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Operation Overlord: A Tommy Collins Adventure
A Moonbeam Gold Medal winner! Royal Naval Lieutenant Commander Lawrence Collins takes his son Tommy with him to Southampton for Most Secret work in the days before the Normandy invasion. Tommy is sometimes wrong about things, but he usually—make that always—thinks he’s right. Exploring Southampton, Tommy meets Annike, a Kindertransport Dutch girl whom he mistakenly thinks is a German spy. Despite this comedy of errors beginning, Annike and Tommy become friends and on the day before the Allied invasion of France, they risk their lives and discover Nazi spies plotting to reveal the invasion plans.
- GenresWorld War II
176 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 24, 2022
1 person is currently reading
12 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
March 15, 2023
This is a story intended for young (perhaps 9 - 12, I'd say, depending on their reading level) readers, set early in June of 1944 as the D-Day launch is in preparation. It's the story of a boy who's been expelled from school for fighting (even though he's in the right), who has to accompany his father, a military officer, to Southampton where the invasion is being prepared. He meets a girl who's a Kindertransport from Holland, and they discover a group of Nazi spies, but the authorities don't take them seriously and they try to deal with the situation on their own. The novel is subtitled "A Tommy Collins Adventure," but it's Annike who's the real star of the show. It's a well-researched and engaging story, and the two young characters are well portrayed. The author did a good job of showing how the civilians tried to maintain their activities while the war was going on. My only real complaint is that I thought General Eisenhower would have been too busy on June 6th to hang out with a couple of kids, but who knows. There's a helpful glossary provided to define some of the English and antiquarian words. It's a good historical book that proves "educational" doesn't always equate to "boring." I was provided a free copy of the book for review, and I now look forward to passing it along to a granddaughter who I think will like it, too.
May 1, 2023
This is the story of Tommy Collins (probably middle school age) in 1944 England who happens to be brave and somewhat precocious. When Tommy finds himself getting in a bit of trouble at his school, he ends up being sent home for the rest of the term. His father, who is rather important for the war effort, is called on a special operation, so Tommy goes along with him. Tommy meets Annike, a young refugee girl displaced from her family. They become friends and set out on an adventure to protect secret information from Nazi spies. This book is perfect for those readers who are fans of the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew and World War II stories. Even as an adult, I considered this a fun read with a sweet ending. I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
November 27, 2022
I really enjoyed the story of Tommy and his adventures but absolutely loved when 1/2 through along comes Annike. This was a fast paced short action novel based in the era of WWII. I learned so much vocabulary and background knowledge , and I honestly feel this would be a great mentor text for a middle/high school teacher, middle/high school students, and even for a college student . Only one “bad word” used which was arse but other than that this book is a gem!
Thank you to the Publishers for sending me this copy in exchange for my review. This is the 2nd book by Moss that I’ve read, and I really enjoy his writing.
Thank you to the Publishers for sending me this copy in exchange for my review. This is the 2nd book by Moss that I’ve read, and I really enjoy his writing.
October 22, 2022
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review. What does a young boy do when he is away from home with his dad, a British Naval officer, who is in top secret meetings each day planning for the invasion of Normandy? He explores or searches for adenture or makes new friends or stumbles upon a Nazi spy ring intent on destroying the invasion. Or if you are Tommy Collins you do all of these. This is a wonderful adventure novel with a great plot and good writing. Moss builds sympathy for his characters and daws the reader relentlessly onward into the adventure. The book is quick paced and an easy read for adults but it is really aimed at juvenile readers who would, I think, really enjoy it while getting some insights into the preparation for the Normandy invasion. Imaginative and readable. One note: my copy of the book had about 15% of the pages partially glued together which made it challenging to read. It was still worth the effort!
October 3, 2022
What a wonderfully exciting book this was. Once I started Tommy and Annike's pulse-pounding adventure, I literally couldn't stop. This book drops you right in the middle of the action, on the cusp of the invasion of Normandy and the beginning of the end of World War II.
Every breathless page is filled with action and adventure and is as realistically written as to make it seem you are actually there experiencing every moment. I love these characters and could hardly stand the suspense as they desperately try to thwart a band of spies.
Meticulously researched and written with sympathy and great emotion, this is one book you won't want to miss. I wish there were a whole slew of books about Tommy, because I never wanted this top-secret operation to end.
