20 thoughts on “The Foreshadowing

  1. The Foreshadowing is a stunning read. I love the entire idea and concept of the book. How Sasha can see deaths is unique and creative. My favorite line of the entire book is on page 179, chapter 34, ‘I don’t think God is listening anymore.’ That’s really powerful, as if her life has gone so low that even her deity has turned from her.
    Another interesting point about the book; the chapters are backwards, and, thus, descending! Instantly, suspense is created, what will happen at one…
    My favorite character has to be Jack. He has a cool outlook, with a caring soul. He is absolutely pivotal to the plot; without her, Sasha could never have gotten to Edgar.
    Thankyou, Marcus Sedgwick!

  2. This is a lovely book that demonstrates how many people died in the war. It is very sad when one of the characters dies but good when Alexandra saves another. It is amazing that someone can predict the future but bad that the future is death.

  3. The Foreshadowing is a moving, intriguing book that really involves the reader and spooks them and leaves them vaguely disturbed. I feel I really bonded with Sasha as she faced her fears and stresses and I found myself hoping I could do something to help.
    Marcus Sedgewick is a writing genius as he puts the words in the reader’s head without actually putting them on the paper and that is hard to achieve. I hope good things happen to characters and that Edgar is safe in his non existent grave. I love how the raven symbolizes death and how Sasha kept seeing her when it speaks to her in the voice of the dead.
    Lovely topic, innit?

  4. I really enjoyed this book! The idea that a card could signify a death guarantee, and that she could tell who was going to die just by looking into someone’s eyes was a really interesting idea and I liked the raven theme throughout the book. However, I thought that it was a bit unlikely that Sasha could go to France and find her brother when the odds were about 1 in a million!! This is a very good book and I strongly recommend you read it if you haven’t already!

  5. I’ve finished The Foreshadowing and I really enjoyed it. I’ve recommended this book to a few people as it was very gripping and the story left me on the edge of my seat!
    I loved the idea of a girl who was able to foretell the death of others and herself. I thought that the book was written very well, all the scenes were very clear and consise. Also, I liked how it had a strong under layered theme of the War and this is what gave the book more depth and made it more interesting to read.

    I really enjoyed this book, thank you!
    Lucy
    Brighton College

  6. I kept reading this book wondering how it would end. It has a lead character with an unusual gift being able to foretell when people will die. It is hard for her as she discovers how to live with burden and the realisation that no one will believe her. It is a gripping tale well worth reading.

  7. Marcus Sedgwick book review By John The Foreshadowing

    The plot
    Alexandra Fox sneakily finds her way into France to bring back her brother Tom from war all because of a dream. At first it was a struggle but she found help. Her brother Edgar had recently died in war and she didn`t want this to happen to Tom. She found Tom disguised as another person, but he refused to come back. Alexandra didn`t go back either and it was a mystery to the parents. In the end, none of this would have happened if she had gone on a tram ride in her own country. The big question is; what happens to the parents?
    My favourite character
    My favourite character in the book is Hoodoo Jack. He made it all happen. Although he was feisty at times, he was cordial to help. If he wasn`t a character, Alexandra wouldn’t of ever seen her brother Tom again and would have probably died. He knew all the best routes to places, as well as all the safe places to stay. Everyone gave him the nickname of ‘hoodoo’ meaning mad, but was he really mad after all? He knew that he couldn`t get Alex`s brother out of war but he still tried not to let her down.
    My opinion
    My opinion of this book, is that I found it to be a bit grown up. It has some rude words in it but it made you feel as if you were in the scene that the book was talking about. Although I didn`t know much about WW1 before I read this book, I now understand a lot of it. At first I wasn`t really interested in it, but as I read on I found it more interesting. This book hasn`t got a great start, but it eases off throughout the book. I was a bit depressed while I was reading this book because it was a very sad book. My overall rating of this book is 6/10.

