Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo

The book opens with this paragraph, "They've gone now, and I'm alone at last.  I have the whole night ahead of me, and I won't waste a single moment of it.  I shan't sleep it away.  I won't dream it away either.  I mustn't, because every moment of it will be far too precious."  What follows are Tommo Peaceful's memories of his childhood with his mother, brothers Charlie and Big Joe and friend Molly, and how he became a soldier in World War I at the age of "nearly sixteen."  You know something terrible is going to happen when the night is over, but you don't find out what until near the end of the book.  This is by the same author as War Horse, another World War I young adult book, and it is very well written (you can see my review of War Horse here).  It is my 6th book for the World War I reading challenge, and I rate it 4 out of 5.