***I received a copy of this book through a LibraryThing Early Reviewers Giveaway. My review is strictly voluntary.***
Every breathless page is filled with action and adventure and is as realistically written as to make it seem you are actually there experiencing every moment. I love these characters and could hardly stand the suspense as they desperately try to thwart a band of spies.
Meticulously researched and written with sympathy and great emotion, this is one book you won't want to miss. I wish there were a whole slew of books about Tommy, because I never wanted this top-secret operation to end.
***I received a copy of this book through a LibraryThing Early Reviewers Giveaway. My review is strictly voluntary.***
September 30, 2022
I was sent this book to review. I was told to give an honest review, so that is what I'm going to do.
I was a little confused in the first chapter, but then it started making more sense in chapter 2. At the end of chapter 2, there were 3 cuss words. I was then shocked because I thought this book was for kids(it's rated for young adults). Although as much as I love WWII, novels, and reading, I did not read past chapter 2. I cannot go against my conscience and my God. I thank whoever gave me the chance to review this book because it was a great learning experience for me.
I was a little confused in the first chapter, but then it started making more sense in chapter 2. At the end of chapter 2, there were 3 cuss words. I was then shocked because I thought this book was for kids(it's rated for young adults). Although as much as I love WWII, novels, and reading, I did not read past chapter 2. I cannot go against my conscience and my God. I thank whoever gave me the chance to review this book because it was a great learning experience for me.
October 31, 2022
An excellent story meant to engage young readers with the history around WW2, and the D-Day invasion.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
December 5, 2022
Operation Overlord - a Tommy Collins adventure is the story of Tommy a middle school age student on the brink of D-day in Southampton England. Tommy had gotten in trouble at school earlier and was sent home early from term. His father, Commander Collins is an important official and is called in to special operations and Tommy accompanies him. However Tommy cannot join his father in the Special Operations Room and sets out to explore his new surroundings. He meets Annika a young Dutch jewish girl who was sent over to England four years earlier on the Kindertransport for safety. She is desperate to contact her family and is working to build a radio to contact them. Tommy and Annika become friends and from there the adventure escalates. They discover a Nazi spy ring and despite being just kids they are able to thwart the enemy and help the allies. This was a fun read and also informational. Recommended.
November 6, 2022
The book was pretty good, and filled with a nice amount of action. The plot really came together in the end. I took off a star because I wasn't sure about the historical accuracy of some of the plot, and I wasn't able to find much information about it online. This is a good book choice for someone who is looking for a book with a fast-moving action plot tied with a bit of mystery.
January 1, 2024
Full disclosure: I was asked by Katrina @ Goodreads to review Operation Overlord: A Tommy Collins Adventure in exchange for a free copy of the novel. My review is voluntary.
When Goodreads first asked me to review this novel, I had never heard of Francis Moss, and after reading his bio, I did not recognize any of his work. The bio, however, and the subtitle, A Tommy Collins Adventure, led me to assume that the novel belongs to the Young Adult category, so I asked to receive a copy for review.
As soon as I started reading, I realized why I was asked to review the novel. I had written a review of Terry Bowe's novel Schimmert: Journey to Silence, which is a love story between an American journalist named Joe and a Dutch farmer named Sterre. The story between Tommy and Annike has many parallels with Joe and Sterre's story except that Tommy is English and both Tommy and Annike are teenagers.
Operation Overlord takes place on the eve of the Normandy invasion in World War II. Tommy's father, Royal Naval Lieutenant Commander Lawrence Collins, is called down to Southampton and decides to take his son with him. That convenient plot device struck me as unrealistic as did Tommy's maturing as he transitions from reading Treasure Island and The Wizard of Oz to "capturing" Annike as a "German spy," to their friendship, and then to their collaboration to discover the real spies and thus save the military operation.
I found some of the dialogue amateurish. In fact, the book reminded me of the novel I wrote when I was 13 years old, which I had written in the style of the Hardy Boys series. In many ways, Operation Overlord does remind me of a Hardy Boys' adventure. Even the subtitle suggests that. I had to keep reminding myself that this is a young adult novel, so that writing style is acceptable and should be expected.
One observation I had while reading is that American readers might have trouble with the English idioms sprinkled throughout, such as "'You're not going all lobster on us, are you?'" (p. 7) or "'Well, that tosses everything into a cocked hat,'" p. 34. But it turns out, déjà vu, I had the same experience that I had reading Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange. I didn't realize until I finished reading that the author had included a glossary at the end of the text.
