Just Henry

Hollis Family #3

by Michelle Magorian

An absorbing post-World War II adventure

World War II has ended, but Henry is fighting his own battles.  He misses his father, who died a war hero, and his only distraction is the cinema. When Henry develops an old camera film he uncovers a mystery and events spiral until his life resembles the drama of his beloved big screen. In this Costa Award-winning novel, Michelle Magorian takes a lens to post-war Britain, revealing its prejudices, its difficulties, and its warmth.

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

720 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

British children's author Michelle Magorian - author of the celebrated Goodnight, Mr. Tom (1981), which won The Guardian Children's Fiction Prize - was born in Southsea, Portsmouth, in 1947. She trained to be an actress, studying at the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama, and at Marcel Marceau's L'école Internationale de Mime in Paris. While pursuing an acting career, Magorian became interested in children's books, writing her first novel for young readers (Goodnight, Mr. Tom) over the course of four and a half years.

Reviews

[Miranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this a bit hard to get into at first, mainly Henry is a bit of a twit at the start, but as the story went on you could see how his Gran's malevolent influence had brainwashed him. He slowly started to see that she was wrong about various things, and as he started to realise just how awful she really was the plot began to get more and more interesting - I was really gripped by about a third of the way through, and raced through it.

The setting was really well done - immersive, detailed and realistic, dealing with some of the bad aspects of life in the early 50s (e.g treatment of illegitimate children and relatives of army deserters, limited roles for girls, etc) as well as the good things. However I do have one or two bones to pick:

1. It was a pretty long book, especially for its target age group. I think it could've been cut down a bit to make it shorter and snappier - the plot did kind of drag on in places.
2. The bits about film didn't really interest me - although I enjoy watching films, I have zero interest in the history of them or the way they are made (partly why I found the film Hugo so boring). However, that's just a personal kink, I know lots of people are fascinated by the topic.
3. The Gran was a terrific villain, so sinister and manipulative that you just really LOATHED and feared her and wished she would go away. But at the end I thought it was a bit unrealistic that she couldn't bear to even be around Henry once she discovered he was illegitimate and the son of a deserter - meanwhile not having any problems with the father for being an ACTUAL deserter and for forging wedding papers and having a child out of wedlock. If she really had a prejudice against those two things, she would've hated the father too. Anyway, in my experience, people like that tend to be totally blind where their family are concerned and think their darling son/grandson can do no wrong no matter WHAT they've done.
Also the father was a bit TOO thoroughly evil through and through without any real reason for being that way. He was like a caricature villain.
5. Mrs Beaufort, on the other hand, was a bit too wonderfully kind, understanding and handily rich, conveniently happening to have a giant house with plenty of rooms so that whenever someone got kicked out of their lodgings or their house burned down they could come and stay, and also all these convenient older sons with connections in film, collections of old cameras and movies, and a passionate interest in giving up their time and money to help random school boys with their project on film history.

But yeah, despite those few gripes, it was a great read!

[Alex Tedford · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book so much. I loved Goodnight Mr Tom and Back Home as a child. Michelle Magorian paints such a descriptive picture. It was heartbreaking but warm and loving all at once. I cannot rate highly enough!

[Daniela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made me so happy! It was hard to get into but after some time it was okay :)

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story about a boy called Henry, who is sometimes called Henry Dodge and sometimes called Henry Carpenter, so ends up being just Henry. He lives with his mother and stepfather, his stepsister Molly and his Gran (the mother of his father). While he grows up, he is told many tales of his father's heroism and his Gran takes every opportunity to talk down his stepfather Bill and Molly.

When a new teacher takes over history Henry is forced into a group for project work with Jefferies (the son of a supposed deserter) and Pip (an illegitimate child). At first he deeply resents this, but learns to see beyond the stigma and make friends. Just when his life is at its happiest, Henry makes a shocking discovery that causes his world to fall apart.

Michelle Magorian has set this book (as she has done with a number of her other novels) in the time around the Second World War. This one takes place when the war has ended, but rationing is still in place and the buildings remain razed from the enemy bombardment. The story is enriched with details that help bring this period to life - the queuing for food, the sharing of rations in the event of birthday parties, women doing odd jobs to bring in extra money. It is fascinating to read about a time so very different to now.

