Overview

Legendary author Shirley Hughes draws on her young teenage memories for a compelling novel of friendship and mysteries set in Liverpool during the Blitz. Liverpool, 1940: Thirteen-year-old Joan's home is under constant threat from the Nazis' terrifying nightly air raids. Everyone is on edge, faced with strict food rationing, curfews, and blackouts. It’s not an easy time to be a teenager. Joan’s one solace is going to the movies with her best friend, the unflappable Doreen, but when the bombings intensify, even that becomes too dangerous. There’s also the matter of a strange man who Joan sees lurking near their home. Who is he, and why does he think Joan can help him? Even more unsettling, as the Blitz worsens, Joan and her friends make a discovery down by the old mill that will tear the whole community apart. In the hardship of war, everything seems to be rationed — except true friendship.

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A fine war novel about living life despite trying circumstances.--Kirkus Reviews

Avoiding sensationalism, sentimentality, or predictability, Hughes shapes a real and raw novel helmed by a wise and gutsy protagonist.--Publishers Weekly A fine war novel about living life despite trying circumstances.--Kirkus Reviews A fine war novel about living life despite trying circumstances.--Kirkus Reviews

Author Information

Shirley Hughes (1927–2022) was the author of more than fifty children’s books and the illustrator of some two hundred more. One of the world’s best-loved writers for children, she received the Kate Greenaway Medal twice and was awarded an OBE for her distinguished service to children’s literature. In 2007, her book Dogger was voted the U.K.’s favorite Kate Greenaway Medal–winning book of all time.

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