The novel is well researched but also presents World War II at a level that a young teenager would be able to understand. There are also several humorous episodes, such as when Tommy hears Annike speaking Dutch and assumes she is speaking German. There are also some plot twists that keep the novel moving forward. For example, I thought the surprise was going to be that Annike's family would be in the trailer, but I guess that would be unbelievable. Well, actually most of the novel is unbelievable for an adult reader, but the fantasy is "feel good," and the read is fast and fun. So I recommend the book for middle schoolers or perhaps advanced students in elementary school.
When Goodreads first asked me to review this novel, I had never heard of Francis Moss, and after reading his bio, I did not recognize any of his work. The bio, however, and the subtitle, A Tommy Collins Adventure, led me to assume that the novel belongs to the Young Adult category, so I asked to receive a copy for review.
As soon as I started reading, I realized why I was asked to review the novel. I had written a review of Terry Bowe's novel Schimmert: Journey to Silence, which is a love story between an American journalist named Joe and a Dutch farmer named Sterre. The story between Tommy and Annike has many parallels with Joe and Sterre's story except that Tommy is English and both Tommy and Annike are teenagers.
Operation Overlord takes place on the eve of the Normandy invasion in World War II. Tommy's father, Royal Naval Lieutenant Commander Lawrence Collins, is called down to Southampton and decides to take his son with him. That convenient plot device struck me as unrealistic as did Tommy's maturing as he transitions from reading Treasure Island and The Wizard of Oz to "capturing" Annike as a "German spy," to their friendship, and then to their collaboration to discover the real spies and thus save the military operation.
I found some of the dialogue amateurish. In fact, the book reminded me of the novel I wrote when I was 13 years old, which I had written in the style of the Hardy Boys series. In many ways, Operation Overlord does remind me of a Hardy Boys' adventure. Even the subtitle suggests that. I had to keep reminding myself that this is a young adult novel, so that writing style is acceptable and should be expected.
One observation I had while reading is that American readers might have trouble with the English idioms sprinkled throughout, such as "'You're not going all lobster on us, are you?'" (p. 7) or "'Well, that tosses everything into a cocked hat,'" p. 34. But it turns out, déjà vu, I had the same experience that I had reading Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange. I didn't realize until I finished reading that the author had included a glossary at the end of the text.
The novel is well researched but also presents World War II at a level that a young teenager would be able to understand. There are also several humorous episodes, such as when Tommy hears Annike speaking Dutch and assumes she is speaking German. There are also some plot twists that keep the novel moving forward. For example, I thought the surprise was going to be that Annike's family would be in the trailer, but I guess that would be unbelievable. Well, actually most of the novel is unbelievable for an adult reader, but the fantasy is "feel good," and the read is fast and fun. So I recommend the book for middle schoolers or perhaps advanced students in elementary school.
September 1, 2023
This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 3.0 of 5
Tommy Collins is the son of Royal Naval Lieutenant Commander Lawrence Collins. Britain is deep in World War II and Lawrence Collins is attending "Most Secret" meetings. There is rumor that an Allied invasion will be taking place soon.
Despite the active dangers in England, and the sensitive nature of Lieutenant Commander Collins' current work, Lawrence brings his son Tommy to explore Southampton on his own. While doing so, Tommy sees a girl, about his age. She's acting suspicious and speaking German and Tommy is convinced she's a spy. He tries to confront her but she quickly gets the upper hand and then sets him straight ... she's Dutch and she's recently moved to escape the Nazi occupation. Together, Tommy and the Dutch girl, Annike, will root out some actual German sympathizer/spies, just in time to help keep Operation Overlord (the invasion at Normandy) a secret.
I found this book to be rather stereotypical of 'educational' adventure tales. There's an effort to make young Tommy adventurous and the hero of the story, but his 'gosh golly gee whiz' attitude is almost unrealistic, even for the era. And I know that it's a children's book and the child protagonist is going to be the hero, but this is a little harder to accept in such a serious historical setting.
As an adult reader, the dangers are ever-present (how do you let a child run around when bombings are a part of life?) but even when Tommy and Annike confront the actual spies, there hardly feels like there's any real danger in the meeting.
