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The Sky Over Rebecca
Winner of the Bath Children's Novel Award
Barnes & Noble Children's Book Award Shortlist 2024
Waterstones Best Childrens Fiction Book List 2022
There was a single trail of footprints, the first I'd seen all morning. They were fresh tracks, I saw, the edges of the impressions in the snow quite hard. Small feet. Like mine. Someone my age.
Then they stopped.
When mysterious footprints appear in the Stockholm snow, ten-year-old Kara must discover where they've come from - and who they belong to. They lead Kara to Rebecca, a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl, and her younger brother Samuel. Kara realises they are refugees - from another time, World War Two - and are trying to find their way home.
The grief and loneliness that Rebecca and Samuel have endured is something Kara can relate to - feeling like you're always on the outside looking in - and she finds herself compelled to help them. Through her eyes, we rediscover the magic that lies in the world around us, if only we have the courage to look for it.
Kara is a heroine for modern times: fragile but fierce, in this utterly compelling story from a stellar new voice in children's literature, Matthew Fox
Barnes & Noble Children's Book Award Shortlist 2024
Waterstones Best Childrens Fiction Book List 2022
There was a single trail of footprints, the first I'd seen all morning. They were fresh tracks, I saw, the edges of the impressions in the snow quite hard. Small feet. Like mine. Someone my age.
Then they stopped.
When mysterious footprints appear in the Stockholm snow, ten-year-old Kara must discover where they've come from - and who they belong to. They lead Kara to Rebecca, a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl, and her younger brother Samuel. Kara realises they are refugees - from another time, World War Two - and are trying to find their way home.
The grief and loneliness that Rebecca and Samuel have endured is something Kara can relate to - feeling like you're always on the outside looking in - and she finds herself compelled to help them. Through her eyes, we rediscover the magic that lies in the world around us, if only we have the courage to look for it.
Kara is a heroine for modern times: fragile but fierce, in this utterly compelling story from a stellar new voice in children's literature, Matthew Fox
288 pages, Paperback
First published April 14, 2022
18 people are currently reading
433 people want to read
About the author
Matthew Fox
2 books25 followersWinner of the Bath Children's Novel Award
Barnes & Noble Children's Book Award Shortlist 2024
Financial Times Best Children's Books 2023
Waterstones Best Childrens Fiction Books 2022
Publishers Weekly ★ Review of The Sky Over Rebecca
Booklist ★ Review of The Sky Over Rebecca
Praise for The Lovely Dark:
★★★★★ "A book to teach children about death, and move adults to tears. Fox is a beguiling writer, whose prose cocoons us through the unusual adventures that follow. It is only at the end that the true hero of this deeply affecting story emerges." - Emily Bearn, The Telegraph
"A triumph of a MG novel, exploring death and friendship and hope and perseverance. ... This novel broke me apart and put me back together (thank goodness!). It’s an absolute must read for all ages and I’m already recommending it to friends." - Alison Weatherby, author of The Secrets Act
"Wow. Just wow. If you love atmospheric, mysterious middle grade with a magical edge, poetic writing, and a nod to Greek myth, you have to read this." - Claire Fayers, author of Welsh Fairy Tales, Myths & Legends
"A beautiful, reassuring, exciting, middle grade story of what might happen to us after we die. While it doesn't shy away from the pain of grief, The Lovely Dark isn’t nearly as dark as it is lovely." - Tia Fisher, author of Crossing the Line
Praise for The Sky Over Rebecca:
"An uplifting story of compassion and courage" - Emma Lee-Porter, Daily Mirror
"This assured debut had me gripped - a highly atmospheric timeslip adventure with resonant themes of loneliness and courage" - Fiona Noble, The Bookseller
"A compelling debut." - Emily Bearn, The Telegraph
"This is such a beautiful book - gripping and beguiling." - Michael Mann, author of Ghostcloud
"I didn't want it to end. A beautifully-told story - I loved the mystery and the snowy setting." - Claire Fayers, author of The Accidental Pirates
"A modern classic in the making." - Anne McNeil
About the Author:
I grew up in a village in Wiltshire. I always wanted to be a writer, and my first stories were published in the village magazine, Kidstuff, when I was ten!
