September 17

by Amanda West Lewis

In July 1940, a British government-sponsored program called Children's Overseas Reception Board -- or CORB -- was set up to send children from Britain to Canada and other Commonwealth countries, in order to rescue them from the bombings of British cities. The City of Benares was a luxury liner that was recruited in September 1940 to transport 90 of these children to Canada, along with the ship's regular passenger complement. Approximately six hundred miles out, after the naval escorts had withdrawn, the ship was torpedoed by a German U-boat and sank in about half an hour. Only thirteen of the CORB children survived the sinking. September 17 is a novel that tells the story of three of the children that were on board The City of Benares, as they experience and survive the disaster and wait to be rescued.

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

317 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 15, 2014

About the author

Amanda West Lewis has combined careers as a writer, theatre director, calligrapher, book artist and instructor. She has spent her career working in the arts and in arts education.

Amanda is the author of seven books for young people. Her latest novel, The Pact, sets friendship, poverty and family amidst the culture of indoctrination and propaganda in Nazi Germany. Her previous novel, September 17, is a fictionalized account of the sinking of the S.S. City of Benares during the Second World War. September 17 was nominated for the Silver Birch Award, the Red Cedar Award, and the Violet Downey IODE Award.

Amanda is a member of the Writers Guild of Canada, CANSCAIP, and The Great Canadian Theatre Company's Playwright's Network. She lives with her husband, writer Tim Wynne-Jones, outside of Perth Ontario. They have 3 grown children who are a constant source of joy and inspiration.

Reviews

[Mrs. Strudthoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's so much about World War II that I don't know much about, and this book focuses on one of those topics: British attempts to move its children to Canada or the United States.

September 17 is based on the true story of four children without their parents who board a ship in the middle of WWII (beware the u-boats!) to be house with relatives in Canada and the United States. This was the second attempt to move Britain's children by ship. The first attempt ended in the boat being sunk but all the children were rescued. In September 17, the boat is torpedoed and sinks, and all but 13 of the 90 children survive.

The author did copious research on this book and wrote it in an entertaining fashion. Each chapter is told from the perspective of one of the children. One of the children was very wealthy and traveled with her mom. The others were middle class or poor and didn't get to travel in the style of the rich.

I like historical fiction that reads like an exciting fiction novel, and September 17 fills the bill!

[Thomas Norstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having learned a lot about WWII through my history class, I decided to pick up this book out of curiosity. When I read the summary at the back, I knew I had to read it to learn more.

Surprisingly, we never learned about CORB in class, and reading about the tragedy was very enlightening. The three different perspectives were interesting to hear from as well. However, I felt like the characters weren't fleshed out enough to be relatable. Sonia felt really distant and honestly not that memorable. There was a huge chunk where Bess was just sick and we didn't hear from her either. Ken had to be my favorite perspective to read from, and I think we got to know him the best after his experience on the boat.

There were also one too many characters to keep track of. I understand that it was part of the incident and that all 13 survivors and their siblings should definitely be accounted for. It's just that as a reader, I found it hard to keep track of.

The afterword was also really interesting. Overall I think the historic story-telling was definitely there, but it was a bit slow and a tad confusing for me at times. Regardless, I learned a lot from this book and would definitely recommend giving it a read.

[Yvette Caradonna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historical Fiction......an account of the SS City of Benares tragic sinking with 90 children aboard being evacuated to Canada from Britain during the second world war. The children were only a part of the
ships population but were an 'experiment to save British children'. I was not drawn into the characters and had a hard time dealing with their happy-go-lucky attitude to leaving their parents and other siblings behind to travel alone to a foreign country and stay with total strangers. I also found it very awkward to choose main characters with almost identical names, Bess and Beth. I realize that true facts and real diaries were part of the research but.......I think the book will do well as an historical account but otherwise not one of my favorites.

[Ericka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I would of thought it would of been boring or not what I like but after a few pages I couldn't close the book! I was very surprised about how exited kids were to just get up and leave there family and friends. I know that I would be hesitant. The book was very interesting and for me impossible to put down. I'm really glad that I read this book it was really good and interesting.

[Erika · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story based on the true events that happened when a ship filled with children seavacuees heading to Canada from England is torpedoed by Uboats. An amazing tale of survival.

[William Ewert · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was a very good book and it was very funny and sad because of the ship sinking and most of the kids probably die so yeah but 2 thumbs up and is a very good book 5 stars! :)

[Heidi James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had read several negative reviews about this book, making me wonder if I would enjoy this as a summer read. I did in fact enjoy it, and would recommend it to others. It is a well-written account of a torpedoed seavacuee boat that left Great Britain carrying 90 children bound for the safety of Canada during the second World War. The story is told from the perspective of several characters, including one fee-paying young passenger travelling in first class. Although you know what is going to happen, the pace of the book works for the build-up, as does the different tales of each survivor. 

