Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Wow! We really loved this well-written book. I even learned a new word, chivvying! I read it to my 7-year-old. Actually, the entire family listened raptly during a 2-hour car trip even though my husband, mother, and older daughter only heard a portion of the middle of the book during the trip. The story is just that engaging. It really gives you an interesting perspective on that time in history. My daughter had never heard of a newsreel so we watched some showing the evacuation of troops at Dunkirk. It really made history so real for my daughter and for me too really. The book also does an amazing job of showing how the physical and emotional abuse faced by Ada and to a lesser extent Jaime, affected them and their choices. My daughter and I spent a lot of time discussing why Ada acted in a certain way. We often stopped and dissected the scenes even going so far as to discuss PTSD when Ada was afraid of going into the little bomb shelter that brought back the fear of being locked in the damp, crowded, bug-infested cabinet under the kitchen sink in her mam's flat. The author does such a great job of sharing with the reader Ada's inner turmoil and fears. We also spent some time discussing Jaime's behavior and even Susan's. Understanding Mam was much more difficult so I just explained to my daughter that sometimes we do not understand why people do horrible things. Even if we did understand Mam, it would not excuse her for the choices she made. They were still her choices. One reviewer mentioned the bad language. There are a few times bloody (which is a bad word in the U.K. but not here) and hell are used. The only word I edited out on the fly as I was reading to my 7-year-old was sl@t. Mam calls Susan a "lazy sl@t in a fancy house." I substituted cow and my daughter did not notice. I also decided not to go into Susan and Becky's relationship. The book says they were friends from university and that explanation was perfectly fine for my 7-year-old. This is a great book packed with insights not only into the time period of war torn England from the perspective of a child but also into the timeless themes of human nature.