Four years after his father goes missing while fighting in World War I, Alfie, a young shoe-shine boy at King's Cross Station, unexpectedly discovers his father in a nearby hospital and is introduced to the phenomenon of shell shock. By the author of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas The next work of historical fiction from the author of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, John Boyne's Stay Where You Are and Then Leave is a touching look at the effects war has on a family.The day the First World War broke out, Alfie Summerfield's father promised he wouldn't go away to fight-but he broke that promise the following day. Four years later, Alfie doesn't know where his father might be, other than that he's away on a special, secret mission. Then, while shining shoes at King's Cross Station, Alfie unexpectedly sees his father's name on a sheaf of papers belonging to a military doctor. Bewildered and confused, Alfie realizes his father is in a hospital close by-a hospital treating soldiers with shell shock. Alfie isn't sure what shell shock is, but he is determined to rescue his father from this strange, unnerving place. This title has Common Core connections.