Magorian writes with great warmth and an appreciation of her target audience. The story is gripping and engaging, but also does not steer away from more hard-hitting events such as bigamy and a drunken father using his fists too much. It is to Magorian's credit that she does not believe in sugar-coating the lives she writes about.

I also deeply enjoyed the way that films from the time were discussed and lived through in the course of the novel. Henry and his friends end up going to the cinema as many times a week as they can afford and enjoy watching an array of different films. It brings to life a more simplistic existence, where children worked hard for their pocket money and one of the few forms of entertainment was film.

I had a few minor quibbles with the book. One of these was Mrs Beaufort - she is a central character to the story, but seems a little too fantastic. She invites people to live in her huge house, pays for the children to see films and helps a few of them go into the career that they want with all their heart. You do wonder if there is anything this woman can't do or handle, which makes her seem a bit of a "Mary Sue".

I also found the wrapping up of the story to be a little too neat - especially when Pip, Jefferies and Henry all end up finding glittering futures doing the jobs they have dreamed about. Or maybe this is supposed to be a commentary on the fact that you can achieve anything if you just set your mind to it.

I did thoroughly approve of the message being passed to children that they should always look beyond prejudices and never believe what they are told of people; instead they should make up their own minds. I also liked that the prejudices here avoided the commonplace (such as colour of skin) and dealt with two that were unique to the period - illegitimacy and desertion.

This is a very good book that both boys and girls of early teens would enjoy greatly.

[MCalhen MCalhen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember starting this when I first received it as a gift, but I was only about 30 pages in before I got sidetracked. It took me two days to finish the rest of it once I picked it up again - I didn't want to put it down once I started. I've enjoyed Michelle Magorian books in the past, so I was looking forward to this one as well.

I found I adored Uncle Bill and the mother instantly. It did not take long for me to dislike Gran. I felt sorry for Henry, for giving someone bad the benefit of the doubt or even making excuses for them while denying it to those who possessed so much good in them. He was manipulated into a judgmental boy by his grandmother, and I've always appreciated a book that can show that sort of grip adults can hold on someone young.

It is even better to see them turn around and begin to grow up. When the story turned and everything revealed about Henry turned out to be those his Gran had despised in everyone else, I wasn't shocked, but I thought it was appropriately emotional. (You're a great dad, Uncle Bill. The true heroes are always the ones who are never referred to as heroes, and I loved that theme in this story as well.)

Pip was one of my favourites because he was optimistic and enthusiastic. This had so many wonderful characters.

If I had any criticism, it would be that her writing style sometimes leaves a tad to be desired for me, and while she has never shied from putting characters through hell, the ending of this one came off as too sugary for me. Maybe I'm just too cynical, but I just can't realistically see everything working out job-wise - particularly for show business/movie related goals - for all the good guys in the end.

All the same, I enjoyed this book immensely.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Required reading for film buffs, people seeking their tribe, or anyone who loves a great story. One of my very favorite books. What a cracking talent Magorian is..it feels like she has a window to my heart.

[Greg Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is, I believe, aimed toward youth.. and at 703 pages it is probably an ambitious (albeit worthwhile) read for most young people. I liked the book, and even though there were quite a number of sub-plots going on, it never really felt boring or treading water.

I'll admit I preferred: "Goodnight Mr Tom", as it was a simple story that was beautifully told. This one is a rather complex storyline, but still a very well told tale.

I read quite a few reviews on here before I got into the book, which was kind of a mistake, because an astonishing number of people seem to tell the entire plot of the book right to the end. I feel that for most books we review here on Goodreads, there is already a short précis at the top, and usually it is unnecessary to spell out the entire plot of the book unless there are specific points we wish to discuss about the story.. but most reviewers here tend to reveal way too much. Occasionally, some of the plot of a book needs to be explained in the course of our reviews, but generally it becomes a case of dozens of people repeating a plot at great length that has been described by the person above them (also at great length). Probably the most surprising thing this book revealed to me was the strength of society's censure against unmarried mothers and their children, and the intensity of anger toward the families of deserters. The sins of the father got heaped upon their innocent children to an astonishing degree.

