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Dawn of Fear
Derek and his friends, living outside of London during World War II, find plenty of opportunities to explore bomb craters, collect shrapnel, and identify the fighter planes that fly overhead. When a bomb hits close to school, causing classes to be canceled, the boys are overjoyed: They can spend the day building their secret camp.
But when their work on the camp is sabotaged, a tough neighboring gang is to blame. A violent clash with the rival gang—followed by a long night of bombing close at hand—change forever Derek's feelings about the war.
But when their work on the camp is sabotaged, a tough neighboring gang is to blame. A violent clash with the rival gang—followed by a long night of bombing close at hand—change forever Derek's feelings about the war.
157 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1970
16 people are currently reading
247 people want to read
About the author
Susan Cooper
172 books2,445 followersSusan Cooper's latest book is the YA novel "Ghost Hawk" (2013)
Susan Cooper was born in 1935, and grew up in England's Buckinghamshire, an area that was green countryside then but has since become part of Greater London. As a child, she loved to read, as did her younger brother, who also became a writer. After attending Oxford, where she became the first woman to ever edit that university's newspaper, Cooper worked as a reporter and feature writer for London's Sunday Times; her first boss was James Bond creator Ian Fleming.
Cooper wrote her first book for young readers in response to a publishing house competition; "Over Sea, Under Stone" would later form the basis for her critically acclaimed five-book fantasy sequence, "The Dark Is Rising." The fourth book in the series, "The Grey King," won the Newbery Medal in 1976. By that time, Susan Cooper had been living in America for 13 years, having moved to marry her first husband, an American professor, and was stepmother to three children and the mother of two.
Cooper went on to write other well-received novels, including "The Boggart" (and its sequel "The Boggart and the Monster"), "King of Shadows", and "Victory," as well as several picture books for young readers with illustrators such as Ashley Bryan and Warwick Hutton. She has also written books for adults, as well as plays and Emmy-nominated screenplays, many in collaboration with the actor Hume Cronyn, whom she married in 1996. Hume Cronyn died in 2003 and Ms. Cooper now lives in Marshfield MA. When Cooper is not working, she enjoys playing piano, gardening, and traveling.
Recent books include the collaborative project "The Exquisite Corpse Adventure" and her biography of Jack Langstaff titled "The Magic Maker." Her newest book is "Ghost Hawk."
Visit her Facebook pages: www.facebook.com/SusanCooperFanPage
www.facebook.com/GhostHawkBySusanCooper
Susan Cooper was born in 1935, and grew up in England's Buckinghamshire, an area that was green countryside then but has since become part of Greater London. As a child, she loved to read, as did her younger brother, who also became a writer. After attending Oxford, where she became the first woman to ever edit that university's newspaper, Cooper worked as a reporter and feature writer for London's Sunday Times; her first boss was James Bond creator Ian Fleming.
Cooper wrote her first book for young readers in response to a publishing house competition; "Over Sea, Under Stone" would later form the basis for her critically acclaimed five-book fantasy sequence, "The Dark Is Rising." The fourth book in the series, "The Grey King," won the Newbery Medal in 1976. By that time, Susan Cooper had been living in America for 13 years, having moved to marry her first husband, an American professor, and was stepmother to three children and the mother of two.
Cooper went on to write other well-received novels, including "The Boggart" (and its sequel "The Boggart and the Monster"), "King of Shadows", and "Victory," as well as several picture books for young readers with illustrators such as Ashley Bryan and Warwick Hutton. She has also written books for adults, as well as plays and Emmy-nominated screenplays, many in collaboration with the actor Hume Cronyn, whom she married in 1996. Hume Cronyn died in 2003 and Ms. Cooper now lives in Marshfield MA. When Cooper is not working, she enjoys playing piano, gardening, and traveling.
Recent books include the collaborative project "The Exquisite Corpse Adventure" and her biography of Jack Langstaff titled "The Magic Maker." Her newest book is "Ghost Hawk."
Visit her Facebook pages: www.facebook.com/SusanCooperFanPage
www.facebook.com/GhostHawkBySusanCooper
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
May 26, 2016
Not as sensational as 'The Machine Gunners', less ostentatiously sophisticated than 'Fireweed', but of all the blitz stories I read as a child, this is the one that stuck with me most. It doesn't seem to have made it onto the popular lists of great WW2 children's literature, and unable to remember the title I hadn't tracked it down until stumbling across it in a library a couple of weeks ago. What an experience to find on every page images and events that have remained with me with incredible clarity after 28 years - though it's hardly surprising, given the simple effectiveness of the writing.
Perhaps it hasn't sustained a wider readership because, unlike other children's books with a WW2 setting, it doesn't have much of a 'hook' - there's no extraordinary inciting event, no unique selling point, it simply portrays the lives of three boys living through the blitz. Even that isn't sensationalised - they have grown up with bombs, so the nightly raids are merely a backdrop to their preoccupations of building a den, and their rivalry with the kids from a different street.
