Synopsis: Sasha Fox is a privileged girl, expected to live an idle life as the daughter, then the wife, of a member of the professional classes in the early years of the Great War. Her brothers are drawn into the conflict and Sasha fights with her father to be allowed to play her part by working as a volunteer nurse. But Sasha is plagued by an unusual fear, for she can see death before it comes. She sees which of the patients in the hospital will die and she sees the fates of her brothers loom before her eyes. Yet she is powerless to act, for nobody believes her.

Review: Marcus Sedgwick takes the tale of Cassandra as his cue in this tale of helplessness and mortality. It is rare to see a children's book that so explicitly addresses the fear of death, but Sedgwick does not sugar the pill. Any break of mood would be fatal for this kind of narrative and The Foreshadowing is a bleak, somewhat oppressive story. Trust and the importance of having someone to understand you are explored in this powerful narrative. While Sasha's world is one that was destroyed after the Great War, the fact that this story revolves around family lends it emotional resonance. The book is unsuitable for younger readers, not only because of its bleakness, but because the horrors of war would be lost on them.

2006-10-26