I'll chat a bit about things that may be considered spoilers:
I found it a bit unrealistic that Grace's great-aunt decided to completely reverse her natural personality and turn herself into a frosty old curmudgeon when Grace was put into her care. During the "High Tea" (one of my bugbears.. what they had was a formal Afternoon Tea) suddenly she completely flip-flopped her personality and became a rather rakish daredevil libertine. It struck me as inexplicable why she would have to pretend she was something she was not, with Grace.

Also, Henry's progressively liberated views about The Jazz Singer being a racist film were very admirable and very 2008, but they were unlikely for a working class small town British teenage boy in post war late 1940's.

I appreciate the author's determination to turn everyone's bleak situation into a happy ending, but at one point the happy endings were raining down so hard and fast that I suspected had there been a blind dog in Mrs. Beaumont's crowded house it would have banged it's head and had it's vision miraculously restored. A veritable cavalcade of diamonds popping up in the dung-heap. However, for a book aimed at youth this really isn't a bad approach.
Those points I made in the spoiler are minor criticisms, because as a whole I really enjoyed the book and highly recommend it to everyone. I am going to now seek out a third book to read from this highly talented story-teller!

[Pauline Ross · Rating 1 out of 5]

This ought to be a nice little story, an award-winning YA coming-of-age tale of fourteen year old Henry, set in a not-quite-settled post-war England, learning that his assumptions about people are not always accurate. Yet none of it worked for me. So what went wrong? Firstly, the characters are so simplistic it’s hard to take them seriously. There’s a harassed mum, a bratty sister, a truly nasty and parasitic gran, a working class stepdad studying to better himself. There’s the angelic Mrs Beaumont, who waves her magic wand and makes good things happen. There’s the inspirational teacher, Mr Finch. Henry himself is ridiculously dorkish to start with, before being shown the error of his ways.

And secondly, none of this is subtle. All those Henry despises - the illegitimate schoolfriend, the deserter’s son, the stepdad who has stolen away his mother and inflicted the bratty daughter on the house - turn out to be perfectly nice, sensible people. Those he likes - his dead dad, his granny - turn out to be less than nice. Maybe it’s meant to be allegorical or some kind of fairy tale reworking, or maybe it’s aimed at quite a young demographic, but I found it dull and predictable. I gave up on it, so possibly there are some dramatic twists further down the road, but I had no interest in finding out. One star for a DNF.

[Nithya · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read, about challenging prejudices and what post-war Britain was like. I liked the fact we had an unreliable narrator, in the form of a child, and the villains were deliciously written. Grace and Pip were particularly great characters. Only a few things irked me. The character of Mrs Beaumont seemed a little unrealistic, pulling solutions out from her sleeve and being overall incredibly kind, as well as conveniently rich but this is perhaps where the fact this is a children's book comes in. I do think the book probably could have been shorter and the plot could have moved a little more quickly in some places, and it pales in comparison to Magorian's Goodnight Mister Tom. Still, I really enjoyed the story.

[Jannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of those that no matter how hard I tried to put down I kept coming back to do finished the whole thing last night and yes I'm paying for it.
One star removed because Henry is rather too much like an imbecile and it was beyond belief that anyone could be that bloody oblivious. Ok yes people can be but it's annoying.

Overall decent and gripping and all that. A decent middle grade book. Will review at some point properly when I don't have q toddler jumping all over me

[M.A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It was so beautifully written and the story was gripping.
It explored several important topics from the perspective of protagonist, Henry, and didn't shy away from them or dumb them down.
I found it very difficult to put down this heartwarming story.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I grew up reading Goodnight Mister Tom and A Spoonful of Jam, so I did have high hopes for this book - as much as I enjoyed the story & the characters, the book was much too long & it did make for rather tedious sections.

[Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

A1 Starred review

[Joanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just Henry was perfect for my bathroom book, i.e., not complex since I had to remember what happened in chapter one often for months, and compelling enough to keep my interest. I could only really recommend it to those who had enjoyed the Hardy Boys in their youth. Since I am definitely in that category, i loved it. It takes place in immediately post-war London, with jobs scarce, bombed out houses everywhere, and ration books still enforced. What’s not to love! The characters are a bunch of cinephiles of all ages and genders. The references to the movies they went to see were another source of pleasure to me.

