Over a quarter million underage British boys fought on the Allied front lines of the Great War,but not all of them fought on the battlefieldΓÇösome fought beneath itas revealed in this middle-grade historical adventure about a deadly underground mission. Secret Soldiers follows the journey of Thomasa thirteen-year-old coal minerwho lies about his age to join the Claykickersa specialized crew of soldiers known as ΓÇ£tunnelersΓÇ¥ in hopes of finding his missing older brother. Thomas works in the tunnels of the Western Front alongside three other soldier boys whose constant bickering and inexperience in mining may prove more lethal than the enemy digging toward them. But as they burrow deeper beneath the battlefieldthe boys discover the men they hope to become and forge a bond of brotherhood. Secret Soldiers is another stunning story of strengthperseveranceand love from Keely Hutton. This title has common core connections.