[Lights Go On Again: The Puffin Classics] [By: Pearson, Kit] [November, 2014]

Guests of War #3

by Kit Pearson

For five years Gavin and his sister Norah have lived in Canada as "war guests." But now, as 1945 approaches, the war is finally ending, and Gavin and Norah will soon be going back to EnglandNorah, who's fifteen, is eager to see her parents again, but ten-year-old Gavin barely remembers them. He doesn't want to leave his Canadian family, his two best friends and his dog.Then something happens that forces Gavin to make the most difficult decision of his life.The Lights Go On Again is the last book in the acclaimed series that began with The Sky Is Falling and Looking At The Moon .

Genres: Historical Fiction, Canada, Young Adult, Fiction, Childrens, Historical, World War II

Paperback

First published May 1, 1993

About the author

Kit Pearson spent her childhood between Edmonton Alberta and Vancouver, British Columbia. As a high-school student, she returned to Vancouver to be educated at Crofton House School. She obtained a degree in English Literature at the University of Alberta, and spent several years following the degree doing odd jobs or travelling in Europe.
In 1975, she began her Library degree at the University of British Columbia and took her first jobs in that field in Ontario. She later obtained an M.A. at the Simmons College Center for the Study of Children's Literature in Boston. Returning to Vancouver, she completed her first novel "The Daring Game" which was published by Penguin Books.
Pearson now lives in Victoria, British Columbia, a few blocks from Ross Bay Cemetery, one of the settings in Awake and Dreaming.

Reviews

[Melissa George · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Lights Go On Again" is a satisfying ending to the Guests of War Trilogy. The 3rd installment switches things up by focusing on Gavin rather than Norah, and finds the Stoakes children getting ready to welcome the year 1945. Norah and Gavin are still living with their Canadian family, the Ogilvies, but all around there is talk of the long war finally coming to an end. Norah is ecstatic: they'll soon be going home to be with their parents, and while she'll miss the Ogilvies and her best friend Paige, she is English and England is where she belongs. Gavin, on the other hand, secretly feels differently. Gavin was very young when he left England, and no longer remembers his parents or their former home. Gavin feels Canadian, and is frightened of what the end of the war means for his way of life. He is terrified at the thought of leaving safe Toronto and Aunt Florence for the unknown, war torn England he doesn't remember.

Then, tragedy strikes and Gavin has to make the most difficult decision of his young life. While the world starts to relight the lamps extinguished by war, Gavin must decide what it means to be brave, and how to live life in spite of your fear.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt this was better executed than the previous book in the series, and after another time jump, I was soon immersed in the plot. The action picked up slowly, but did a good job of explaining the rationale around some decisions the characters. The plot twists kept me guessing, with a few short sharp shocks up to a climax, which I'm sad to say was a little predictable. The resolution did make me smile.

[Madame Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A teary conclusion to the trilogy.

[CarolynAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this trilogy, considered youth fiction, even though I am far from being a "youth". These stories are about children who are evacuated from Britian during WW2 by their parents to keep them safe; the children were fostered by Canadian families... a part of our history that I really hadn't known about. This 3rd book focuses on what happens to these children at the end of the war... how it is for children who were very young when they came to Canada and are now being returned to parents they barely remember. From the moment I started reading the 1st book, it played on my mind as how must it have been for children to be 'sent back' 5 years later. I felt that the author dealt with this issue very well and very realistically. This 3rd book is mostly from the perspective of Gavin, the younger brother of the main character, Norah, in the first two books. I have to say, it was an interesting and well-written book... and very easy to read.

[writer... · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poignant third and final episode in the story series featuring children sent from England to Canada for safety during WWII.
Various personalities well drawn and authentic in different ages and in dealing with the effects of war. Inner struggles and emotional turmoil realistic to characters that held my attention as I anticipated changes and outcomes. Well written and a delight to have read this Canadian authored story of a part Canada played in a traumatic time of war.