Author Francis Moss has a nice writing style, and the plot is nicely developed, but the characters are all very one dimensional. Without the depth of character, Tommy and Annike's actions don't have the full impact that they could have. Annike, the obligatory 'girl' in Tommy's story, has more definition of character than Tommy - mostly because she tells him about herself to set him right when he thinks she's a spy.
This is not a bad book, but it's not the engaging, thrilling read it wants to be.
Looking for a good book? Operation Overlord by Francis Moss is a historical fiction children's book centered around the events leading up to the Allied invasion of Normandy. The book doesn't rise above a general stereotype of adventurous youth saving the day.
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Tommy Collins is the son of Royal Naval Lieutenant Commander Lawrence Collins. Britain is deep in World War II and Lawrence Collins is attending "Most Secret" meetings. There is rumor that an Allied invasion will be taking place soon.
Despite the active dangers in England, and the sensitive nature of Lieutenant Commander Collins' current work, Lawrence brings his son Tommy to explore Southampton on his own. While doing so, Tommy sees a girl, about his age. She's acting suspicious and speaking German and Tommy is convinced she's a spy. He tries to confront her but she quickly gets the upper hand and then sets him straight ... she's Dutch and she's recently moved to escape the Nazi occupation. Together, Tommy and the Dutch girl, Annike, will root out some actual German sympathizer/spies, just in time to help keep Operation Overlord (the invasion at Normandy) a secret.
I found this book to be rather stereotypical of 'educational' adventure tales. There's an effort to make young Tommy adventurous and the hero of the story, but his 'gosh golly gee whiz' attitude is almost unrealistic, even for the era. And I know that it's a children's book and the child protagonist is going to be the hero, but this is a little harder to accept in such a serious historical setting.
As an adult reader, the dangers are ever-present (how do you let a child run around when bombings are a part of life?) but even when Tommy and Annike confront the actual spies, there hardly feels like there's any real danger in the meeting.
Author Francis Moss has a nice writing style, and the plot is nicely developed, but the characters are all very one dimensional. Without the depth of character, Tommy and Annike's actions don't have the full impact that they could have. Annike, the obligatory 'girl' in Tommy's story, has more definition of character than Tommy - mostly because she tells him about herself to set him right when he thinks she's a spy.
This is not a bad book, but it's not the engaging, thrilling read it wants to be.
Looking for a good book? Operation Overlord by Francis Moss is a historical fiction children's book centered around the events leading up to the Allied invasion of Normandy. The book doesn't rise above a general stereotype of adventurous youth saving the day.
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
December 13, 2024
Note: This book was sent to me by Free Books for Reviewers free of charge in exchange for a review. This is my honest opinion and is given freely without any monetary compensation.
This book seems like it's meant for the middle-school crowd and it definitely shows. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. If I was 12 or 13, I honestly would have loved a book about a kid the same age having adventures during the era of WWII. For the crowd it was written for, this will be a fun, pleasing romp as the reader follows a young boy named Tommy is swept up in the events leading up to D-Day.
While the plot is a little thin thanks to the "somehow our teenage protagonists are involved in events way beyond their age or competency level" idea that drives it, I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt, given there weren't exactly a lot of pre-teens serving in any of the armies in the conflict, so there had to be a reason for Tommy and the girl he meets to get involved in matters without actually directly involving them. (Though I did just read about a man who lied about his age and served in the conflict at age 15, so it's not without precedent that teens were in the thick of things!) Tommy's alright as a protagonist but he's such an "everyman" to give him as much large appear as possible that his personality doesn't really shine through. The Dutch girl he meets is much more of a well-rounded character and I enjoyed her immensely.
The thing that took me out is that it appeared the editor should have gone over this book with a fine-toothed comb. There's just a lot of repetition in word choice that doesn't serve much purpose and at one point the tenses actually switch from past to present and back again within a few paragraphs for absolutely no reason at all. That took a full star off for me. If your book is ready for print, it better damn well be as polished as a diamond sitting in a jewelry case.
I did like the optimism that ran through the tale, plus for once the idea that "....And the adventure continues!" didn't feel contrived or like it was just tacked on for an arbitrary sequel. It really does feel like there's more for Tommy to interact with when it comes to the scope of the war. If another comes out, I'm sure the target audience will devour it just as quickly as they will this first one.
