darlenemarshall's review
5.0
[a:Carla Kelly|36636|Carla Kelly|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1283446814p2/36636.jpg] books are filled with people trying to lead good lives, but the author doesn't shy away from the brutal realities of the world in which we live. In this second St. Brendan novel (there's also a novella) we learn more about the lost and abandoned Gunwharf Rats, workhouse boys at St. Brendan the Navigator School in Portsmouth, training for the Royal Navy during the war with Napoleon.
The novel picks up after [b:The Unlikely Master Genius|36549049|The Unlikely Master Genius (St. Brendan #1)|Carla Kelly|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1510011097l/36549049._SX50_.jpg|58280950], with polymath Durable (Able) Six and his wife Meri building their school and loving their young charges. But England requires that every man (and woman) do their duty so Meri and Able are enlisted in a further effort to keep the French from England's shores.
While the scenes of violence and the harshness of life can be tough reading, at the end of the day we know that essentially Carla Kelly's books are about ordinary, good people doing the right thing, and that's something we can all use a little more of in our lives. In dark times, books like this remind us that we've been through woes before, and, together, we'll get through them again.
The novel picks up after [b:The Unlikely Master Genius|36549049|The Unlikely Master Genius (St. Brendan #1)|Carla Kelly|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1510011097l/36549049._SX50_.jpg|58280950], with polymath Durable (Able) Six and his wife Meri building their school and loving their young charges. But England requires that every man (and woman) do their duty so Meri and Able are enlisted in a further effort to keep the French from England's shores.
While the scenes of violence and the harshness of life can be tough reading, at the end of the day we know that essentially Carla Kelly's books are about ordinary, good people doing the right thing, and that's something we can all use a little more of in our lives. In dark times, books like this remind us that we've been through woes before, and, together, we'll get through them again.
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