Review – The Blitz Bus by Glen Blackwell @gblackwellbooks #middlegrade
Synopsis
Emmie let out a huge sob – “It’s not a film set”, she cried. She held onto Jack for a moment, then took a step back, closed her eyes and shouted – “WHERE AM I?”
When Jack and Emmie suddenly find themselves transported back to London in 1940, they find a world both familiar, yet very different. As they dodge falling bombs and over-zealous policemen, they befriend Jan – a lonely Polish refugee. Together, they must work out if the shadowy figure they keep seeing is a spy and unlock the secret of getting home again…
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Review
Sometimes I enjoy reading middle-grade books because if nothing else, it might teach me a thing or two. In this case, it was an almost teen’s perspective of what the blitz was like for the children of the 1940s. This book also combines a little bit of fantasy and sci-fi into the mix with the time travel aspect of the story.
It starts off with Jack being asked to write a page about what children might have thought or felt during WWII especially during the blitz. He is like any other 12 year old and has no idea what to think or write. Emmie is in another class and they are acting out the same type of scenario but neither really have any idea what those children went through 80 years ago. That is until the bus they are riding on zaps them back to the past and they are dumped into the reality of the 1940s.
This is truly a learning experience for Jack and Emmie. They have to figure out how to fend for themselves when it comes to food and shelter, avoid the police, and they also have to figure out how they were taken back to the past and how do they get back to their time? Luckily, they meet a couple of other young children that they befriend and it is an adventure for all of them. Jan (pronounced Yan) and Stan (short for Stanislaw) are from Poland and were part of the program that took young children from their countries and housed them in England where they would hopefully survive the war. These four form a fast friendship despite some misunderstandings at first.
This was a somewhat fast read for me, but one that was enjoyable because I too couldn’t wait to find out how they were going to get back to the present. Thankfully, there are people that took care of them at times with food, shelter, and friendship. I think this experience definitely taught these two a little something about history and what they shouldn’t take for granted in their own time.
I think this would be a great read for anyone and we give it 5 paws up.
About the Author
Glen Blackwell lives in Suffolk, England. He has a career in finance and We’re Moving Where?! is his first book. Inspired by bedtime reading with his 3 daughters, Glen loves to bring stories to life for young readers.
C. Lee McKenzie
I’m glad you enjoy reading books created for younger readers. It’s something I enjoy doing as well, and if the book is well-written, I can enter into the story as deeply as one written for the adult reader. A good story is a good story! Thanks for the review today.