This book seems like it's meant for the middle-school crowd and it definitely shows. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. If I was 12 or 13, I honestly would have loved a book about a kid the same age having adventures during the era of WWII. For the crowd it was written for, this will be a fun, pleasing romp as the reader follows a young boy named Tommy is swept up in the events leading up to D-Day.
While the plot is a little thin thanks to the "somehow our teenage protagonists are involved in events way beyond their age or competency level" idea that drives it, I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt, given there weren't exactly a lot of pre-teens serving in any of the armies in the conflict, so there had to be a reason for Tommy and the girl he meets to get involved in matters without actually directly involving them. (Though I did just read about a man who lied about his age and served in the conflict at age 15, so it's not without precedent that teens were in the thick of things!) Tommy's alright as a protagonist but he's such an "everyman" to give him as much large appear as possible that his personality doesn't really shine through. The Dutch girl he meets is much more of a well-rounded character and I enjoyed her immensely.
The thing that took me out is that it appeared the editor should have gone over this book with a fine-toothed comb. There's just a lot of repetition in word choice that doesn't serve much purpose and at one point the tenses actually switch from past to present and back again within a few paragraphs for absolutely no reason at all. That took a full star off for me. If your book is ready for print, it better damn well be as polished as a diamond sitting in a jewelry case.
I did like the optimism that ran through the tale, plus for once the idea that "....And the adventure continues!" didn't feel contrived or like it was just tacked on for an arbitrary sequel. It really does feel like there's more for Tommy to interact with when it comes to the scope of the war. If another comes out, I'm sure the target audience will devour it just as quickly as they will this first one.
May 1, 2023
I received this book for free so I could review it.
This is not a good book. I get that I’m not its target audience - I’m not a preteen boy and I don’t know (or care much about) WWII and its battles.
But the characters are not fleshed out. The female character (Annike), in particular, is awful - one dimension and without flaws. The male characters also have no depth.
It’s not a fun book - from the cover I thought it would be more spy-v-spy excitement. It’s just a drag. I would not have completed it except I felt I owed the publisher a review since they sent me the book.
Positive - I liked the war details. Seems well researched.
Negatives - Everything else
I want to call out some of the crummy writing. Cuz it’s really quite bad.
——
First sentence: “It was football day, called Winkies, at Winchester College, the last game of the year.” —- Does this thrill you? Set you up for the story ahead? Pique your interest? NOT ME!
For me, this was a wtf right from the start.
Page 121: “…that Nazi will already have contacted the Nazis.” —— kids have better vocabularies than this. Promise.
Writers/editors - you can do better.
Page 143: “Eisenhower….held out his hand to Tommy….the general wanted to shake hands!” —- for a book that tries to be so rooted in history, it really goes off the deep end here.
Complete nonsense!
This book isn’t well written and doesn’t know its audience. SKIP!!!
This is not a good book. I get that I’m not its target audience - I’m not a preteen boy and I don’t know (or care much about) WWII and its battles.
But the characters are not fleshed out. The female character (Annike), in particular, is awful - one dimension and without flaws. The male characters also have no depth.
It’s not a fun book - from the cover I thought it would be more spy-v-spy excitement. It’s just a drag. I would not have completed it except I felt I owed the publisher a review since they sent me the book.
Positive - I liked the war details. Seems well researched.
Negatives - Everything else
I want to call out some of the crummy writing. Cuz it’s really quite bad.
——
First sentence: “It was football day, called Winkies, at Winchester College, the last game of the year.” —- Does this thrill you? Set you up for the story ahead? Pique your interest? NOT ME!
For me, this was a wtf right from the start.
Page 121: “…that Nazi will already have contacted the Nazis.” —— kids have better vocabularies than this. Promise.
Writers/editors - you can do better.
Page 143: “Eisenhower….held out his hand to Tommy….the general wanted to shake hands!” —- for a book that tries to be so rooted in history, it really goes off the deep end here.
Complete nonsense!
This book isn’t well written and doesn’t know its audience. SKIP!!!
March 26, 2023
It's June of 1944 and young Tommy Collins just wants to do the right thing when he defends a younger student against the school bully. Sent home for punishment, the excitement ramps up quickly as Tommy has no choice but to accompany his father (a Royal Navyman) to Southampton where plans are escalationg for one of the most infamous events of WWII...the Invasion. While his father tends to most secret business, Tommy explores and finds a friend in a young Dutch girl who is desperately trying to communicate with her family who she was seperated from through the Kindertransport. The two become embroiled in a race for time when they stumble upon a Nazi spy and Irish Nazi Sympathizers sending English intelligence over secret radio communication.