One reviewer mentioned the number of characters as a problem, as it does not allow the reader enough insight into each personality. I did find this a bit cumbersome, and had to re-read one short section to see who knew particular details overheard between crew members before the sinking. Overall, I felt the characters were developed enough to relate to, even if some of the story arcs made it clear that characters were evolving quickly without detailed explanation based on their experiences in the sea, and I believe some young readers will struggle to follow the varied plots. However, this is a good historical fiction example, and describes hardships without gore, showcases the British "stiff upper lip" well, and would be a very enjoyable read for anyone who is fascinated by shipwrecks. 

[Susan Armstrong · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young adult novel, this book is written from the perspectives of the children who endured the adventure and then catastrophe of the sinking of a transport ship during World War II. I was aware of the children who were brought from the UK to Canadian farms (for the most part) during the second world war, many of them never to return home again. Some children had host families that treated them as their own, but most were utilized as free farm labour. This story is about 90 British children who were on their way to Canada, to reside with extended family until the war was concluded. They never made it as they were torpedoed on the way. I was amazed given the death toll of this event, that it was yet again another piece of history never addressed in my early education. Along with residential schools and a host of other seminal topics, I wonder what we did spend our time on. I digress, I think this book captured the fear and grit of the children who faced something unimaginable and was moved by the deep heroism of every adult involved in the situation. A good read and a piece of history that should be known.

[Mrs. VanHorn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amanda West Lewis’s tween historical fiction novel 17-September 1940 recounts the true story of a U boat attack on a ship transporting English children to Canada in order to escape the horrors of bombing raids on London and other cities throughout England. (No spoilers here—it’s all on tha back cover.) The first half of the book is overstuffed with underdeveloped characters: Bess, Ken, Beth, Joyce, Joan, Terry, Fred, Louis, Gussie, Patricia, Michael, Sonia, Collin, etc. There’s no one character for the reader to develop an emotional relationship with; however, once the ship is hit, the book picks up energy and engagement. There are a few weird lapses in POV (at some points it slips into informational mode) but the ending is what earns the 3-star rating.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

okay, truth be known, I stole this book from a donation cart at our library, but WILL return it later today. The title caught me and then when I read the back of the book, I knew I had to investigate further. I am an adult, the book is written for grade 5 and up I think. WHO knew that a ship containing 90 British children being sent to Canada during WW 2 was torpedoed and the ship sank. I won't go any further, but this IS an unknown story of the war and based on fact!!

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written book for young readers. It is based on the heartbreaking true story of a program promoted by the British government to evacuate children by ship to other safe countries away from the war.

[Isadora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a devastating story :(
Happy of the way the author told it!

[claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Alex Zarycka · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautifully written yet heartbreaking novel. This book had me on the edge of my seat. Lewis writes well. I loved the characters dearly and didn't want the book to end.

[K Gover · Rating 5 out of 5]

English community puts 90 children with 10 chaperones on the City of St. Bernes destroyer to send them to safer lands in American or Canada. When the destroyer gets hit by a german U boat in neutral waters, the children face faulty lifeboats and tragic deaths. We follow 3 different lifeboats, where only 13 children survive. Very interesting piece of history- titanic like at times. Lots of historical components to add to understanding.
-Negatives- pace stalls out around page 115. Also- slower start. kg

[Sarai · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty good book. I don't know why I'm always so drawn to World War II/Holocaust books, but there you go. The characters were interesting, though at first I was concerned there were going to be too many to keep track of. This is also based on a true story.

The ending seemed a bit rushed, but perhaps that's because of the lifeboat scenes. It's not that they dragged, but they were just on the lifeboat for so long and it was day after day of the same thing, summarized well in writing, but there's only so much action that can take place on a lifeboat.


School Library Journal review:
Based on the harrowing true story of a ship carrying 90 British children to Canada during World War II, September 17 centers on three young passengers on the S.S. City of Benares. The Children Overseas Reception Board, or CORB, was the organization responsible for evacuating children from wartime Britain and sending them to join families in safer lands. The Benares never reached Canada. On September 17, 1940, the ship was torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat. Only 13 of the 90 children on board survived. Lewis's compelling novel follows the journey of three fictional survivors, each based on true accounts of the incident. Fifteen-year-old Bess, 13-year-old Ken, and 10-year-old Sonia leave Liverpool full of hope and begin their journey on a refitted luxury ocean liner. Moving fluidly among the three stories, Lewis follows the children, along with escorts and the crew, as they encounter the horrific events and the days immediately following the attack. Readers will find themselves becoming emotionally invested in each child's tale. Ken's story is especially compelling, as he was one of 42 survivors who drifted on a lifeboat for eight days. The novel is well researched, and the historical notes and interview with the author help to fill out this little-known chapter of WW II history. The story of adventure and bravery under dire circumstances will appeal to readers who enjoy historical fiction and tales of courage.