I studied at the University of Oxford, and at the Northern Film School. Since then, I’ve had a number of jobs: I ran a film festival in Liverpool, I’ve worked as a stage manager in a theatre, and I’ve worked in 🌈 community engagement.
A few years ago I moved to Stockholm, Sweden. When my daughter was born, my focus shifted to writing for children. I wrote The Sky Over Rebecca in short bursts while my daughter was sleeping in the middle of the day. Then I entered it for Bath Children’s Novel Award, and it ended up winning!
It was the first time I’ve ever won anything, and it meant I could sign with a wonderful agent, Lauren Gardner at Bell Lomax Moreton. Then Anne McNeil, a legendary editor at Hodder books, decided to pubish The Sky Over Rebecca, in paperback, on April 14th 2022.
It’s a wonderful feeling, having my first novel published. It’s everything I’ve been working towards since I first realised I wanted to be an author, all those years ago, when my first stories were pubished...
I love living in Stockholm, but I also miss the UK. I love the North Wessex Downs – it's one of the most beautiful places I know, and we always go for long walks there as a family when we're back.
Barnes & Noble Children's Book Award Shortlist 2024
Financial Times Best Children's Books 2023
Waterstones Best Childrens Fiction Books 2022
Publishers Weekly ★ Review of The Sky Over Rebecca
Booklist ★ Review of The Sky Over Rebecca
Praise for The Lovely Dark:
★★★★★ "A book to teach children about death, and move adults to tears. Fox is a beguiling writer, whose prose cocoons us through the unusual adventures that follow. It is only at the end that the true hero of this deeply affecting story emerges." - Emily Bearn, The Telegraph
"A triumph of a MG novel, exploring death and friendship and hope and perseverance. ... This novel broke me apart and put me back together (thank goodness!). It’s an absolute must read for all ages and I’m already recommending it to friends." - Alison Weatherby, author of The Secrets Act
"Wow. Just wow. If you love atmospheric, mysterious middle grade with a magical edge, poetic writing, and a nod to Greek myth, you have to read this." - Claire Fayers, author of Welsh Fairy Tales, Myths & Legends
"A beautiful, reassuring, exciting, middle grade story of what might happen to us after we die. While it doesn't shy away from the pain of grief, The Lovely Dark isn’t nearly as dark as it is lovely." - Tia Fisher, author of Crossing the Line
Praise for The Sky Over Rebecca:
"An uplifting story of compassion and courage" - Emma Lee-Porter, Daily Mirror
"This assured debut had me gripped - a highly atmospheric timeslip adventure with resonant themes of loneliness and courage" - Fiona Noble, The Bookseller
"A compelling debut." - Emily Bearn, The Telegraph
"This is such a beautiful book - gripping and beguiling." - Michael Mann, author of Ghostcloud
"I didn't want it to end. A beautifully-told story - I loved the mystery and the snowy setting." - Claire Fayers, author of The Accidental Pirates
"A modern classic in the making." - Anne McNeil
About the Author:
I grew up in a village in Wiltshire. I always wanted to be a writer, and my first stories were published in the village magazine, Kidstuff, when I was ten!
I studied at the University of Oxford, and at the Northern Film School. Since then, I’ve had a number of jobs: I ran a film festival in Liverpool, I’ve worked as a stage manager in a theatre, and I’ve worked in 🌈 community engagement.
A few years ago I moved to Stockholm, Sweden. When my daughter was born, my focus shifted to writing for children. I wrote The Sky Over Rebecca in short bursts while my daughter was sleeping in the middle of the day. Then I entered it for Bath Children’s Novel Award, and it ended up winning!
It was the first time I’ve ever won anything, and it meant I could sign with a wonderful agent, Lauren Gardner at Bell Lomax Moreton. Then Anne McNeil, a legendary editor at Hodder books, decided to pubish The Sky Over Rebecca, in paperback, on April 14th 2022.
