13 thoughts on “The Machine Gunners

  1. This is a great book about a group of kids during the world war. It shows how they would like to get involved but cannot. Their life is fairly peaceful and relaxed, especially when their school burns down. All untill, they find a working machine-gun attached to a fallen plane. They build a hideout and have many adventures, including keeping and feeding a poor German!

  2. This book was a great joy to read. the book is about a boy that explores and collect pieces of guns and other items that are specifically from WW1. he finds a massive plane and removes the gun with the help from his friends. This book creates a clear image of what it would be like to live in the period of WW1.
    I definitely recommend this book.
    Edouard

  3. The Machine Gunners is an adventurous and thrilling book about how many boys and in fact girls loved to get involved in playing their parts to win the war.
    This is about a few boys who have to make life changing decisions after finding a crashed plane with lots to reveal!
    For any age and for boys and girls, a real must read!

  4. This is an interesting book that Robert Westall has written. I think he uses a good storyline to describe the war. My favourite character is John.

  5. I like the book because is really emotional and it’s about a little boy who is brave and hates the Germans more than anything. “Some bright kid’s got a gun and 2000 rounds of live ammo. And that guns no peashooter. It’ll go through a brick wall at a quarter of mile.” My favourite character has got to be Clogger . I like him because he seems to be at first impression to be a dull,dumb,strange boy because he is a very quiet character with his vocabulary consisting of “Aye” and “no”.
    But he is actually more than that he is a strong kid
    Marina Y9 Royal Russell

  6. It was thrilling and the book really made me feel like I was there with Chas. I recommend this book to anyone, the plot is amazing and the emotions are strong.

  7. Machine Gunners by Robert Westall

    I thought this book is very good, it has a good plot. It shows strong emotions. When i was reading it, it made me feel like i was the person Chas Mcgill. In the beginning i thought whats the point. Jaimin Royal Russell

  8. A very interesting book about war and has a great story line about it. It has heart stopping action and is a really fun book. One of the best war books I have read.

  9. The machine gunners was a very thoughtful book and well written. Robert Westall is a brilliant writer and I think this is his best book so far. it is about a boy called Chas and his friends. They find a Nazi bomber plane who the pilot is dead. A bomb lies next to the plane so they carry the bomb all the way to their green house.
    I thought this was a very good book and I enjoyed it a lot and I recommend it to a lot of people.

  10. This book is about Chassy McGill, who is obsessed with war souvenirs. One day Chas finds a German bomber that crashed and was still pretty intact, but best of all: the machine gun was still working!

    Chas and his friends get into all sorts of misadventures and trouble… including trying to shoot German planes down!

  11. My review of ‘The Machine Gunners’ by Robert Westall

    ‘The Machine Gunners’ is a insightful book about the ups and downs of being a child living through the second world war. The style of writing is a real page turner and the plot of the story always changes. It’s based on a boy called Chas McGill who has an obsession of collecting ‘war souvenirs’ and stumbles upon a machine gun. He and his friend brew up a plan to use the gun to help the bombing raids which his town is subjected to. However they need to escape from the air wardens and hide the machine gunner, Rudi first. They are soon pressured to do unwanted things as the police catch up and a bully strikes.
    Lily Year 8 Brighton College

  12. The Machine Gunners

    I liked this book because it shows strong emotions and feelings. The writer makes you feel like you are the speaker – like when a boy was going to make a decision, you wished you could have advised him. The writer keeps the story going with some hope in the sad bits by calling some of the children funny names, such as Bogie. I would recommend this to people who like mysteries and discoveries in history. Edward 7Q Royal Russell School

  13. This was an interesting read – a little unbelievable in places and it is interesting to see how social attitudes have changed.

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