[Sula · Rating 4 out of 5]

As usual Michelle Magorian has captured the setting excellently. For a book that is so rich, and quite long, the plot felt a little contrived and you could see from early on how things could pan out. A young reader might have found it a bit less obvious, but it was a little disappointing given the quality of everything else, and compared to her other books. I also found I didn't like the book as much as I thought I would, mainly because of an incredibly unpleasant character that permeates throughout the whole book, giving everything an unpleasant taste.

[LudmilaM · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. What a book! 700 pages need to keep your interest up in order for it to be a successful piece of literature. And this novel delivers that. It's a (quite recent) historical post war fiction, with dialog-style writing that flows nicely, describing topical social and cultural issues, esp. regarding marriage, divorce etc. Four main characters (Henry at the centre) and their struggles, overcoming societal prejudice and building friendships, honing talents, growing, changing and maturing. There is always a "diamond in the dung". Epic, wholesome read.

[Miss]

Although I liked the start of the book it is too long. The author has tried to cram too many things in making the book long and tedious. I was expecting to get to the mystery in the photos much more quickly. Some things are very obvious but dim witted Henry takes a long time to figure it out. Some good if caricature characters and overall good plot, but too drawn out with excessive details about films.

[Jenni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book about a boy heavily influenced by his grandmothers views, he is interested in films and getting into work as a clapper boy. His real father comes back into his life but is not what Henry pictured in his head, what follows leads all of them down a nasty path. Enjoyed it even though it was a long book.

[Lois · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was very put off by the size of the book and it took me a while to get into but once I got hooked on it I couldn't put it down. The characters and developments were very well portrayed and it was interesting to read their experiences. I do not usually read this sort of genre and was surprised how much I enjoyed it.

[tori:) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book would be my favourite book by far. I found this book incredibly easy to get into which might be the opposite of what some people think. Everything that happened was impossible to guess. Especially when a fire occurs near the end because at that point u would think that there would be barely anymore action. I loved it.

[Morgana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes I found the magnitude in which Henry repressed his memories a bit unbelievable (for example - when he forgot he used to read books a lot), but then again, i have done no research and don't actually know anything about it.
A thrilling and heart-warming read otherwise. Don't let the number of pages discourage you, I got absorbed in the story and was surprised when it ended.

[bea :) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Este libro me hizo sentir muchas cosas. Me lo leí cuando era muy pequeña y no lo entendí muy bien pero se que me dejó con una sensación que me gustó. Ahora me lo he vuelto a leer (hace un año lol soy una kk) y la verdad que creo que me cogió en el momento indicado. No se, os lo recomiendo sobretodo a las que tengáis familia desestructuradas slay.

[Isabelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read several novels by Magorian. I still like them, although the plot seems to become more predictable especially in the Hollis Family series. Will try to get hold of a different story line next.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its a long story with lots of characters and details. Of course all the problems and troubles are solved in the end so somewhat unreal. Interesting to look back into history when films were all the rage. Maybe 21C children would not grasp this.

[✿༺cosy reviews༻✿]

Omg i looove this book! Its based in world war two about a boy who loves the theatre and his lofe and family! It was a wonder reading this book and made you feel compasion.. it feels like michelle magorian actually lived in ww2 with how well she discribes it!
Byee
☕️Cosy reviews☕️

[xxdaizystarxx · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some books are rather hard to get into. This, however, was not one of them. It had me gripped right from the start. It highlights the issues of living just after the war, and has a recurring motif: family and friendship. Henry starts to learn that not everybody is the same as their parents, and that not everybody can be trusted, no matter how close you are.

[lydia · Rating 4 out of 5]

tyckte att det var en otroligt bra och känslosam bok som fick mig att tänka.

[Varsha Seshan · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://www.varshaseshan.com/just-henry/

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book with my whole heart

[Dan Harding · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous; engrossing, redemptive and a fascinating period drama, a love-letter to the history of cinema and the power of overcoming prejudice to discover family and friends alike.