[Sharon Ouderkirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's 1945 in the concluding novel of the Guests of War trilogy, and Norah is 15 and Gavin is 10. The focus of the series turns to Gavin who doesn't remember his life in England, and is not looking forward to leaving Canada. His life in Canada as the spoiled darling of Aunt Florence is hard to beat, and he feels loved and has friends and security. England means war to him, even as peace is at hand, and he doesn't want to go back. The novel focuses on his struggle to decide what he'll do: Aunt Florence wants him to stay and Norah wants him to go home to England with her.
Although Gavin's struggle to decide his future is fraught with the tension of so many tragedies that culminated in the end of war, Pearson keeps the focus on Gavin's small world - his concern with his friends and his possible separate from Aunt Florence and Aunt Mary. These small dramas shine a small reflective light on the larger worldly losses that have been suffered. Gavin's final decision provides the only comfort that is available, really in the face of such devastation - he grows to understand the importance of family and a sense of belonging. The novel deals with mature themes in a way that younger people can appreciate.
A special shout out to Pearson for including her love of books all the way through the series. Pearson (a former children's librarian), often mentions what Noran and Gavin are reading or what Aunt Florence reads to them. It was a lovely grace note throughout the series that a great children's writer tips her hat to those that went before her.

[Emily McFarland Oliemans · Rating 5 out of 5]

The perfect end to the epic story of two brave children during WWII. I feel Gavin’s pain of being torn between two places; two homes. I have so many feelings about this bittersweet story, and that’s why I love it so much.

[Liz F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

So sad that kids had to go through this ☹️

[Kaitlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This made me ugly cry. The epilogue got me. How did I read this when I was 12

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

gr 5-8 201 pgs

1945 Toronto. 10 year old Gavin can't remember his life in England before he was sent away. He was only 5 years old when his parents sent him and his older sister to Canada where they'd be safe from the war. Now that the war is ending, Gavin is afraid to leave Aunt Florence and Aunt Mary, his friends, and his life in Toronto. Norah can't wait to see their parents again.

When they receive the terrible news that their parents died in a bombing, Norah is devastated, but determined to return and be live with their grandfather. Gavin doesn't know how to feel. He can't remember his parents or his grandfather. When Aunt Florence suggests she might adopt Gavin so that he could stay in Canada, Gavin must decide should he stay or go?

Although this is the third book in the trilogy, I think you could read this one on its own. The first two books are from Norah's perspective while this one is from Gavin's. Reading the first book might be helpful. I would recommend this book to someone who has read the first book or the first two books and wants an idea of what it was like for the "war guests" once the war was over.

[Sylena Newman · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW,WOW and WOW.I loved this book so much that I think I'm going to read the whole collection of kit Pearson's books. This book was basically about war. Gavin and Nora are sibblings who were sent to Toronto to be war guests. Gavin and Nora got to love the family they were with and make new friends and even a few crushes but soon the war was coming to an end and Gavin wasn't happy but Nora on the other hand was exited because she can go back home and see her parents.

The reason why I picked up the book and started reading it in the first place was because I read the small summary at the back of the book an I felt that it was a really amusing book so what the heck LETS READ! The reason why I finished the book was because I thought that there was a reason for me to continue on reading it and that reason was because I loved the book. I recommend this book to Kaezha and kearaun considering that they both commented on my book in the discussions.

[Brian Kirk · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book and series a very good read. My wife suggested it to me as I am a an avid reader and will give most books a try. This book centres around the younger character in the series, he has some trying times going through adolescence growing up in a city that seems like home to him. The war ends and it looks like he is about to lose everything that he has come to know.

[Shreya=Drastically Random. Find the emoticon. · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was so sad.....but so real and deep! Gavin really has to make a choice of a lifetime...something you can't take lightly.

[Antoni · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book still resonates in my memory after reading it in elementary school.

[Raeesa · Rating 5 out of 5]

April 4, 2011: 5 stars
I love this book and I read it all the time.

July 23, 2013: 5 stars

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never shies away from harsh feelings, but also full of laughter and heart. Always go to Kit Pearson for stories about real kids with real emotions.

[zoey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I cannot for the life of me remember if I read this before. I could not remember anything, unlike Looking at the Moon, but a part of me wants to believe that the completionist in me read the entire series in elementary school. But maybe only the first two books were at my school's library, or I thought that Gavin's POV sounded boring compared to Norah's.

