Reviews

In 1942 London, the sounding of air raid sirens is a common occurrence and almost everyone has been affected to some degree or the other by the German war plane bombings. For seventeen-year-old Nellie Morris, every day she and her family get through without harm is a miracle and life is rife with uncertainty. A chance encounter with an American airman named Ray finally adds a spark of joy to Nellie's world as she begins to dream about a life with him after the war but when one tragedy strikes, others follow at its heel.

Centering largely on the Bethnal Green tube disaster of 1943 that claimed the lives of 173 Londoners, this fictional tale was inspired by Millie Bobby Brown's own grandmother, who was present when it happened. It is to be noted that the novel was apparently ghostwritten by one Kathleen McGurl who is not credited as the author or even a co-author and she is only mentioned in passing by Brown in the acknowledgements for "working with me to bring it to life".

Anyway, about the book...the parts that really stood out and had an impact on me were the ones relating to the tube disaster. The avoidable nature of the catastrophe, the tension in the moment and the agony of the survivors afterwards, and the political cover-up were written in a way that there is no way it wouldn't touch your heart.

The rest of the book was generally mediocre, both the writing and the plot. The writing was very simplistic and sometimes felt like what I would have penned as a child. The plot was also entirely predictable; I just knew how pretty much everything was going to turn out. The characters lacked depth but I won't deny that Nellie's anguish leapt out of the page in a heart wrenching manner.

The biggest plus point for this book is that it made me aware of the Bethnal Green tube disaster. Other than that, the rest of it is quite forgettable.

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