[Phoebe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lewis, the wife of Tim Wynne-Jones, offers a fascinating fictional treatment of the story of the 90 British children who were evacuated to Canada on the City of Benares cruise liner, accompanied by a flotilla of other ships. She selects three main characters to carry readers through the experience, characters who were real people, and models her book after accounts of the Titanic, (going day by day), whose story is almost lessened by this one. The children board their ship on September 12, 90 "seavacuees" who are expected to keep to their end of the ship, while 91 other paying passengers kept to their end. Life on board feels like a party to these war-deprived children, with as much as they can eat, games and adventure, and the exciting prospect of Canada ahead of them. Everything changes on September 17. A horrific event ensures that only 13 children make it back home to Britain. Adults will wonder at the sanity of officials, sending children on a sea voyage into territory rife with u-boat attacks, and children will hang on every word as the survivors cling to life and hope for rescue. While the tale lacks much of the romanticism associated with the Titanic story, it is harrowing and shocking. The author should most certainly have included photographs of the actual children and the ships involved, to make the story that much more immediate. 5th grade and up.

[Jules Goud · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such a tragic story.

Lewis did a great job with telling the story of the children of the City of Benares. It was a little shpcking, some of the dialogue in her novel. But, then, you must remember that they are children. The true gravity of the situation is something that they don't understand. They don't understand why they can't have the really good food anymore and they don't want to wear things like life jackets and gas masks. They just want to be with their moms and dads and be home with food and toys and everything that they can dream of. I had to constantly reminded myself that they were just children.

They were just children and they had to go through something like this. Most of the children became casualties of war. I really enjoyed the fact that Lewis did not get into the politics that were behind the CORB and the backlash that they got after the sinking of the City of Benares. She just told a story from the children's perspective.

I didn't know about this tragedy until I saw this book at the library and picked it up. I think that more people need to be informed about what happened on September 17 1940. The people who lost their lives on this ship need to be remembered. They need to be talked about. They need to been known, along with the countless of other people who lost their lives in a war that shouldn't have happened.

[Ariana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was actually really good. I thought it looked a bit boring going into into it but not even 4 pages later I was hooked!! It was one of those few books I found I couldn't put down. I thought it was so strange though how the kids were so open and exited to leaving there families, friends behind to go to Canada and get away from the war. I don't know about you but I would be a little hesitant to just pick up leave my family, friends and the place where I was born and raised to go to a country that I haven't even really heard about before and not felt bad about leaving my family there that could possibly die and never be seen again. I thought the suspense was AMAZING and somehow how made such a "touchy" and tragic subject not as hard going as I thought it would be. It is about kids leaving there lives behind and traveling on a luxury ship called the SS City of Benares to Canada to escape the war. It is later torpedoed by a German U-boat and the 13 out of 90 kids that survived are forced to find help and get to land. I would definitely recommend this book. On a related topic I thought the author could have changed Beth and Bess to sound not as similar I have to admit it was a bit confusing after awhile!!

[Kris Irvin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Before reading this book, I had never heard of the City of Benares. I had heard of the evacuation program in London during WWII, but heard nothing about children being relocated overseas. I guess there's a reason for that.

The beginning of this book was extremely frustrating. It was like Lewis decided to fit in every stereotypical British phrase/slang/word into EVERY sentence. This got better as the book went on, but the first 50 pages drove me nuts. British people don't talk like that, guys. Come on. Of course, maybe they did in the 1940s. But I doubt it.

The pacing was off throughout the whole novel. It would speed up, then slow to a snail's pace, then be injected with steroids, then get a cramp and have to sit down and take a rest. Huh, my racing analogy kind of... took off on its own. Haha, I crack me up. Anyway, the pacing was bad.

I feel like this could have been a fantastic book, but it fell very far short of the mark. I'm disappointed that it was so, well, disappointing. Just go read the Wikipedia article on the City of Benares. It'll take less time and probably read a little better than September 17 did.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

