisting the Nazis, you would find yourself imprisoned fairly quickly. I could tolerate her a lot better near the end but I still found the romance between her and Paul of no particular interest.

I had this on Kindle but I listened to most of it on audiobook. It was interesting enough. 3 stars.

[Andrew Bishop · Rating 4 out of 5]

My second Robert Rugby book and, like the first, I really enjoyed this read. Fast-paced story set in WW2. Characters are brought to life very effectively by the author and the read really gives that feeling of 'being there'. A page-turner for me. A very good read.

[Nik Carlson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Terrible ending

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book just yesterday for my teenage son, and started reading it on the way home. I was so into it that I had to finish it before I handed it over. I really couldn't put it down. The setting is portrayed very realistically, German occupied Belgium and France initially, with the main action taking place in the so-called 'Free Zone' in southern France (I learnt quite a bit about how France was divided in this way during WWII actually!) But it was the pace of the narrative that really sucked me in and made me read on until the end. The novel was cleverly structured with the final climax bringing us full circle to the Prologue, and every chapter raised the tension along the way. The other aspect I enjoyed was how rounded the characters were; the author has done this deftly, giving just the right amount and type of detail to allow us to imagine them vividly. Teenage boys and girls will love this book, and I suspect I wont be the only parent who will want to read it first!

[JJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plenty of books for teens have an underlying theme of the struggle to grow from a child to an adult, but books set during a war often reveal just how fast a child can become an adult under certain circumstances. Paul Hansen is most definitely a child at the beginning of The Eagle Trail – and a spoilt one at that. The war going on (World War Two) hasn’t affected his day to day life, and he is fairly oblivious to much of it. That is until his father is killed before him, and he is forced to flee through Belgium and France to escape the Nazis. The only way Paul can survive is to stop relying on others, and begin to rely on, and trust, himself.

Read the rest of my review on NZ Booklovers

[Zoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fairly exciting tale of smuggling a teenage boy, the son of Belgian resistance members, down to Spain during the 2nd World War. For most of his journey everything goes really rather smoothly, so it is only in the very last part of the book I really wanted to turn the pages. For an alternative take on low countries resistance I'd recommend Mal Peet's Tamar (though The Eagle Trail is probably better for slightly younger readers than Tamar).

[Pauline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This had a good balance of character development and action for me. It is also a great introduction for younger readers to learn about the resistance movement in Belgium and France in World War II. There are a couple of quite violent scenes but I can see this appealing to both boys and girls from upper grades of middle school.

Thanks to Abbey at Walker for my advanced copy.

[Malin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only gave this book 4 stars because of the fact that Josette was SO annoying most of the book. It was probably on the last pages that she didn't sound so annoying.

Easy and fast read, really hope that this isn't a trilogy or something like that...

[Hannah Weald · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brilliant book about the a boy and resistance in France during the Second World War, very exciting and full of drama and suspense- thoroughly enjoyed reading it !!

[Bridget · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really exciting beginning, didn't really intend to read it but dipped into the beginning and got hooked. Good characters, interesting journey and plenty of action. Boys will love it.

[REB · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't do it for me. Interesting topic, but it just didn't grab me.

[Hazel Fell · Rating 4 out of 5]

'...a thrilling read.'

To see my full review, go to my blog The Never Ending Bookshelf!

http://theneverendingbookshelf.com/20...

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

With an exciting beginning and plenty of action, "Eagle Trail" was a quick read. I liked Paul, but Josette annoyed me most of the time - spoilt brat.