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skynet666's review against another edition
4.0
Good historical fiction.....the story and characters show a different view of times during that war that I found interesting.
angela_doolin's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
sassysparky's review against another edition
3.0
This book is on one of my favorite subjects (daily life during WW 2) but it was a slow read and I had trouble getting into it. I don't think the characters were developed enough
ghutter05's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Picked up from a "staff picks" display at the library and am very glad I did. Marketed as a black comedy but I wouldn't say so. I'm not quite sure how to describe it, but I loved the characters and found it just a lovely lovely book.
katykelly's review against another edition
4.0
I've read Lissa Evans' children's books before, and liked her style and subject. This is for older readers, adults really.
Set in World War II, the year of the Blitz, Noel loses his godmother and is evacuated out of London. Vee takes him in, seeing in him extra rations and money - she is besieged by debts, with an adult son who can't work and an elderly mother to take care of. Noel doesn't talk, seems 'simple', shouldn't get in the way of her schemes and plots.
She soon learns that her 10-year-old evacuee is something of a prodigy when it comes to making money in times of war... his former-suffragette godmother raised him in a rather unique way and he's incredibly bright and resourceful. Together, they may do well.
Vee and Noel make a cracking lead pair, a small boy who opens his mouth to spout out the most incredibly mature language and thoughts, Vee the widow whose sense of morality in wartime is definitely a shade of grey - but necessarily so, with no husband to provide.
Their (mis)adventures are enjoyable, they get involved in a few scrapes, make connections and show us the everyday, working-class view of London in wartime and what people had to do to get through it.
I really wanted more from Mattie, she's a great character at the start, but Vee and Noel are wonderful as well. It makes for an enjoyable period piece.
I accessed this as an audiobook, and it isn't a long one. Well-narrated, it was easy to follow and enthusiastically read.
Set in World War II, the year of the Blitz, Noel loses his godmother and is evacuated out of London. Vee takes him in, seeing in him extra rations and money - she is besieged by debts, with an adult son who can't work and an elderly mother to take care of. Noel doesn't talk, seems 'simple', shouldn't get in the way of her schemes and plots.
She soon learns that her 10-year-old evacuee is something of a prodigy when it comes to making money in times of war... his former-suffragette godmother raised him in a rather unique way and he's incredibly bright and resourceful. Together, they may do well.
Vee and Noel make a cracking lead pair, a small boy who opens his mouth to spout out the most incredibly mature language and thoughts, Vee the widow whose sense of morality in wartime is definitely a shade of grey - but necessarily so, with no husband to provide.
Their (mis)adventures are enjoyable, they get involved in a few scrapes, make connections and show us the everyday, working-class view of London in wartime and what people had to do to get through it.
I really wanted more from Mattie, she's a great character at the start, but Vee and Noel are wonderful as well. It makes for an enjoyable period piece.
I accessed this as an audiobook, and it isn't a long one. Well-narrated, it was easy to follow and enthusiastically read.
carolyn0613's review against another edition
5.0
A really super book, full of real and complex charaters. The plot was simple yet effective. The wartime traumas but also opportunities were described beautifully. Highly recommend this book. In fact I am going to make it my choice for my book club. Fantastic.
lib_and_lynx's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
colleengeedrumm's review
4.0
What is the one thing that is more important than money, Noel?
Taste.
Hobbies are for people who don't read books.
But Peter tended towards condescension because his father was in the army reserve. And because he had a father.
When all the world is sad and grey
And all your hope seems far away
Look up and see the sky so blue
And know that joy is there for you.
He had never been bored with Mattie, never, never, never and now he was bored all the time, all the time; it was unbearable, like following mile after mile of grey string, with nothing at the end of it but a grim, distant, adult version of himself.
All things are difficult before they are easy, said Noel.
All over my fooking boots, you fooking fooker! bellowed a northern voice.
And his mother wore large hats and satin gloves, buttoned up to the elbow; he had three older sisters, all married, and when he went up to London in the Austin Tourer, he stayed at his club and dined late.
She hadn't expected him to be pleased to see her, but it wasn't nice to see the panic in his eyes.
You look all right, she said to him, shyly.
It was like the rare occasions on which she's downed a whisky: a few seconds of wincing and then fireworks all the way.
For a few moments in the garage, waiting for Harry to catch sight of her, she'd felt extraordinarily young, a sixteen-year-old wearing a bottle-green cloche and riding a borrowed bicycle over the ruts to Colney Heath. The act of actually speaking to him seemed to have had the opposite effect: she'd been flung forward, right over the handlebars and into middle age. Her back hurt.
Struggle as a hobby, maybe - struggle as something she did when she wasn't sitting reading a book.
A good wine. All other considerations are mere pretensions.
You mean that collective safety's more important than collective morality?
and he's a rottenstinkingdirtyTHIEF.
Mattie said that we should celebrate each glad moment as it comes.
Taste.
Hobbies are for people who don't read books.
But Peter tended towards condescension because his father was in the army reserve. And because he had a father.
When all the world is sad and grey
And all your hope seems far away
Look up and see the sky so blue
And know that joy is there for you.
He had never been bored with Mattie, never, never, never and now he was bored all the time, all the time; it was unbearable, like following mile after mile of grey string, with nothing at the end of it but a grim, distant, adult version of himself.
All things are difficult before they are easy, said Noel.
All over my fooking boots, you fooking fooker! bellowed a northern voice.
And his mother wore large hats and satin gloves, buttoned up to the elbow; he had three older sisters, all married, and when he went up to London in the Austin Tourer, he stayed at his club and dined late.
She hadn't expected him to be pleased to see her, but it wasn't nice to see the panic in his eyes.
You look all right, she said to him, shyly.
It was like the rare occasions on which she's downed a whisky: a few seconds of wincing and then fireworks all the way.
For a few moments in the garage, waiting for Harry to catch sight of her, she'd felt extraordinarily young, a sixteen-year-old wearing a bottle-green cloche and riding a borrowed bicycle over the ruts to Colney Heath. The act of actually speaking to him seemed to have had the opposite effect: she'd been flung forward, right over the handlebars and into middle age. Her back hurt.
Struggle as a hobby, maybe - struggle as something she did when she wasn't sitting reading a book.
A good wine. All other considerations are mere pretensions.
You mean that collective safety's more important than collective morality?
and he's a rottenstinkingdirtyTHIEF.
Mattie said that we should celebrate each glad moment as it comes.