It’s a wonderful feeling, having my first novel published. It’s everything I’ve been working towards since I first realised I wanted to be an author, all those years ago, when my first stories were pubished...
I love living in Stockholm, but I also miss the UK. I love the North Wessex Downs – it's one of the most beautiful places I know, and we always go for long walks there as a family when we're back.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews
April 3, 2022
This story begins with a mysterious snow angel. Kara lives next to a lake in Stockholm, Sweden, with her mother. When she spots the snow angel, she doesn't immediately notice what is strange about it - it is only later that she realises that there were no footprints leading to and from the snow angel. But this is only the beginning. On an island, on the middle of the frozen lake, Kara meets Rebecca, a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl, desperate to get her disabled brother to safety away from the Nazis. Kara must work out a way to help Rebecca, despite living in a completely different time.
It's an ambitious concept that doesn't get tied up trying to explain itself too much, and the time-slip technicalities remain quite lyrical and vague throughout.
Kara is a lonely girl who finds a friend in Rebecca, and through their encounter finds the courage to open herself up to others.
This is a haunting story of friendship and bravery, saturated in nordic-noir atmosphere. The ending is beautifully and sensitively wrought and made me cry - a lot! (It's also a great story for Holocaust Remembrance events in schools.)
It's an ambitious concept that doesn't get tied up trying to explain itself too much, and the time-slip technicalities remain quite lyrical and vague throughout.
Kara is a lonely girl who finds a friend in Rebecca, and through their encounter finds the courage to open herself up to others.
This is a haunting story of friendship and bravery, saturated in nordic-noir atmosphere. The ending is beautifully and sensitively wrought and made me cry - a lot! (It's also a great story for Holocaust Remembrance events in schools.)
July 31, 2024
Omg! Jag gråter, den är så vacker
Recensionen får bli på svenska, jag kommer inte kunna skriva en rättvis recension på engelska, det går inte!
Kara är en introvert flicka som älskar att umgås med sin morfar. De gillar båda att åka skridskor och titta på stjärnorna, filosofiera om ljuset och tid, gränsen mellan de olika platserna.
En dag ser Kara en snöängel i snön, inte konstigt tänker man, men det finns inga fotsteg till snöängeln. Med sitt teleskop ser Kara tillslut, mot sjön Mälaren, en flicka som samlar ved. Märkligt men detta gör att Kara tar sig ut, träffar Rebecca, som visar sig vara från en annan tid, närmare sagt 1944 och som råkat fastna på ön med sin bror Samuel.
Konceptet att tid är vagt och beror på ljus och spektrum, är så fascinerande och magiskt i mina ögon. Hela boken gav mig en känsla av mys och värme. Även om det är vinter och stackars Rebecca och Samuel har förlorat allt, förutom hoppet om framtiden och ett liv, ett säkert liv i Sverige.
Kara gör allt i sin kraft för att hjälpa sina nya och sina enda vänner. På vägen händer rätt mycket och slutet, jag bölade.
Detta är en otroligt vacker, känslosam, djup och fantastisk berättelse om vänskap genom tid, förlust och sorg, hopp och avslut och en loop på en Ö.
Älskar man Ransom Riggs, Tove Jansson och Astrid Lindgrens böcker, så är detta en bok som du måste läsa!!!!
Recensionen får bli på svenska, jag kommer inte kunna skriva en rättvis recension på engelska, det går inte!
Kara är en introvert flicka som älskar att umgås med sin morfar. De gillar båda att åka skridskor och titta på stjärnorna, filosofiera om ljuset och tid, gränsen mellan de olika platserna.
En dag ser Kara en snöängel i snön, inte konstigt tänker man, men det finns inga fotsteg till snöängeln. Med sitt teleskop ser Kara tillslut, mot sjön Mälaren, en flicka som samlar ved. Märkligt men detta gör att Kara tar sig ut, träffar Rebecca, som visar sig vara från en annan tid, närmare sagt 1944 och som råkat fastna på ön med sin bror Samuel.