  8. THE FORESHADOWING

    The foreshadowing is a jaw dropping 101 chapter book by Marcus Sedgwick who also wrote ‘she is not invisible’ and ‘Midwinterblood’. The foreshadowing is a twisting turning tail based in England and later on in France.
    It all starts with Sasha seeing her friend’s death before it acutely happened. And as the story goes on the war starts and her older brother Edgar goes to war and her younger brother goes to hospital to help. But soon leaves to join the war. Just as his family gets a telegram to tell them of Edgars death. Not long after Tom departed Sasha starts to have visons of her brother’s death so she sets out to save him from the front line disguised as a VAD nurse. She sets of on an adventure to save her brother.
    If you want to know the rest read the book.

  9. Author: Marcus Sedgwick
    Reviewer: Karim
    Foreshadowing is an interesting book about the war and it was written by and incredible author called Marcus Sedgwick. This book is about a seventeen year old girl who can look in to the future but no one, no one, ever believes her. She endeavoured telling her father, then her mother, but they all ignored her, however Alexandra’s caring brother, Tom, still has belief in her.
    Firstly Alexandra studies to become a nurse and treats people’s wounds in the war, but she can see visions when someone is going to die. In the middle of the night an image came to her that Edgar, {her other brother}, who worked for the army, was going to die! The next day tragically, Edgar was dead.
    Dreams came to her that someone will shoot her final brother Tom, who firstly worked as a medical student, but now he works for the army. Alexandra knew Tom was going to die, although she has a chance to save him. The question is will she save him?
    My favourite character in this book was Hoodoo Jack, because even though he was very vicious, he was actually helpful. He was very soft hearted in the inside, but a bit of a diabolical devil on the outside. This brave lion helped Alexandra get to her brother. Jack and Alexandra have something in common; they can both predict the future! When Jack travels with Alexandra he becomes very gentle and as kind as an angel. If he wasn’t in the story, Foreshadowing will be tremendously boring. Jack makes the whole story work.
    Foreshadowing is one of the most stimulating, adventurous, depressing books I’ve ever read. It has all the emotions you can think of all in one book. Once you have read the first sentence you will immediately get hooked in. When you read it you get an understanding of the WWI, but more effectively.
    I recommend Foreshadowing to people who are nine or over because children who are younger might not understand what it mean? Foreshadowing is a book with questions to answer and clues to solve. This interesting book will be waiting to be read along.

  10. The Foreshadowing
    Marcus Sedgewick
    The Plot
    Alexandra is a girl, a girl who can see the future; she can see death around every corner; a soldier, her friend, even her brothers! Once one of her brothers is dead she sets out to save the other. Alexandra may be disguised as a nurse but how long until she is found out? Will they shoot her or let her go? And who is this so called madman, Hoodoo Jack? When will Alexandra’s curse be removed? And will she be able to save her brother, Tom before it is too late, or will she take the other route but still do something terrible?

    My Opinions
    I enjoyed this book a lot as it portrays family life under the shadow of war. The book portrays Alexandra’s concern for her brother’s lives brilliantly as it shows their family going through a period of death, distrust and unhappiness. The book also describes the battlefields very clearly, it forms a picture in your head, like you are there looking over the wastelands that are battlefields. Alexandra is tormented by her visions and fear but it doesn’t let it stop her as she searches or her brother in France. I thought the book was a super read with a lot of suspense and mystery. I would rate this book 9/10.

    My favourite character
    My favourite character is Tom, one of Alexandra’s older brothers-and also the brother who is closest to her. At first he wants to be a doctor like his father but after a heated argument with his older brother, Edgar and his father who call him a coward he joins the army. Alexandra and her mother beg him not to go, but he is adamant. Determined to prevent him from a similar fate to her oldest brother Edgar she journeys to France to save him.