This is a well paced and exciting look into the events of WWII through the eyes of children who are old enough to understand what is happening in the world, yet innocent enough to believe they can make the difference by acting themselves to thwart the enemy plans. Highly recommend story for boys and girls (and adults!) of all ages!
This is a well paced and exciting look into the events of WWII through the eyes of children who are old enough to understand what is happening in the world, yet innocent enough to believe they can make the difference by acting themselves to thwart the enemy plans. Highly recommend story for boys and girls (and adults!) of all ages!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 19, 2023
I received a copy of this book through Goodreads in return for my honest opinion. My review is strictly voluntary.
This is a WWII story told from a different point of view. It is told by a young teenage boy named Tommy Collins as he travels with his father to Southampton so that his father can continue his military duties. While out discovering the town, Tommy finds a girl who appears to be stealing products from a nearly destroyed building. What follows is a rip-roaring good military spy adventure.
This was a quick read and I finished the book with only one short interruption. I realized that food was rationed, but I never thought replacement car parts being nearly impossible to find. Also, I learned about Jewish children being sent to England just before Hitler invaded their European homeland. This story follows one poor child who has not seen or talked to her family in four years.
This story makes you care for the characters. I quickly became invested in their lives and practically finished this book in one sitting. I recommend this story to you.
This is a WWII story told from a different point of view. It is told by a young teenage boy named Tommy Collins as he travels with his father to Southampton so that his father can continue his military duties. While out discovering the town, Tommy finds a girl who appears to be stealing products from a nearly destroyed building. What follows is a rip-roaring good military spy adventure.
This was a quick read and I finished the book with only one short interruption. I realized that food was rationed, but I never thought replacement car parts being nearly impossible to find. Also, I learned about Jewish children being sent to England just before Hitler invaded their European homeland. This story follows one poor child who has not seen or talked to her family in four years.
This story makes you care for the characters. I quickly became invested in their lives and practically finished this book in one sitting. I recommend this story to you.
May 22, 2023
This book was really interesting! I really enjoyed learning a different perspective of the war because in this story, they focus on a Naval lieutenant’s son, and his Jewish friend. It was really interesting to learn about how Nazi’s used secret coded messages to intercept invasions. I didn’t have much knowledge of this. I also liked that there was a plot twist of who the actual nazi spy was. I wasn’t expecting that, so I was intrigued when the author put that in. This was a quick, but exhilarating read, and I constantly wanted to know what was going to happen. The book wrapped up quickly, so I kind of wish there was more- like if Annike finds her parents after the war, and same for Tommy and his family. But overall really enjoyed learning more about WW2. This history will always have my interest.
4/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Would recommend 👍🏼 11+ (some violence)
Happy reading!! 🗂️🤫📡📻💥
4/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Would recommend 👍🏼 11+ (some violence)
Happy reading!! 🗂️🤫📡📻💥
May 12, 2023
Pretty decent YA historical fiction/mystery! I found the plot to be a bit improbable, but that’s relatively normal for YA historical fiction. It isn’t brilliant in any sense, but it reads well and the characters are good. My biggest issue with it is that it could have used a good editor. There are some minor inconsistencies that an editor would catch, but this is self-published, and as such, it’s perfectly fine, as the inconsistencies don’t take away from the story much or make it too confusing. Also wish, considering the reading level, that there wasn’t a gun on the cover. My mystery loving kid will probably like it.
June 6, 2023
I thought this book was fantastic! I would say this would be for middle school students. It would be great for those who love history and want to know a little more about WWII I. England. The story follows a boy named Tommy who travels with his father, who is Royal Navy Lieutenant Commander, to Southampton for Most Secret work before the Normandy invasion. There Tommy meets and makes a friend with Annike, a Dutch girl who has been separated from her family. Tommy and Annike show great courage in trying to help find German spies among their midst. My son would definitely loved this when he was younger!! I was given this book for an honest review! And I’m so glad I got to read this!!
September 20, 2023
I really liked this book it was easy to grasp the plot and it gave enough details in what was going but not too much that it gets overdone and I loose interest. I found myself not wanting to out it down til I found out how it all played out. I think this book is perfect for young readers as well as adults. I would totally recommend this book to a friend or my nieces and nephews.