The clever trick Susan Cooper pulls is to show dawning adulthood creeping into these activities: awareness of conflict and violence doesn't come from Nazi bombs, it comes from their own squabbles, though the connection eventually becomes clear in the most gut-wrenching way.
It isn't showy, it isn't glamorous, but it's a sophisticated piece of writing, and in spite of the straightforward style, Cooper captures something immensely poignant about the way boys on the cusp of adolescence interact.
Worthy of a far wider audience (is it even in print any more?!).
Perhaps it hasn't sustained a wider readership because, unlike other children's books with a WW2 setting, it doesn't have much of a 'hook' - there's no extraordinary inciting event, no unique selling point, it simply portrays the lives of three boys living through the blitz. Even that isn't sensationalised - they have grown up with bombs, so the nightly raids are merely a backdrop to their preoccupations of building a den, and their rivalry with the kids from a different street.
The clever trick Susan Cooper pulls is to show dawning adulthood creeping into these activities: awareness of conflict and violence doesn't come from Nazi bombs, it comes from their own squabbles, though the connection eventually becomes clear in the most gut-wrenching way.
It isn't showy, it isn't glamorous, but it's a sophisticated piece of writing, and in spite of the straightforward style, Cooper captures something immensely poignant about the way boys on the cusp of adolescence interact.
Worthy of a far wider audience (is it even in print any more?!).
March 30, 2017
It has been a long time since I picked up a Susan Cooper book, the last being Over Sea, Under Stone. I thought Dawn of Fear was a wonderful story, partly autobiographical, in which Cooper follows the story of three friends who live under the constant threat of Nazi invasion. The story is set within the streets, homes and wilderness around the town within which they live and follows the boys' exploits as they go about creating their own shelter to protect themselves from the bombing.
What struck me was how insightful Cooper's writing and observations of childhood were. I caught myself thinking that the way the boys acted, the reasons why and the thoughts that Derek, the main character, has seemed 'right'. These are considerations that I had not reflected upon before reading this Signs of Childness in Children's Books but which have gone on to make my reading for more astute.
Told in chapters set as days rather than numbers, Cooper's tale is much cleverer than it first appears. Throughout, the idea of war is one of great emotional disconnect to Derek and his friends, it is only in a powerful moment that the reality of the event strikes home.
What struck me was how insightful Cooper's writing and observations of childhood were. I caught myself thinking that the way the boys acted, the reasons why and the thoughts that Derek, the main character, has seemed 'right'. These are considerations that I had not reflected upon before reading this Signs of Childness in Children's Books but which have gone on to make my reading for more astute.
Told in chapters set as days rather than numbers, Cooper's tale is much cleverer than it first appears. Throughout, the idea of war is one of great emotional disconnect to Derek and his friends, it is only in a powerful moment that the reality of the event strikes home.
April 10, 2024
Susan Cooper has written two successful children / YA series, the Boggart and The Dark is Rising. Dawn of Fear is a standalone YA story set in WWII London and follows 3 friends, Derek, Peter and Geoffrey as they navigate the Nazi bombing of their city and try to live as normal lives as possible in this situation.
It's a short story but packs a punch, especially the last half. In some ways it reminds me of Stand By Me but more so of the movie, Hope and Glory, except told from the children's perspective. The boys live on Everett Avenue on the outskirts of London. It's a small street bordered by fields, gardening plots and an army anti-aircraft gun emplacement. Their lives revolve around school and their families. Every chance they get, the 3 head to the ditch in behind their houses, where they are building a fort. Their daily lives are interrupted by air raid sirens (school is closed for a few days when a bomb lands right next to it) and also by the gang of boys on the adjoining street, White Road. The conflict that will result in the last half is directly due to this group of boys.
One day they decide to try a different location, closer to the gardening plots and the army location and they find what they believe is an ideal spot. This is where they build, where they show their camp to a young 16 year old, Tom, about to join the Merchant Navy, and where the conflict with the White Road boys will erupt.
It's a simple story in its way but it packs a punch in each page, whether the nightly terror of living in their back yard bomb shelters as bombers try to destroy their morale and city, or the growing conflict with the White Street boys. It's a wonderful story of comradeship, well told and described. But it's also a story of great tragedy, no matter who simply told. Well worth reading. It will give you pause, I believe. (4.5 stars)
It's a short story but packs a punch, especially the last half. In some ways it reminds me of Stand By Me but more so of the movie, Hope and Glory, except told from the children's perspective. The boys live on Everett Avenue on the outskirts of London. It's a small street bordered by fields, gardening plots and an army anti-aircraft gun emplacement. Their lives revolve around school and their families. Every chance they get, the 3 head to the ditch in behind their houses, where they are building a fort. Their daily lives are interrupted by air raid sirens (school is closed for a few days when a bomb lands right next to it) and also by the gang of boys on the adjoining street, White Road. The conflict that will result in the last half is directly due to this group of boys.
