Reviewed by Emma Crowley
Fifteen-year-old Connie is leaving war-torn England for the safer shores of America, looking after a nine-year old orphan boy with sad blue eyes. But the ocean is rife with Nazi vessels. And when their boat is torpedoed, in the fear and chaos Connie can’t stop thinking about handsome Jack, who stayed behind in London. Will the orphans survive, and will Connie ever be reunited with her first love?
Back in London, sixteen-year-old Jack desperately misses Connie, his brave, kind friend, after their tearful goodbye when her ship set sail. As bombs set the skies ablaze, he listens to an old radio for any news about the dangerous Atlantic crossing. When he intercepts a secret message that could change everything, he races to the war office. Will they listen to a young lad like him, and can he save Connie and countless other lives?
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of The Lifeboat Orphans to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
The Lifeboat Orphans is book two in Ellie Curzon’s, The Runaway Evacuees series, and needless to say it was as entertaining as ever. It picked up more or less where the first book had left off and it felt like I had never been away from the gang of eclectic yet resourceful and courageous young evacuees who are making a name for themselves as the Blitz kids. A brilliant tense prologue really set the scene for the book. There was enough detail to refresh my memories regarding characters but also an ample amount to inform new readers without giving away too much of the plot from book one. The events in the prologue really laid the down the foundations of what was to come in this new story and made for a very solid opening.
It’s the summer of 1942 and nowhere is safe in London as bombs rain down on a nightly basis. Connie, aged 15, knows life is fragile and she makes the best of every moment as she sings in Jasper’s club. It’s a place which has offered sanctuary for the Blitz kids and Wyngate and Lisette who have become like their surrogate parents. Disaster strikes as the club is struck by a bomb and the scenes that followed were tense and exciting and I loved that this was present from the get go. There was no long, slow lead into the action. We got it from the start and yes there was a lull or two further on before the pace picked up again but this was needed and came at an opportune time. The club is left in ruins and it’s heartbreaking for all involved but the Blitz Kids and their infamy mean that soon they are organising a fundraiser so Jasper will have the means to rebuild a place that was like a second home for them. Despite such young children being caught up in the violence and horror of war having their innocence shattered and the carefree days of childhood snatched away from them they all do their utmost to make the best of a dire situation. Community spirit and working together for the good of everyone radiates from every page.
Jack is also 15 and he is like the leader of the pack. He cares deeply for his little sister Elsie but his kindness has expanded to everyone in the gang - Ned, Susan and Ben included. Yes there is a romantic angle that is simmering beneath the surface with a certain someone but this is something that is gentle and understated and which comes to the fore much further on in the book. There is always lots going on in every chapter and I loved how it moved back and forth between Connie and Lisette’s viewpoints. If this was solely focused on the children I’m not sure would I have enjoyed it as much because to get the adult view of Lisette was brilliant. The development of her relationship with Wyngate who works for the War Office is well constructed here and they go through many challenges and ups and downs. They always put the children’s current situations and needs before their own. But at the same time there was still elements to their plot that kept the reader intrigued whilst also deeply caring about their own trials and tribulations. One thing I would love in the future is a chapter from Lisette’s mother’s point of view as she stuck in Paris or even for Lisette to have to secretly get into France for one reason or another. Yes, I know this series is about the orphans but still there are numerous tantalising titbits dropped in that really makes me want to know more.
As I’ve said the focus of this series is on the evacuees who weren’t happy in the countryside and they escaped back to the city. Their lives have changed dramatically as they help people in need around the city and earn a name for themselves thanks to Esther, a reporter who has taken a shine to them. This notoriety really comes into play when after an argument with Connie following her stand out performance at the fundraiser leads to Ned running out in anger and subsequently vanishing. Ned is a brilliant character, a really cheeky chappy, a wheeler and dealer who knows the streets of London like the back of his hand. He can get anything on the black market and is always helping out those who run it. He is so loveable and has a heart of gold and is admired and respected by everyone. The way he is written you’d forget that he is only 10 as he comes across so mature but yet the events that occur re Ned show that he does have a vulnerable side too and everyone needs someone that will be there in their corner fighting for them.
Connie is eaten up with guilt that something dreadful has happened to Ned and that she is the cause of it all when really he was only trying to help her with what would hopeful become a good singing career. Connie, herself shows her vulnerabilities and anxieties throughout all this. The notoriety I’ve mentioned up above comes into play as everyone starts searching for Ned. London residents who have read about the Blitz Kids join forces to try and locate him and to say this was a worrying time would be an understatement and I was wondering what way would the authors have this play out?
One thing that I was finding frustrating was when would the title come into play because from the outset I had thought that’s what the book would be about. It wasn’t until around the 50% mark that everything started to become clearer. It then made me realise that everything leading up to it was actually a very good set up and all that had occurred thus far had actually needed to happen and it highlighted how expertly plotted the book actually was. Yes, there were elements that were very far fetched and totally implausible regarding events and meetings with people that wouldn’t have happened to ordinary people during the war as there had also been in book one but suspend your disbelief and just go with the flow because it all hypes up the drama.
I thoroughly enjoyed the second half of the book. It was packed full of tension, anxiety and edge of your seat stuff and highlighted the dangerous voyages that liners undertook across the Atlantic ocean during the war. I couldn’t believe that certain things were unfolding and my heart was in my mouth because believe a certain thing was happening and I was desperately hoping that it wouldn’t turn out to be true. The reasons for the voyage across the Atlantic I will not divulge but suffice to say things became embellished but in a really good way and it changed the course of the book for many.
The Lifeboat Orphans was a brilliant addition to the series and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Yet again you’d never realise that Ellie Curzon is two authors writing as one so seamless was the writing, the character development and the plot. I can’t wait to read more from this courageous, gutsy and determined young group. With the war still raging on I think there is lots more in store for everyone. I hope it won’t be too long before I get to catch up with them again.
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