Konceptet att tid är vagt och beror på ljus och spektrum, är så fascinerande och magiskt i mina ögon. Hela boken gav mig en känsla av mys och värme. Även om det är vinter och stackars Rebecca och Samuel har förlorat allt, förutom hoppet om framtiden och ett liv, ett säkert liv i Sverige.
Kara gör allt i sin kraft för att hjälpa sina nya och sina enda vänner. På vägen händer rätt mycket och slutet, jag bölade.
Detta är en otroligt vacker, känslosam, djup och fantastisk berättelse om vänskap genom tid, förlust och sorg, hopp och avslut och en loop på en Ö.
Älskar man Ransom Riggs, Tove Jansson och Astrid Lindgrens böcker, så är detta en bok som du måste läsa!!!!
March 29, 2022
A really superb story that captures something about what it feels like to be young, with not much autonomy, and so much longing inside. By the end I felt very moved!
September 17, 2022
I really loved this book! I found it so gripping and easy to read. A beautiful and moving story that feels timeless. Great work by Matthew Fox and stunning illustrations as always by Ben Mantle.
March 24, 2022
I had the privilege of reading this book as part of a review panel. Within pages I was hooked. A beautifully tragic tale and one I will be recommending when I write my official review. I look forward to seeing what Matthew Fox writes next.
September 10, 2024
This was such a sweet read about Holocaust Remembrance that’s kind of this girl Kara time traveling back to 1944 where Samuel and Rebecca are stuck in an endless cycle.
Rebecca dies every time and each time Samuel is left alone. So when Kara meets them Rebecca tells her wish to Kara that she wants to always protect Samuel and that if anything happens to her Kara should save him.
So then Rebecca dies again and Kara brings Samuel to safety. (In real life he was already safe) but by doing this Kara fulfills the wish Rebecca had hoped for.
When she comes back to life again Kara tells her that Samuel is safe. Rebecca tells her to always remember her. When Kara agrees Rebecca is finally able to Rest In Peace and move on from the endless cycle she has been stuck in, so Kara will not see her again.
Some other stuff happens too and Kara’s grandpa dies along with the old version of Samuel dying the same night she saves young Samuel. So there is sad stuff but it also gives off a hopeful tone with the sadness.
Rebecca dies every time and each time Samuel is left alone. So when Kara meets them Rebecca tells her wish to Kara that she wants to always protect Samuel and that if anything happens to her Kara should save him.
So then Rebecca dies again and Kara brings Samuel to safety. (In real life he was already safe) but by doing this Kara fulfills the wish Rebecca had hoped for.
When she comes back to life again Kara tells her that Samuel is safe. Rebecca tells her to always remember her. When Kara agrees Rebecca is finally able to Rest In Peace and move on from the endless cycle she has been stuck in, so Kara will not see her again.
Some other stuff happens too and Kara’s grandpa dies along with the old version of Samuel dying the same night she saves young Samuel. So there is sad stuff but it also gives off a hopeful tone with the sadness.
June 22, 2022
When I day I could not put this book down, I mean it. Finished this book in two sittings (would have been one if I hadn't required sleep)
We join lonely Kara, with a Mum who works hard and an aging Grandfather and no friends to speak of. She meets a girl, Rebecca, but nothing is simple. Rebecca, and her brother Samuel, are stuck in time in WW2 and through some kind of magic on the island, they connect. Kara wants to help them but how much can you save someone from a different time and place.
What a sweet, touching, tug on the heart strings read!
We join lonely Kara, with a Mum who works hard and an aging Grandfather and no friends to speak of. She meets a girl, Rebecca, but nothing is simple. Rebecca, and her brother Samuel, are stuck in time in WW2 and through some kind of magic on the island, they connect. Kara wants to help them but how much can you save someone from a different time and place.
What a sweet, touching, tug on the heart strings read!