With Germany threatening England from just across the channel, as part of a massive plan to evacuate British children, 90 youngsters set off for Canada, traveling across the Atlantic on a luxury liner, the SS City of Benares, which was sunk by a U-boat on 9/17/40; 13 survived. This combination of wartime childhood and survival at sea focuses particularly on a few of the survivors: Ken Sparks, who wanted adventure, Bess Walder, who survived and stayed together with her new bosom friend Beth by tying their hands together over the lifeboat hull, and Sonia Bech, traveling first class with her family. By staying firmly with the survivors, Lewis manages to keep this grim story from being devastating; instead it's a gripping read. Basing her tale on true events and real people, making use of bits of their memories and imaging scenes about which there is no historical record she creates a fiction which is even more real and yet personal. This is a disaster that US children may never have heard of, an extraordinary story told in a way that invites today’s reader an entry into that past wartime world. This is a great suggestion for readers looking for survival tales.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1940, a group of children were evacuated from England on a luxurious ship called the City of Benares, which was bound for Canada. The ship carried them away from their troubles of the war in hopes to start new lives and new dreams in the safety of Canada. But, when their ship is torpedoed in the middle of the ocean, their dreams of a new life are shattered into a million pieces. Based on true events, their story is one of adventure and one of loss. For the most part, I liked this book, but I had a hard time dealing with their attitude towards leaving their families and homes to go across the ocean all by themselves to live with total strangers. It was as if they could care less, and they were just concerned about themselves. It also didn't make sense to me how the author named Bess and Beth so similar. I was often confused whose story was whose, and just generally mixed up; but besides these two, little things, I really enjoyed the book, and I thought the suspense was superb!

[Samantha Kretschmer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I feel a little bad giving this only 1 star. But I don't think that I can justifiably give it more than that. For me single stars are reserved either for books that I absolutely hate or simply couldn't finish. I didn't hate this book in any way but simply couldn't get the drive to read it and thus have given up even trying.

It really wasn't bad and I'm definitely interested in the subject. While it's set in a time period that is commonly written about, the subject matter of the SS City of Benares is fresh...I know I haven't seen another teen novel about it. However, from the bits that I did read (before giving up) I found the pacing to be a little inconsistent, and I thought the alternate voices weren't as distinct and unique as they should have been.

That said, I would really like to try it again sometime in the future. Maybe I'll have the drive to finish it then.

[Elena · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an amazing novel! I wasn't sure what I was going to think about this book, but when you're in this amazing little book store in Iowa City having a rough weekend, you feel about ready to read anything. And, boy I'm I glad I read this book. Of course, I realize how awful WWII was, but never did I realize just how brutal and unforgiving it was to kids our age, trying to have a normal life. This was a heartbreaking story about courage and perserverence in the face of something larger and more powerful than anyone could imagine. Of the nighty-nine kids who had left their parents at home in England to voyage to safety in Canada, only 13 made it back alive. That's what happened on September 17.

[Tom Mockensturm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would love to have a class set of this one to share with my students. There is an important message of courage, self sacrifice, and perseverance in the face of extreme adversity for today's preteens and teens, who have never had to face the difficulties of their great-grandparents during a war. It is the story of a group of chaperoned British children who must survive in the open sea after the ship, the City of Benares, taking them to Canada and away from nightly bombings in London is torpedoed. Most do not make it. This is a fictionalized account of a true incident. There are a number of websites with photographs of the survivors.

[Alliyah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the way this book went and it was pretty sad too. To me I thought it was like a recap of the Titanic, but then I found out that this was another ship that had sunken so I kept reading. I started reading this book in my class at school for Forest Of Reading and I actually got to go to the Forest Of Reading something anniversary! I saw Amanda Lewis there too! It was so much fun and even though she didn't win anything it was a great experience and I got a another book there too which I can't wait to read, but anyway about September 17, I really liked how at the end she (Amanda Lewis) told us how the three children are now

[Debbie Graham · Rating 2 out of 5]

Something about the style made me think of The Boxcar Children-but with much more danger-but I do not want to make light of what is truly a human tragedy. Somehow the tragedy didn't come through because it was hard to be drawn to any of the characters. I also don't know why it would be given a YA 'rating' except for the one use of the word 'hell'. It also assumes the internet is at hand because it doesn't explain terms like 'Anderson shelter'. Due to the simplistic writing style, it might appeal to reluctant readers in middle school who have to read historical fiction.

[Janet Barclay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a well-written account of a little known piece of history.

One disadvantage of novels based on true stories is knowing, at least in part, how things will turn out. Knowing that tragedy awaited some of the characters, I was hesitant at first to read on. However, that feeling disappeared once I was truly wrapped up in the story and found myself reluctant to put it down.

This is how history should be taught - through the eyes of those who lived it.

[Cheri Linton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book depicted the true event of the bombing of the City of Benares in 1940. The purpose of this voyage was to transport children from England away to the relative safety of Canada. The government had started this program called CORB and children were sent to commonwealth countries for the duration of the war. This program ended with the sinking of the Benare. Everything that could go wrong did but a long with the heartrendering sadness, there were lots of instances of grit and heroism.

[Shauna · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was just okay. I hadn't heard about the City of Benares before, although I did know that many children were sent overseas during that time period. I got through it, but I felt that it lacked depth. The author could have went deeper with character development; it just scratched the surface. It's a good jumping off point for young readers who are interested in this topic; the book will encourage them to find out more!