  11. The Foreshadowing book Review

    The Plot

    In the story, there is a girl called Alexandra and she can see the future but not in a good way. She sees very bad things.
    One day, she is given the job of a VAD (Voluntary Aid Detachment) at her Dad’s hospital. VADs aren’t paid and when the news of her brother Edgar’s death reaches her and she sees another unfortunate event she steals a ticket to France were she faces troubles, meets people and does regretful things.
    Is she trying to stop the future or make it happen? Never tamper with the future because things can go wrong!

    My favourite character

    There are many different characters in The Foreshadowing, but my favourite by far is Jack.
    A.K.A Hoodoo Jack, who is a very mysterious character as he has the same gift as Alexandra (seeing the future) but he is introduced around one third through the story.
    You only get to know him as you progress through the story. At the beginning you are not sure whether to trust him or not, as he only speaks about himself very rarely and only says a little each time. Eventually, you learn more and more about him and understand his real character. Deep inside he is gentle and soft.

    My opinion about the book

    I found the book rather boring as it only got upbeat ( real action)in the final paragraphs.
    I also did not like the fact that at the beginning of the story the author gives a lot away and you know what is going to happen. It Alexandra can see the future on the first page. To some this type of writing may be interesting and it will draw, but to me it was disappointing.
    The up side was that it got more suspense as you got further into the story and I started to want to read on. I also found the way Marcus Sedgewick managed to tell the future but not give too much away was amazing.
    This book is suitable for children 10 or over, who love suspense, or adults who like a hint of fantasy in the novels they read.

  12. The Foreshadowing by Marcus Sedgwick
    The Plot
    Alexandra was a normal girl leading a happy life with her family, until a few years before the devastating war. She was playing with her friend Clare in a moment of bliss in her garden. Then she inquired, “Why does Clare have to die tomorrow?” Clare started to cry but soon, a few days after, Clare started to slowly die of painful tuberculosis. This was the beginning of her unforeseen curse. Then the war started and who knew what a big effect it would have on her. She completed a daring mission led by her curse to protect an important member of her family. She had lost one member of her family and didn’t want another member of her family to be harmed by the vicious enemy. Will her curse lead her to victory or would her deceased body be lying on the Somme? This curse will end up as fate but whose fate will Alexandra be responsible for? Read The Foreshadowing (by Marcus Sedgwick) to find out.

    Opinions about the Book
    I enjoyed this book because it is full of suspense and adventure. While I read The Foreshadowing, I pictured the hardships and reality of the situations Alexandra was in. The author uses a great feature to start this wonderful book: He starts off at the end of the book and works his way to the beginning. This might sound ironic but it is a great way to build up suspense. In my perspective, this book is a must-read thriller for all the family. This book sets the ambience of all the horrifying scenes in this book. I rate this superb book four and a half out of five stars. This book will stray you from your needs and plant a seedling of imagination into your brain.

    My Favourite Character
    My favourite character is Alexandra because the whole story circulates around her actions also because of her abilities, courage, fast thinking, persistence and commitment (Perseverance). In my opinion, she leads a fast paced life. Can she trust anyone? She was pressurized into doing something she never dreamed she could do by her conscience. I like this book because it is related to the Greek myth of Cassandra, a girl who was in the same situations as Alexandra. She had been cursed with an ability nobody believed in or nobody believed what she said, but eventually her words became into a painful reality.