December 2, 2023
a really lovely time slip book full of mystery and discovery, with a friendship formed across the years, set in a vividly wintery Stockholm, and a story that pulls hard on the heartstrings.
May 1, 2024
This was a random find on the public library shelf. The premise, WWII Jewish refugees caught in a time loop befriend a modern girl in Sweden, sounded intriguing and unique. Plus, I love a good time travel/time loop story. I thought this was really well-written, sparse but deep. I loved the overall theme of journeying through the universe. A lovely library find.
October 24, 2022
Tää menee mun parhaiden kirjojen listalle🥺💕 en arvannu lainatessa et tää ois nii hyvä mut onneks lainasin. Tää oli vähä surullinen ja vähä "jännä" taisiis täs oli myös perjaattees vähä "toimintaa" vaik toi ei kyl oo oikee sana😂🤔 täs oli tosi hyvä taustatarina ja twisti ja kaikki😊 10000/5❤❣💙
April 21, 2022
What a great story! I was totally engrossed in this book from start to finish. A story that spans time and place, and space, it is told with great sensitivity and insight. Kara is a lonely child living in Stockholm when she finds a friend, Rebecca, who lives on an island in the frozen nearby lake. But Rebecca is in trouble and needs help which only Kara can provide.
In the course of the book the author deals with issues of loneliness, loss, and bullying, as Kara finds the strength to do what she must to secure a successful outcome. This is a sensitive and moving debut and a really good read.
Highly recommended for older children and young adults (and not so young ones!).
In the course of the book the author deals with issues of loneliness, loss, and bullying, as Kara finds the strength to do what she must to secure a successful outcome. This is a sensitive and moving debut and a really good read.
Highly recommended for older children and young adults (and not so young ones!).
March 26, 2022
"I wanted to reach out, to touch her, to show her that I was there, that I was real. But I didn’t want to scare her away again. "
Someone had made snow angel in great bank down the river and Kara found something is strange- there is no footprint.. She found out that they are of two jewish siblings Rebecca and Samuel who is hiding from Nazis. They are from different times and she must do something to help them. She have found friend for the first time in her life and couldn't lost them.
It also deals with bully and how you should stand from it. Kara fight out against Lars and it was really a proud moment of her courageous act and after she reach home when her mom ask her about it, she replied in such a way that it impacts on me literally.
"I was never going to win this fight because he’s stronger than me and heavier than me. The point was to show him I’m not afraid of him. The point was to show him if he tries to bully me again, I’m going to hit him. Hard. The point was to show him he can’t humiliate me or make me feel like I’m lower than him. Because I’m not lower than him. I’m not lower than anybody. I’m as good as anybody in the world. "
Someone had made snow angel in great bank down the river and Kara found something is strange- there is no footprint.. She found out that they are of two jewish siblings Rebecca and Samuel who is hiding from Nazis. They are from different times and she must do something to help them. She have found friend for the first time in her life and couldn't lost them.
It also deals with bully and how you should stand from it. Kara fight out against Lars and it was really a proud moment of her courageous act and after she reach home when her mom ask her about it, she replied in such a way that it impacts on me literally.
"I was never going to win this fight because he’s stronger than me and heavier than me. The point was to show him I’m not afraid of him. The point was to show him if he tries to bully me again, I’m going to hit him. Hard. The point was to show him he can’t humiliate me or make me feel like I’m lower than him. Because I’m not lower than him. I’m not lower than anybody. I’m as good as anybody in the world. "
July 19, 2022
What a smart, moving, compelling story that manages the terrific feat of counterposing a young girl's loneliness in the contemporary world with the dramatic story of siblings on the run from the Nazis in 1940s Europe. Fox's device - using the frozen waters around the Stockholm archipelago to play out this high stakes time-traveling adventure story - is brilliant; as spring approaches, so the ice becomes as much a peril as the Nazis and their sniffer dogs. But beyond the central story, Fox does a tremendous job of conveying the complicated relationships between children, with a subplot involving a bully that is satisfyingly resolved by the novel's end.
