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Luke Under Fire: Caught Behind Enemy Lines
Fight, Escape, Survive
“My insides are twisted into a knot, and every artillery blast tightens the knot so I can hardly breathe. Nobody said anything about a war when cousin Charley and I signed up with the British army. Thought we’d see the world—have an adventure. Now, I’m lying on the ground, aiming my rifle across an empty field, waiting. We’ll be in a battle with the German army any minute. I’m a good shot. At home in Michigan, I won a trophy at our county fair. But I’ve never shot at a man.”
It’s 1914 when Luke Sawyer finds himself in the first major battle of World War I. Ordered to “resist to the end,” Luke fights to save his friends, dodge enemy bullets, escape a German prison, and evade heart-pounding danger behind enemy lines. History will call it The Great War. Luke must survive it!
“My insides are twisted into a knot, and every artillery blast tightens the knot so I can hardly breathe. Nobody said anything about a war when cousin Charley and I signed up with the British army. Thought we’d see the world—have an adventure. Now, I’m lying on the ground, aiming my rifle across an empty field, waiting. We’ll be in a battle with the German army any minute. I’m a good shot. At home in Michigan, I won a trophy at our county fair. But I’ve never shot at a man.”
It’s 1914 when Luke Sawyer finds himself in the first major battle of World War I. Ordered to “resist to the end,” Luke fights to save his friends, dodge enemy bullets, escape a German prison, and evade heart-pounding danger behind enemy lines. History will call it The Great War. Luke must survive it!
200 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 16, 2020
6 people are currently reading
6 people want to read
About the author
Diana C. Reep
10 books42 followersDiana Reep, writing as D. C. Reep, has been a writer since she told horror stories to classmates in elementary school. As an English professor, she taught film, popular culture, technical writing, and the Arthurian legend. No longer grading papers, she’s writing historical fiction set around 1900. In her free time, she travels to historic sites, Civil War battlefields being a special favorite. Her books focus on real events. The Dangerous Summer of Jesse Turner, follows three teens into danger with Colonel Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders during the Spanish-American War of 1898. Kiss’d, a YA adventure, combines a ghost, time travel, danger, and romance in World War I. Chicago Movie Girls is a story about three sisters in the early silent movie days when Chicago was a center for movie production. Luke Under Fire begins with the first big battle of WW1 and a regiment ordered to resist to the end. She lives in the Midwest and crosses her fingers every fall that the coming winter will be mild.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
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March 20, 2024MWSA Review
Luke Under Fire: Caught Behind Enemy Lines by D.C. Reep and E. A. Allen is a coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of World War I. In Michigan, seventeen-year-old Luke becomes embroiled in a fight that could lead to repercussions, but his father sends him to stay with his cousin in England until the uproar dies down. The two cousins decide to enlist shortly after war is declared and deploy to the trenches in Belgium. While the battle is raging, Luke’s company is told to hold their position. Battlefield communications being what they were, they never receive the orders to fall back. What follows is a harrowing story of Luke’s attempts to keep what’s left of his unit together, while trying to reconnect with the British army.
World War 1 seems to be a forgotten war, so this story for a young adult audience gives a good glimpse into what it was like for the combatants. The setting is well drawn, there is good emotional content for the characters, and a great use of present tense throughout to put the reader in the main character's shoes. Of note, the author deftly handles the use of swearing by the soldiers so that the reader is not inundated with F-bombs. ("He takes out his water bottle, drinks, and swears an oath that would shock even my dad.")
Review by Betsy Beard (March 2024)
Luke Under Fire: Caught Behind Enemy Lines by D.C. Reep and E. A. Allen is a coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of World War I. In Michigan, seventeen-year-old Luke becomes embroiled in a fight that could lead to repercussions, but his father sends him to stay with his cousin in England until the uproar dies down. The two cousins decide to enlist shortly after war is declared and deploy to the trenches in Belgium. While the battle is raging, Luke’s company is told to hold their position. Battlefield communications being what they were, they never receive the orders to fall back. What follows is a harrowing story of Luke’s attempts to keep what’s left of his unit together, while trying to reconnect with the British army.
World War 1 seems to be a forgotten war, so this story for a young adult audience gives a good glimpse into what it was like for the combatants. The setting is well drawn, there is good emotional content for the characters, and a great use of present tense throughout to put the reader in the main character's shoes. Of note, the author deftly handles the use of swearing by the soldiers so that the reader is not inundated with F-bombs. ("He takes out his water bottle, drinks, and swears an oath that would shock even my dad.")
Review by Betsy Beard (March 2024)
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January 8, 2026Luke Under Fire: Caught Behind Enemy Lines is a gripping and accessible introduction to the realities of World War I, told through the eyes of a young man who never imagined he would be asked to kill.
What makes this novel especially effective is its focus on immediacy fear, confusion, and moral reckoning unfold moment by moment as Luke is thrown into combat. His internal conflict, particularly the shift from marksmanship as sport to violence as survival, feels honest and age-appropriate without being sanitized. The pacing is brisk, the danger constant, and the stakes personal, making it an engaging read for young adults while still resonating with older readers.
The story excels at conveying how quickly idealism collapses under the weight of war, especially for soldiers far from home and fighting in circumstances they barely understand. Luke’s resilience, resourcefulness, and determination to survive behind enemy lines anchor the narrative and keep it grounded in character rather than spectacle.
A compelling, fast-moving historical novel that respects its audience and offers a clear-eyed look at courage, fear, and survival during one of history’s most devastating conflicts.
I’m an author as well and enjoy connecting with fellow writers.
contact.nk.jemisin@gmail.com
What makes this novel especially effective is its focus on immediacy fear, confusion, and moral reckoning unfold moment by moment as Luke is thrown into combat. His internal conflict, particularly the shift from marksmanship as sport to violence as survival, feels honest and age-appropriate without being sanitized. The pacing is brisk, the danger constant, and the stakes personal, making it an engaging read for young adults while still resonating with older readers.
The story excels at conveying how quickly idealism collapses under the weight of war, especially for soldiers far from home and fighting in circumstances they barely understand. Luke’s resilience, resourcefulness, and determination to survive behind enemy lines anchor the narrative and keep it grounded in character rather than spectacle.
A compelling, fast-moving historical novel that respects its audience and offers a clear-eyed look at courage, fear, and survival during one of history’s most devastating conflicts.
I’m an author as well and enjoy connecting with fellow writers.
contact.nk.jemisin@gmail.com
November 7, 2024
Realistic with lots of tension
Brings the danger of war to life. The first couple of chapters do an excellent job of conveying the confusion of battle, the way communications can break down and local units are left on their own. The remainder details a “typical” (if there is such a thing) escape from behind enemy lines. Writing style is descriptive and generally good, though frequently choppy. Enjoyed the book. Well worth my time.
Brings the danger of war to life. The first couple of chapters do an excellent job of conveying the confusion of battle, the way communications can break down and local units are left on their own. The remainder details a “typical” (if there is such a thing) escape from behind enemy lines. Writing style is descriptive and generally good, though frequently choppy. Enjoyed the book. Well worth my time.
May 2, 2020
Gripping and Fast-Paced! I enjoyed this tale of an ordinary kid who signed up to fight in WW1 on a lark. The authors do a great job of capturing the gritty grind of battle and then the tense, desperate slog to try to escape capture and probable death at the hands of the enemy. Never knowing who can be trusted, Luke has no choice but to put his life - and the important papers that he secretly carries - in the hands of strangers.
With a likable, brave hero, this story moves fast, with every chapter amping up the adventure.
With a likable, brave hero, this story moves fast, with every chapter amping up the adventure.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews