Whistling in the Dark

Reviewed by: Phyllis Fuchs - Curtis Memorial Library, Brunswick, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: March 11, 2018

Review

Its intriguing title and a dramatic, colorful dust jacket may catch the attention of young readers, mainly girls, who have a special interest in war stories. Other young teens regard World War two as ancient history. Set in Liverpool, England beginning with the Liverpool Blitz of 1940-41, thirteen year old Joan relates some of the war's effects on her family, school, school friends and her community. The story opens on that year of almost nightly bombings by Nazi aircraft. Blackouts, bomb shelters, air raids , curfews food rationing and the black market are all present in this story, first published in England in 2015 by a well known British author and illustrator. This reviewer did not find the war time incidents offered in the novel as dramatic as the dust jacket suggested. The book's appeal to its intended readership will largely be determined by its subject matter.

Overall Book Score: fair