These are just my thoughts and opinions and as always I recommend you read it for yourself and share your thoughts. Happy reading y'all Thank you.
These are just my thoughts and opinions and as always I recommend you read it for yourself and share your thoughts. Happy reading y'all Thank you.
March 7, 2023
A fun, adventurous read!
From the very beginning you know what you’re getting from this story! The writing is strong, and the characters well-developed and lovable. You have a good sense of Tommy, his family, and their moral values right away. You cannot help but cheer him on through his wartime adventure with his new friend Annike. They are a little bit mischievous, a little bit brave and a lot lucky! I teach fifth grade and plan to read this one to my class!
From the very beginning you know what you’re getting from this story! The writing is strong, and the characters well-developed and lovable. You have a good sense of Tommy, his family, and their moral values right away. You cannot help but cheer him on through his wartime adventure with his new friend Annike. They are a little bit mischievous, a little bit brave and a lot lucky! I teach fifth grade and plan to read this one to my class!
March 21, 2023
This takes me back to the Tom Swift , Hardy Boys type novels, where the young protagonists always seem to find themselves in one adventure or the other. In this case, we have young Tommy embroiled in adventure on the cusp of perhaps the most important day in modern military history. This was an easy read, aimed at the young boy or prehaps pre teen, I hope to see more from this author. Recommeded for those encouraging their kids to adopt our favorite past time here on Good Reads.
February 14, 2023
This book was creative and interesting. I enjoyed it very much. If you love WW2 spy-type fiction, it's a must read. It also has a Hardy Boys'- and Nancy Drew-type flavor to it. Brought back a lot of childhood reading memories. Thoroughly enjoyable. (I forget the date range I read the book, but I started and think I finished in January but I put today's date.)
June 17, 2023
It was really good.
June 18, 2023
I liked it. I learned a lot about D Day and World War 2.
May 25, 2023
I received a free copy of this book to review
This book is labeled in the YA/teen reading level but is about a 12/13 year old, and he feels even younger than that closer to a 10/11 age boy so that feel was a bit awkward. The binding on this book is incredibly disappointing I was only halfway through and the pages just started falling out. I was previewing this book for my son but have decided to not let him read it. The writing is marginal, the plot a bit unbelievable. There are far better books out there about this time period to use your time reading. The boy did some very dangerous things and in return Eisenhour himself thanks him and shakes his hand, during the invasion of France to. The father talks to the boy about doing the right thing but also knowing how and when to go about it, but there is zero follow through on this important point. I found the women in this book rather degrading, the mom makes fun of traditional women, the girl is constantly and for no reason throwing "you didn't think a girl could" in the boys face, and his sister is rude. The sibling relationship is contentious and a sad example. The important part of fleeing Jews is also completely overlooked. I think this book could have been improved upon if it was a bit longer, some of the points the author was trying to get at seem to have gotton lost and left unexplained. For a book targeted to teens and preteens the lack of detail and short length feel like something meant more for grade schoolers, yet the inclusion of swear words and the other things I have mentioned renders it not appropriate for that level.
This book is labeled in the YA/teen reading level but is about a 12/13 year old, and he feels even younger than that closer to a 10/11 age boy so that feel was a bit awkward. The binding on this book is incredibly disappointing I was only halfway through and the pages just started falling out. I was previewing this book for my son but have decided to not let him read it. The writing is marginal, the plot a bit unbelievable. There are far better books out there about this time period to use your time reading. The boy did some very dangerous things and in return Eisenhour himself thanks him and shakes his hand, during the invasion of France to. The father talks to the boy about doing the right thing but also knowing how and when to go about it, but there is zero follow through on this important point. I found the women in this book rather degrading, the mom makes fun of traditional women, the girl is constantly and for no reason throwing "you didn't think a girl could" in the boys face, and his sister is rude. The sibling relationship is contentious and a sad example. The important part of fleeing Jews is also completely overlooked. I think this book could have been improved upon if it was a bit longer, some of the points the author was trying to get at seem to have gotton lost and left unexplained. For a book targeted to teens and preteens the lack of detail and short length feel like something meant more for grade schoolers, yet the inclusion of swear words and the other things I have mentioned renders it not appropriate for that level.
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