Dear Michael Morpurgo,

This isn't my first attempt to read your books. In fact, I rather enjoyed The Amazing Tale Of Adolphus Tips, when I was 12. But then, as I tried your other stories, it became apparent that we just weren't going to get along. All of your books have almost identical story lines and characters. It always amazes me that you continue to write so many books which are just so alike.

I feel guilty for giving your story only 2 stars. I feel like because it is a story of the war, I should be appreciating the history behind the storytelling more. But the truth is, I really didn't enjoy this book. It was slow paced, Joey was monotonous for almost the entire book, and I was bored. Even though you wrote a story about the war, you wrote more about the rations of oats than any of the people, and in that way it was hard to become attached to any of the characters. I could go quite happily for days without picking this novel back up, since I struggled to find any motivation to read it.

Also, I'm intrigued as to how Joey could speak fluent English, French and German but was not able to speak with fellow horses? Just a small thought there.

However, this story is highly praised and adored by most people, so I guess this must be a case of it's-not-you-it's-me. I hope others go on to enjoy this story, but your writing style really doesn't agree with me and I'm quite sure (after numerous attempts) it never will.