March 1, 2024
Lonely Kara lives in Stockholm with her mom. When she sees a snow angel with no footsteps leading up to it, it leads her to a time-loop mystery. She meets Rebecca and her brother who are Jewish children running from the Holocaust. A sad yet hopeful story.
January 13, 2024
So good! I wish there was more, I want to know about the letter and what Grandma Kara wrote.
September 7, 2023
Reviewing for a professional magazine.
January 21, 2024
Oh my gosh this book is so insane. There is so much crazy shocking things happening. The chaptes are short, so I read like 140 pages in one sitting because it was so interesting.
December 30, 2023
4 1/2 stars
Not your usual setting for WWII in children's fiction; this started slow however it was very much worth it.
Not your usual setting for WWII in children's fiction; this started slow however it was very much worth it.
May 12, 2022
Such a magical book. Sucked me in with the first image of the mysterious snow angel. And held me in its trance the whole way through. The prose is easy to read and precise. Almost reads like poetry at times. Having said that though, there is a deep emotion at the heart of the story that is tangible and brave. The theme of the story too is something that we need in the world right now. A reminder of what can happen when the world is so polarised and, without spoiling the ending, the sacrifice and forgiveness that happens at the end is a very timely message.
May 3, 2022
First of all; that's not Matthew Fox, the actor. You'll have to decide for yourself whether that's disappointing or not!
Second of all; this is an amazing read. Tender, beautifully written, just the right amount of brain stretching. I've seen people online complaining about 'another WWII story' but that's missing the point; this isn't about the war itself, it's about the bonds that form between people under extraordinary circumstances.
There is one character whose moral compass seems to turn completely around with no explanation at all. I would have liked a little bit more explanation on that, but it reads ok without it.
This is an amazing read. I can't wait to start selling it to people, and discussing the various time loops within! It's absolutely fantastic and I think Mr Fox is going to be a big name in children's books in years to come.
Second of all; this is an amazing read. Tender, beautifully written, just the right amount of brain stretching. I've seen people online complaining about 'another WWII story' but that's missing the point; this isn't about the war itself, it's about the bonds that form between people under extraordinary circumstances.
There is one character whose moral compass seems to turn completely around with no explanation at all. I would have liked a little bit more explanation on that, but it reads ok without it.
This is an amazing read. I can't wait to start selling it to people, and discussing the various time loops within! It's absolutely fantastic and I think Mr Fox is going to be a big name in children's books in years to come.
January 25, 2024
Sweet middle grade book I read after Brecken read and requested I also read. She loved this book-said it was happy and sad and that she almost cried, but thought it was one of the best books she'd ever read 🥹 She wanted me to read to help her fully understand the time travel aspect but like most time travel books, I think it's less about understanding and more about embracing that fact of the story. This was a unique and not too overwhelming way to introduce some WWII concepts to a middle grade kid. I can see why she loved it!
April 10, 2022
When Kara is exploring the woods near her house in Sweden she meets a mysterious girl called Rebecca, a Jewish girl trapped in 1944.
This is a time travel story but although there were some gripping parts, I didn’t think it completely worked. If you’re writing a time travel story you need to decide on the “rules” for travelling & gradually reveal these to your characters and readers. In this book the author didn’t always stick to the rules which meant that it had some weaker parts to the story.
I chose to read it on the basis of the setting - a Jewish girl in WWII but in the story, apart from the children being in danger and needing to escape, the Holocaust was largely irrelevant - the author could have chosen any situation which they needed to escape from and the plot would still have worked.
I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is a time travel story but although there were some gripping parts, I didn’t think it completely worked. If you’re writing a time travel story you need to decide on the “rules” for travelling & gradually reveal these to your characters and readers. In this book the author didn’t always stick to the rules which meant that it had some weaker parts to the story.
I chose to read it on the basis of the setting - a Jewish girl in WWII but in the story, apart from the children being in danger and needing to escape, the Holocaust was largely irrelevant - the author could have chosen any situation which they needed to escape from and the plot would still have worked.