  13. The overview
    This is a book about a family with three children, Thomas, Edgar and Alexandra (Sasha). Edgar than went to fight in the war and Thomas went to Manchester while Edgar was in the war and Alexandra was at her home in Brighton and wanted to be a nurse like his brother Thomas and since her Dad worked in the hospital in Brighton and was head of all the forms that have been sent and will be sent, he lets Alexandra be a part time VAD (Voluntary Aided Detachment) but they are called Voluntary for a good reason, they are not paid to be a nurse but when Edgar died in the war, Thomas went to Edgars memorial and when he came back, his parents had got him a nursing job and announced that he would be going to join the army to fight in the war in France. Alexandra wasn’t happy and as she knew that her father was head of all of the forms sent so Alexandra steals another VAD nurses form and goes to France to try and save Thomas.
    Why I liked the book.
    I liked all of the characters in the book as all of the characters do different things and I also like the way that there were two people with the same thing like seeing things that will happen in the future and they meet together and also, this book keeps you guessing what happens next? I want to know. Would Alexandra get shot? I also thought that I liked the way that Chapters 4 and 5 are blank pages as that startles you that in Chapter 3, it tells you why there were 2 black pages there
    My favourite character
    My favourite character is Hoodo Jack as everybody that he is weird but if they or you understand Jack as he is kind as he helps Alexandra throughout the time when they first knew each other to when they found Thomas. Although the visions are very rare in real life, it could still happen.
    Things that I don’t like of the book
    I found the book interesting but I don’t really like the way that most of the interesting stuff that happened in the book was at the end and I think the introduction of the book was a little long winded.
    Overview of the book
    I really liked the book overall and I enjoyed it but I think that if you are an adult, yu would find the book a little boring to read and if you are really young like 3 or 4, you wouldn’t know what it is going on about. Well I suppose if you are 3 or 4, you wouldn’t know what I am typing right now so if you are planning to read it, make sure that it all makes sense as if you have read the book and none of it made any sense to you, it would be a shame that you went through the book and none of it went in your head so pick the correct age to read it.
    My opinion on the mark
    I would give this book a 7.5/10 as I liked the way that it held tension in the beginning but I think that it was held back a little too much to my likings so that is why I gave it a moderate 7.5/10 which isn’t bad.

  14. The Foreshadowing by Marcus Sedgwick

    The Plot
    The Foreshadowing is a fictional story set in World War 1 both in England and France.
    The main character is a young English girl, Sasha Fox, who has trouble with a power that enables her to see the tragic future. She sees the horror that her brothers, Edgar and Tom, will face.
    The Fox family are having trouble, especially Mother, as she is worried sick about Edgar and Tom going to war in France; she is afraid that they will not return home alive. Sasha sneaks off to France hoping to find and protect her brothers from dying at the battlefront – can she save them before it is too late?
    My Favourite Character
    My favourite character is Sasha Fox. Unfortunately in her dreams the night before somebody she knows dies, she sees herself inside the city of Troy with a giant raven charging at her. Sasha is determined to save people from dying; she will do anything to save them. Most times she fails and they die, but she never gives up. Sasha is a polite character who is the baby of the family, so that enables her older brother, Edgar to bully her only for her other brother, Tom to protect her. My favourite thing about Sasha is when her brothers go to France to fight and she goes as well to save them from dying.
    My Opinion
    I personally thought this story was great as I am a big fan of World War 1& 2. The thing I didn’t like about this story was that Sasha saw death everywhere and so I feel sorry for her seeing such horror. Other than that I thought the story was quite good and I hope Marcus Sedgwick makes a sequel to this book. I personally think I would rate this book 9/10 because of the great use of vocabulary.

    (Left) Picture of book.
    (Right) Picture of author Marcus Sedgwick.
    Title: The Foreshadowing
    Author: Marcus Sedgwick
    My personal rating: 9/10 or 4
    Must Read!
    Elliot

  15. MARCUS SEDGWICK
    THE FORESHADOWING
    THE PLOT
    A girl at the age of 5 predicts her friend’s death. She is shocked about her thoughts on the death.
    Now she is 17 her name, Alexandra Fox. A VAD nurse. She is helping suffering people from World War 1.She predicts deaths before they happen. Maybe minutes away or hours.
    A soldier came to board a tram. Minutes later, he was dead. She had been going to tuition classes. She found a Greek myth related to her situation now.
    She had 2 brothers. Edgar and Tom. One had gone to war. One has gone to University. Edgar sent postcards from the war every month. On Christmas day Alexander’s dad produced a card saying Edgar was fine, the very next day a telegram arrived. She knew who it was for…
    Tom had come back. Now he has gone to the front line. She is now on a daring mission to go and save her brother Tom… Will she succeed? It’s up to you to find out. Read the book!!