[Kelly McLane]

Despite not liking the second book in this series, I did want to find out what happened to the protagonist, Norah. I was disappointed to realize that this last book is written from the perspective of her little brother, Gavin. This seemed an odd choice to me, since the type of reader interested in teenage Norah would be unlikely to relate to 10-year-old Gavin. The book felt more juvenile than the first two, which would not be a problem in and of itself, but as the third book in a trilogy it didn’t work well.

[Karyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The end of one of my favorite childhood series I wished she had stayed with Nora telling the narrative instead of switching to Gavin since the first two were that way. I guess in hindsight, though, it fits. I do wish the series could have been one more book to see how everyone ended, but that is literature.

[Kereesa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so worried when I started this, because it's written from Gavin's POV and not Norah's. But I definitely enjoyed and zoomed through this one just as quickly as the first two.

[Sarah Thornton · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exciting conclusion.
'I miss Canada and I miss you. I am being brave.'

[Yeslech · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel is better than the second in the series. It focuses predominantly on Gavin's story.

[J.C. Hannigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished re-reading this series with my kids. I loved Kit Pearson's Guests of War Trilogy when I was little, and so did my boys.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read a long time ago but loved the whole series a great one for older kids and a great historical lesson too.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

What happens when what you call home changes but you're only a child.

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

We liked this one better than the second one, but the first will forever be the best!

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

As sad and lovely as The Sky is Falling, it could have stood as the sole sequel. Unlike Looking at the Moon, this book, the third and final in the preteen trilogy, captured the same warmth and heart as its anchor novel, The Sky is Falling, which has been among my favorite reads for almost two decades. Gavin was always my favorite and it was a delight for him to take the lead on this one.

[Miss Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

gr 5-8 201 pgs

1945 Toronto. 10 year old Gavin can't remember his life in England before he was sent away. He was only 5 years old when his parents sent him and his older sister to Canada where they'd be safe from the war. Now that the war is ending, Gavin is afraid to leave Aunt Florence and Aunt Mary, his friends, and his life in Toronto. Norah can't wait to see their parents again.

When they receive the terrible news that their parents died in a bombing, Norah is devastated, but determined to return and be live with their grandfather. Gavin doesn't know how to feel. He can't remember his parents or his grandfather. When Aunt Florence suggests she might adopt Gavin so that he could stay in Canada, Gavin must decide should he stay or go?

Although this is the third book in the trilogy, I think you could read this one on its own. The first two books are from Norah's perspective while this one is from Gavin's. Reading the first book might be helpful. I would recommend this book to someone who has read the first book or the first two books and wants an idea of what it was like for the "war guests" once the war was over.

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh Gavin. You ridiculously adorable blonde-haired, blue-eyed, traumatized-by-war little boy, you.

This book is an excellent way to finish off Pearson's beautiful trilogy. It's definitely my least favourite of the three, only because it's Gavin-centric and I'm more a Norah girl, although #jokes in real life I'd totally be more of a Gavin. I think the issues in this one - that being memory, the concept of home, family (blood versus constructed), and belonging - are the most poignant and well constructed of the three books, and it was a nice break from Norah's persistent stubbornness and single-mindedness. It also proved to be a great contrast to the first two books, providing a better understanding of what Guests of War would have been faced with and what the end of the war would have really felt like. I was especially moved by the scene where Gavin and his friends find the pictures of the murdered Jews in LIFE magazine - such a heartbreaking, disturbing exploration of the truth behind WWII and how little the world knew about what was going on.

Another A+ effort from one of my favourite authors growing up.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was better than the second, but nearly as good as the first. I liked the switch in focus from Norah to her younger brother Gavin, whose story really hasn't yet been told. However, I feel the author dropped by the ball here by not returning both of her young characters to England mid-way through the book and telling that part of the story, since the scope for story-telling there is rich and unexplored - how on earth would you adjust to returning to war-torn England after living in comfort and luxury in Canada for five formative years of childhood? Instead, the story focuses on Gavin's entirely-understandable desire to remain with his adoptive family, and this stretches on for far too long and resolves in a decision I find unbelievable for a ten-year-old boy who never seemed very close to his sister all through the series. Gavin's decision is more one that an adult would want a child to make, rather than one I think a normal kid would come to on his own. Still, the period details are rich and give the reader much to contemplate about the place and time of the story.