I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
June 16, 2022
Kara lives in Stockholm, Sweden. During WW2, Swedes like her Grandpa were able to witness the Nazi atrocities just across the water in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Six million dead.
Today, after a meteor shower and a snowy night, Kara comes across a snow angel in the ground. There are no footsteps leading to it. It is the beginning of a time-slide mystery that unravels.
Two different places, two different times.
Kara meets Rebecca, she’s from 1944 — run away to an island with her brother, who is lame. She’s already lost her parents and older sister, and they’re still being hunted by the Nazis.
“She lived in a world where you had to hide to stay alive. She lived in a world of fear and cold…
A world of danger, and hunger, and war.”
Debut author Matthew Fox writes sparsely, but so evocatively. As events crescendo and Kara time-slips to 1944, the climax is heart-stopping, gut wrenching, and to be honest, newly-raw to me about the Holocaust again.
“Time is a river, a frozen river on which we walk. But the layer of ice that separates us from the past is paper thin.”
This novel won the Bath Children’s Award 2019, and is a refreshing take on this necessary history that has been done over many times.
I recommend this both as a good starter to introducing the Holocaust, as well as for accomplished readers interested in storytelling.
📚: @definitelybooks
Six million dead.
Today, after a meteor shower and a snowy night, Kara comes across a snow angel in the ground. There are no footsteps leading to it. It is the beginning of a time-slide mystery that unravels.
Two different places, two different times.
Kara meets Rebecca, she’s from 1944 — run away to an island with her brother, who is lame. She’s already lost her parents and older sister, and they’re still being hunted by the Nazis.
“She lived in a world where you had to hide to stay alive. She lived in a world of fear and cold…
A world of danger, and hunger, and war.”
Debut author Matthew Fox writes sparsely, but so evocatively. As events crescendo and Kara time-slips to 1944, the climax is heart-stopping, gut wrenching, and to be honest, newly-raw to me about the Holocaust again.
“Time is a river, a frozen river on which we walk. But the layer of ice that separates us from the past is paper thin.”
This novel won the Bath Children’s Award 2019, and is a refreshing take on this necessary history that has been done over many times.
I recommend this both as a good starter to introducing the Holocaust, as well as for accomplished readers interested in storytelling.
📚: @definitelybooks
August 28, 2022
Middle grade. Time travel. WWII.
Story: It all started with a snow angel with no footprints around it.
Language: Near present Sweden. Winter.
Characters: Kara lives with her mom in Stockholm, Sweden.
I picked this up due to rave reviews. One of my favorite books as a kid was Charlotte Sometimes, a WWI time travel book set in England. While the similarities stop there, both books are excellent in their own ways. The chapters in this book are short. There's lots of mystery, a bit of bullying and lots of adventures of kids off on their own alone at night. The time travel episodes are interesting and I enjoyed Rebecca and Samuel. There are highs and lows in the book but overall the story has a melancholic feel - not depressing but realistic - WWII but without lecturing like a textbook or dramatacizing events. I also enjoyed the Swedish perspective - most WWII books I've read are set in central Europe, UK or USA. And have I mentioned the beautiful cover?
Story: It all started with a snow angel with no footprints around it.
Language: Near present Sweden. Winter.
Characters: Kara lives with her mom in Stockholm, Sweden.
I picked this up due to rave reviews. One of my favorite books as a kid was Charlotte Sometimes, a WWI time travel book set in England. While the similarities stop there, both books are excellent in their own ways. The chapters in this book are short. There's lots of mystery, a bit of bullying and lots of adventures of kids off on their own alone at night. The time travel episodes are interesting and I enjoyed Rebecca and Samuel. There are highs and lows in the book but overall the story has a melancholic feel - not depressing but realistic - WWII but without lecturing like a textbook or dramatacizing events. I also enjoyed the Swedish perspective - most WWII books I've read are set in central Europe, UK or USA. And have I mentioned the beautiful cover?