    MY FAVOURITE CHARACTER
    My favourite character is Tom because he was such a great brother when Alexandra was little. Frankly speaking Tom was the better brother than Edgar. The mad and crazy thing about him is that. After his brother’s death and an argument, in which he was called a coward he has now has gone to fight. So he has changed his mind completely. His mother begged him not to go, but he is adamant about it. Alexandra goes to France to stop the disastrous death of Tom.

    MY OPINION ON THE BOOK

    I enjoyed the book very much. I really liked the concept of the book, and how a girl could have such a terrible curse implanted on her. It also gives you an idea of the battle field in France and how the mud was squelching on each step they took. A perfect image. Alexander has a curse which is a real mystery; to foresee people’s death. The writer keeps the book alive by occasionally ending a chapter on a “cliff-hanger.” This creates lots of suspense which is great. I would rate this book 9/10.

  16. The Plot:

    Alexandra is seventeen and first saw the future when she was five. Her father is a very important doctor and she and her brother Tom want to help him by become doctors too. It soon becomes a battle because, when Edgar goes to war and Tom doesn’t, so their father gets angry with Tom. Meanwhile Alexandra keeps on having these strange and weird dreams about Edgar dying. She decides to become a VAD nurse for the army, but someone is keeping a menacing watch under her as Alexandra doesn’t have any idea what to do. How will she find Tom and escape?

    My Favourite Character:

    My favourite character is Hoodoo Jack because although people think he is mad he isn’t, and he helps Alexandra on her journey to save Tom. As well as that, he is brave because he saved Alexandra from her prison tent. Also he rides a motorbike, and is trustworthy he came back for Alexandra. Although to start with, he ignores her, but then he comes back to her and turns out to be quite nice. Hoodoo Jack has sympathy for Alexandra as well, since he can see the future as well.
    My Opinion:

    When I read this book I found it quite interesting, because I didn’t know much about the war, so it told me what the conditions were like and what food they got and had. As well as that the book told me what jobs you could get then and how to get them. (eg. medical degree.) Also it the book told me where the army went to fight in the war and what the VAD nurses had to do. When I read through it I also noticed a lot of adverbs and adjectives that helped me to imagine the story in my mind

  17. Marcus Sedgwick The Foreshadowing
    Alexandra is a girl with a special power, do you want to know what it is? Well she can tell the future but always is dreaming about something that messes around in her head that she can’t stop thinking about. She also has two brothers, one that is tough and likes getting his own way and the other which is caring and likes not to tease people like Alexandra. On the other hand the Dad is very eager to want his kids to go to war! Finally the Mum, she stays at home with the cook and the maid when Alexandra is out but normally Alexander is in or is she?
    The book is about war and an adventure Alexandra takes on board so if you like adventures then you will like this book. My favourite character is Edgar because he takes stuff in like a man and would like to go to war but not leave his family but if he goes to war he will be helping his family as well as his country. He is normally teasing his little brother and sister but when he leaves to go to war it is a different story to tell. He is really kind and gives them a hug and a kiss when he leaves in his smart new uniform.
    My Opinion
    The book is a book with a bit of blood and war and a bit of Christmas! Together with that it has a big adventure in it and goes on for most of the book so if you like adventures then this is the book for you. It is not all about war so that’s one of the reasons I liked the book and also the author introduced characters when you wouldn’t realise so your being surprised by the author. That’s why I am rating it 5 stars for people that like action!

