An extraordinary novel in which the characters come to life through their correspondence, struggling, twisting, bursting with feeling Based on the author's own experiences, the story rings with authenticity - haunting, startling, and very lump-in-the-throat inducing Hugely topical with the current world political situation

Praise for When I Was a Soldier: 'When so much teen fiction runs along a single monotonous track, it's refreshing to read a book from a totally different perspective.' Sunday Telegraph 'Zenatti's even-handed and undramatic narration makes it reasonably easy to leave preconceptions behind, and this accessible read teams with questions that readers will quickly realise relate directly to them.' Children's Book of the Week, Guardian 'The book is an extraordinary insight into the psyche of a tiny nation that feels it must always be prepared for war. It brilliantly captures the mixture of the scary and surreal that comprises life for the young soldier.' Harpers & Queen

Valerie Zenatti was born in Nice on April Fool's Day 1970. When she was thirteen she went to live with her parents in Israel, where she did her national service, which inspired her novel, When I was a Soldier. Even now she doesn't go out without her survival kit - these days of a book, a notepad and a pen. Valerie now lives in Paris, where she works as a translator of Hebrew. She is also writing screenplays based on two of her books, Late for War and Message in a Bottle. Valerie is continually surprised and delighted at seeing Lucas, aged eight, and Nina, nearly two, grow up. This is Valerie Zenatti's second book for Bloomsbury. Her first book, When I Was a Soldier, was awarded a Batchelder Honor in 2006.