Billie Templar's War

by Ellie Irving

Billie Templar desperately wants her dad to come home. He's a soldier and has been away for seven weeks, fighting for 'Queen and country' - but how can the two of them possibly defend their four-year record of winning the three-legged race at the school carnival if he's thousands of miles away?

Then, when one of the other soldiers in Dad's regiment is seriously hurt, the stakes get even higher. Billie needs her dad home, sharpish. There's only one person who can help - Her Majesty. She's in charge of the army, right? She can send Dad home! Billie tries to get inside Buckingham Palace to sort it out, but it's not that easy. So, with the help of shy Sarah and allergy-prone Jake, the school brass band and a motley team of enthusiastic old-age pensioners, Billie hatches a fool-proof plan to get the Queen to her little village instead...

Both laugh-out-loud funny and utterly heart-wrenching, and featuring an unforgettable cast of sweet, crazy characters, Billie's journey will have you laughing and crying in equal measure.

368 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2012

About the author

I was born in Bristol, but raised in a hamlet on the outskirts of Southend-on-Sea, by a family of avid readers. So avid, in fact, my mum enrolled me in the local library before I'd even emerged from the womb. Which was awkward for all concerned. As a child, I had an unhealthy obsession with 'Murder, She Wrote' and aged seven, convinced my parents to buy me a Petite Super International typewriter for Christmas, so I could be just like Jessica Fletcher.

After studying a 4 year Broadcasting Degree at the University of Leeds, I realised there were too few home makeover shows in the world, and worked on a number of DIY and Garden programmes for UK Style. I then returned to studying and graduated from an MA in Screenwriting course at the London College of Communication in 2008. I live in North London. I have yet to solve any murders...

Reviews

[Helen and Daisy Harris]

By Daisy
This book is just plain bad. Poorly-written, no storyline whatsoever, an annoying and truly dreadful narrative. It is written in to keep up with the fashion of 'British is best' yada-yada-yada. Yes, it took me an age to get through this book; because I staggered through it with no intention of getting to the end, but I like to finish something I've started.
Billie is an eleven-year-old girl living in Yorkshire with her aunt and her brother. Her dad is in Afghanistan. She decides to put on a military tattoo to get the Queen to come to her town so that she can ask her to send her dad home so her dad can participate with her in the Merchant Stanton carnival three-legged race. Do you see what I'm getting at? I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone.

[Kiren]

Ok.

[Jessica]

Loved it. Funny and emotional. Read it in one afternoon! I liked the author's other books too.