June 7, 2022
What a wonderful book. Set in Sweden and between worlds, present and world war II.
It is a delight to read, narrated by a young girl who struggles with her lonely world of her Mum who is constantly working, even at home and her Grandpa, whose she loves dearly and spends much time with but Kara is lacking friendship. On holiday from school Kara finds a friend first in a girl called Rebecca and her brother Samuel and then in her nemesis, Lars.
Rebecca and Samuel are stuck in time, needing a friend when Kara comes along and is determined to help them anyway she can. Kara provides food and warmth, via an old family coat and finally she provides a way home for Rebecca and Samuel.
Lars comes looking for Kara to apogise for fighting with her when he finds more than he bargained for. He determines to help Kara though and together they assist Samuel and Rebecca.
I recommend this book.
It is a delight to read, narrated by a young girl who struggles with her lonely world of her Mum who is constantly working, even at home and her Grandpa, whose she loves dearly and spends much time with but Kara is lacking friendship. On holiday from school Kara finds a friend first in a girl called Rebecca and her brother Samuel and then in her nemesis, Lars.
Rebecca and Samuel are stuck in time, needing a friend when Kara comes along and is determined to help them anyway she can. Kara provides food and warmth, via an old family coat and finally she provides a way home for Rebecca and Samuel.
Lars comes looking for Kara to apogise for fighting with her when he finds more than he bargained for. He determines to help Kara though and together they assist Samuel and Rebecca.
I recommend this book.
November 7, 2024
Ok, this book was written for me. A time slip to World II, an independent kid who takes public transport, a mom and grandfather who respect her, Swedish culture, and winter. I’ll even take the bully-to-friendship story because it took the time it needed it. I liked that the kid understood from the start that death and endings happen but didn’t spend the book howling about it. I loved the ghosts from the present and the past, and how sometimes you just miss a connection.
I found the unspecified home of the refugees a bit annoying, and the grandfather’s inability to talk about the Big Topic more plot driven than believable, and kids today might not really grasp the brief discussion of Sweden’s role and neutrality in WWII.
I found the unspecified home of the refugees a bit annoying, and the grandfather’s inability to talk about the Big Topic more plot driven than believable, and kids today might not really grasp the brief discussion of Sweden’s role and neutrality in WWII.
April 16, 2024
"The exquisitely crafted story feels like gazing into a snow globe, focused on a small slice of one momentous winter. Spare, direct language captures the bleakness of the freezing natural setting and deep loneliness, but it also summons the life-giving warmth of new friendships and tendrils of hope. Readers are quietly given a real sense of danger and high stakes of the situation, and though the premise involves mind-bending time slips and eerie occurrences, it’s also gorgeously grounded in the tender relationships between family members and new friends. An edifying exploration of human connection and compassion.”[Booklist]
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November 9, 2024My daughter selected this book from the Narrm Ngarrgu Library in Melbourne (Australia), partially because her mother shares the same name with the books hero. In reading the book with her I was captivated by the beautiful story that even makes an adult question the spiritual parameters of place and time and the importance to be here, be now. Having recently lost my own hero in my mother I found the story so relatable and the idea we live in a continuum and beyond to be free in the universe to hold such solace. Kara's grandfathers reference to Andromeda I still very much ponder.
A beautifully rich story that can even make a man cry.
Matthew, I look forward to reading your next work.
A beautifully rich story that can even make a man cry.
Matthew, I look forward to reading your next work.
August 14, 2025
If I could give this book ten stars, I would. It's technically a junior high level book I think but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It has some interconnecting of timelines and a lot of tension and suspense as well as some history involving WW2. I enjoyed it so much that I bought my own copy for my permanent collection. It's a fairly quick read but so engrossing. I would recommend to anyone who enjoys a really good story!!!
May 8, 2022
This is a beautiful story written for the age group 10-12 but with so much to say to adults (and parents!) too. Friendship, courage, loneliness and finding one's place in the world are subjects that might easily be weighted down by too many words. No such risk here - this story goes straight to your heart.
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