  18. Markus Sedgwick
    The foreshadowing
    THE PLOT
    Sasha is a girl with big ideas and attempts to make the world a better place. She lived a lonely life due to her two brothers fighting ain the first World War in France It’s a shock when she finds there’s someone else like her … Who can see the future? When she sees a terrible thing she tries to put it right by sneaking on a ship to France! unaware of what will happen at the end of her daring mission! But can she really complete this impossible mission, her only ally is a small hooded figure called Hoodoo Jack.
    MY FAVOURITE CHARACTER
    Jack is an entertaining character in this book in the sense that he makes the book come to life, he is also like Sasha because he can see the future. Jack is very important to the story after all it would have a short ending without him. Of course every story has a good part and this one has a real twist at the end which is totally unexpected making the story come to life again, right at the end making it a page turner.
    MY OPINION
    I like adventure stories but I found with this one the incidents that occurred didn’t hold my interest until the last two chapters where unimaginable and exciting things happened.
    I would rate the book 5 ½ out of 10 because even though it was amazing at the end but I felt that rest of the story failed to maintain my interest. I would recommend this book to people aged 12 to 17 and compare this book to War Horse by Michael Morpurgo.
    Christopher JD

  19. Marcus Sedgwick The Foreshadowing
    Sasha is a girl that can see the future but has a hard time using this power because nobody will believe her. When she finds out that her brother Edgar is killed in the war she sees the same fate for her other brother, Tom. Shocked by this horrible vision Sasha realizes that it must not become reality!
    Travel with Sasha on an amazing journey to France and join her while she tries to stop the future! Along the way she will meet new friends and also a mysterious figure named Hoodoo Jack. Sasha has a sneaking suspicion the Hoodoo Jack may be just like her. Will Sasha manage to save Tom before it is too late? Read on in this gripping story and find out!
    My favourite character from The Foreshadowing is Hoodoo Jack because before Sasha meets him she thinks that she has the bad end of the deal, but when she meets Hoodoo Jack she sees how bad things could really be. Would you prefer to be feared and believed or not feared and not believed? Hoodoo Jack is thought of as a psychopath that nobody believes, but when Sasha comes along she has seen the world through his eyes so she understands him fully.
    My opinion of Marcus Sedgewick’s Foreshadowing is a gripping read full of action and adventure but it also has a fair amount of sorrow in it. I would recommend this book to readers that like books based on war because of all the action sadness in it. If this type of book isn’t for you I will still recommend reading it because of all the other elements to the story. The reason that I say this is I never have liked books about war and fighting but this book stood out from other books like this that I have read.
    I rate this book 8/10
    If you want this book it has two covers but they both have the same content

  20. The Foreshadowing
    By Marcus Sedgwick

    The plot:
    A little girl at 5 seeing the future, this can’t be right.
    Now she was 17, her name was Alexandra. She lived a hard life without her 2 brothers whom both were at war. As she got older, as you could probably guess she wanted a job, she wanted to work in the nearby hospital where her father worked. She finally got herself into the hospital.
    On her first day, there was a woman who greeted Alexandra into the hospital in not a very nice way so she turned out not to like her. The Woman got called ‘sister’. Alexandra found the first week of working fine, until she got home to find out that her brother …………..
    The next day, she walked to the hospital as normal to find that ‘sister’ was not there.

    Tom (her other brother) was hurt now she saw in the near future he will die but will she save him in France in time ?

    Obviously, the question is will he die?

    FAVOURITE CHARACTER:

    My favourite character is Alexandra because even know she didn’t like seeing people die, she kept at her job and never gave up.
    My favourite time in the story involved with her was when Edgar came home and walked up the stairs she got out of bed and greeted him when she could of stayed in bed and saw him the next morning which I think is really nice.

    She also stands out from the crowd and does the extra not the bare minimum to help people.
    So that is why she is my favourite character

    MY OPINION:
    My opinion on the book is that it is written very well but it is not my type of book, just because it isn’t my type doesn’t mean it isn’t yours.
    This a book that something happens then it builds up to another event. If you want a book that asks a lot of questions then I would definitely recommend this book.
    For age I would give an average of about 9-14.
    Overall, I would give The Foreshadowing a rating of 8/10.

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