Reviewed by Emma Crowley
When Clara Newton’s American pilot fiancé died during the war, she thought she might never heal. But now she has a new life looking after orphans in a children’s home named in his memory. Like wide-eyed, musical little Rita, who refuses to believe her mother died during the Blitz. With the Festival of Britain approaching, Clara is delighted to see the children singing and preparing to audition together. And with D-Day war hero and handyman Ivor living next door, she begins to open her heart once more.
But when a deeply troubled orphan arrives on Clara’s doorstep, she faces her greatest challenge yet. Clifford has arrived without a background file and while Clara struggles to meet his needs, she is desperately in need of help. Turning to Ivor for comfort, she is broken-hearted when he decides he may never be ready for love again, as he adjusts to life as a single father.
Clara has never failed to help any of the orphans in her care. And when little Rita encourages Clifford to join their singing group, she hopes he may begin to find his way. But soon he endangers not only their beloved plans for the Festival of Britain but the lives of the other children…
When disaster strikes, can Clara save the orphans and make Rita’s dreams of singing for Britain come true? And while Ivor cares for his baby alone, can Clara have a future with the man she loves?
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of An Orphan’s Song to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
An Orphan’s Song is the third book in the Shilling Grange Children’s Home series by Lizzie Page. Although, the main character Clara would insist that it is now known as the Michael Adams Children’s Home. She pointed this out to the reader and to many of the characters time and time again and at first honestly I found it annoying but then soon after every time it was mentioned it brought a smile to my face. It highlighted how loyal Clara is and how she always wants to do everything by the book in order to achieve the best possible outcome. But as the author herself mentioned in the end notes, this special place will always be referred to as Shilling Grange. Despite this being book three, An Orphan’s Song is easily read as a standalone as the relaxed, informal and gently flowing nature of the storytelling fills you in on the relevant bits that occurred in previous books. The necessary information is not thrown at the reader in a page or two so as to overwhelm or confuse but instead little titbits are dropped in every now and then which only serve to enhance a situation or to help understand the background to a certain character.
This series is really enjoyable. It’s warm and comforting and Clara and all her children and the various extra characters really grow on you and get under your skin and it’s just so nice to return to familiar territory and know that a lovely heart-warming story awaits you between the pages. The story picks up a little bit after where A Place to Call Home concluded. Clara and her neighbour Ivor whom I think every reader are just waiting and waiting for the pair to get together, well they seem to be giving each other the cold shoulder at the moment. Ivor has always been there to help Clara ever since she took over as housemother at the home. Small little things were always done for her and the children and there is no doubt about it that Ivor is very kind and caring. But in this book, Ivor was very preoccupied having admirably taken on his ex-wife’s baby and was parenting solo. Of course this has thrown a spanner in the works for Clara and it was heart-breaking to see her grappling with her emotions and battling between what she desperately wants and on the other hand what she knows is right for Ivor and baby Patricia.
Clara is the character who has come such a long way on a personal journey of discovery since we met her in book one but here I felt she was going through a really tough time personally and that she was so worried and hesitant throughout the story. Not in relation to the children in her care, although she had the usual battles and ups and downs with them, more so on a personal level. I thinks she felt that things were moving in a positive direction around her for other people yet she remained stuck in a rut. You could see she was desperately lonely and would have given anything to have someone to confide in, to have a relationship with and simply for someone to love and for them to love her in return. I would have loved her to march across the road to Ivor’s workshop and just lay everything on the line and 100% express how she truly felt without tiptoeing around him. But Ivor, in this story, was very much a closed book and they do say the path to true love never does run smooth. He seemed abrasive and caught up in everything else except the one true positive thing staring him in the face. Clara was wise in that she stood back and gave him the time and space that he needs but how long can she wait especially as she carves affection and a physical connection? That’s not to say Clara remains like a spinster she has had and still has her romantic moments in these books but I know who I am rooting for her to end up with. She truly does deserve so much happiness but frustratingly it keeps eluding her even though it is literally on her doorstep.
I think the perfect balance was struck in An Orphan’s Song between focusing on Clara and her emotional state and the lives of the children. The Festival of Britain was a key theme throughout which provided a real focus for the children. I had never heard of this before so it was interesting to read about although Clara at times couldn’t see its value. It was like everyone else around her was moving on from the war years and the harsh times but she didn’t think everything was all fine and rosy in the garden again. Rationing and austerity were still around and she still felt the darkness at times but the festival was about hope and coming back into the light and this was particularly highlighted in something Anita, Dr. Cardew’s wife, says towards the end as she related it back to her own personal war experiences and this really did strike a chord with me.
Once again the children steal the show time and time again. We have old favourites such as Maureen, Peg and Rita whose individual stories are moving along nicely. One in particular was so sweet and heart-warming and it will bring a tear to your eye as you can’t believe that it is happening. But we also have newcomers Denny and Clifford. Denny has lost his parents in a car crash and is suffering badly. Clara knows her job is to support all the children in her care and then let them go when the time is right and this is really highlighted in this particular story. Peter has fled the nest for a job in London but yet you can see that Clara is unwilling to really let him go out into the big bad world. I don’t think she herself would ever have imagined she would feel like this about her charges when she first arrived but it shows how far she has come and that she is loving, affectionate and consistent which is what the children need.
Clara’s patience and tolerance are severely tested when it comes to Clifford. In my mind he has been the worst child to arrive at the home. He was unbearable, rude, horrid, shifty and sly. Nothing more than a bully who goes against her time and time again. It was obvious what he was up to and I wanted to be able to say to Clara, don’t trust him or give him the benefit of the doubt and go ahead and give him the slipper. I thought Clifford’s aspect of the story would turn out in a similar fashion to some of the other children that featured in previous books but I am glad something slightly different did. He was a character who I felt didn’t deserve a heap of love and attention. For me his actions meant he didn’t deserve it.
An Orphan’s Song is a fabulous addition to the series and the themes of various types of love are so well developed and explored. Be it romantic, maternal or familial. You’ll love journeying with Clara, Anita and the children as fame awaits them as they form a group to perform at the Festival of Britain. Their enthusiasm, enjoyment, hope and dedication is infectious. Thankfully, this is not the last we have heard of Clara and the orphans of Shilling Grange and books four and five are in the pipeline. I can’t wait to see what is in store for them next.
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