One day they decide to try a different location, closer to the gardening plots and the army location and they find what they believe is an ideal spot. This is where they build, where they show their camp to a young 16 year old, Tom, about to join the Merchant Navy, and where the conflict with the White Road boys will erupt.
It's a simple story in its way but it packs a punch in each page, whether the nightly terror of living in their back yard bomb shelters as bombers try to destroy their morale and city, or the growing conflict with the White Street boys. It's a wonderful story of comradeship, well told and described. But it's also a story of great tragedy, no matter who simply told. Well worth reading. It will give you pause, I believe. (4.5 stars)
September 26, 2019
While the peculiar exploits of British children during WWII were commonplace, I'm not sure there is room for that many great juvenile historical fiction books describing these times. I recently read one of the acknolwedged best, The Machine Gunners, and this earlier book pales in comparison. It's not bad, just not great - and once you've read one of these, so much is redundant.
September 6, 2016
I read Susan Cooper's fantasy series, The Dark is Rising sequence, as a teenager, but don't remember if I ever read Dawn of Fear. At any rate, for some reason I kept this very slim volume when the Dark is Rising novels went to the charity shop. Having read it (again) now, I rather regret giving away the other books.
Dawn of Fear is the story of three fairly ordinary schoolboys who happen to be growing up at a very extraordinary time. Cooper draws on her own experiences of the 1939-1945 war and is very good at capturing the way it has distorted these children's sense of normality - air raids are tinged with excitement rather than fear, older teenagers going off to fight are hero-worshipped, games and fantasies revolve around weapons, ambushes and secret camps. Yet as the War draws closer to them, the children start to see terrifying glimpses of real, adult emotions: fear, grief and anger.
The plot hinges on one particularly powerful shock, one that changes the direction of the story. Cooper delivers this with substantial force, deliberately breaking the boundaries of what readers expect from a story about children, aimed at children. Reading as an adult, I expect it is more harrowing because we realise the full impact it has on the characters, the way it brutally and irretrievably marks the end of their innocence.
My edition was marketed as being for readers of ten and above, but Dawn of Fear is considerably darker and bleaker than most fiction intended for this age group. It is also rather brilliant. Not only is it a powerful evocation of the War from a child’s eye view, keeping the experience alive for future generations lucky enough to experience nothing even remotely similar; it also tells a timeless story of lost innocence and the darkness that even children carry in their hearts.
Dawn of Fear is the story of three fairly ordinary schoolboys who happen to be growing up at a very extraordinary time. Cooper draws on her own experiences of the 1939-1945 war and is very good at capturing the way it has distorted these children's sense of normality - air raids are tinged with excitement rather than fear, older teenagers going off to fight are hero-worshipped, games and fantasies revolve around weapons, ambushes and secret camps. Yet as the War draws closer to them, the children start to see terrifying glimpses of real, adult emotions: fear, grief and anger.
The plot hinges on one particularly powerful shock, one that changes the direction of the story. Cooper delivers this with substantial force, deliberately breaking the boundaries of what readers expect from a story about children, aimed at children. Reading as an adult, I expect it is more harrowing because we realise the full impact it has on the characters, the way it brutally and irretrievably marks the end of their innocence.
My edition was marketed as being for readers of ten and above, but Dawn of Fear is considerably darker and bleaker than most fiction intended for this age group. It is also rather brilliant. Not only is it a powerful evocation of the War from a child’s eye view, keeping the experience alive for future generations lucky enough to experience nothing even remotely similar; it also tells a timeless story of lost innocence and the darkness that even children carry in their hearts.
January 23, 2019
Aspects of this were interesting (about air-raid shelters for example) and Susan Cooper writes very rounded and emotionally believable boys. Whether I entirely want to believe them is another matter. The book's main view of masculinities was very problematic (for all that it was at least plural) and relied pretty heavily on both heterosexuality and misogyny.
The portrayal of grief was pretty well depicted for all that the entire book read as a sort of stretched out short story (but maybe that's what children's books used to be...certainly I didn't mind the lack of cliff-hangers). Best to remember how dated it is when reading this one I think.
The portrayal of grief was pretty well depicted for all that the entire book read as a sort of stretched out short story (but maybe that's what children's books used to be...certainly I didn't mind the lack of cliff-hangers). Best to remember how dated it is when reading this one I think.
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November 14, 2020Three English schoolboys living in a London suburb during the start of the Blitz find more excitement than fear in the nightly bombings. My enjoyment of this one suffered a bit because I read it immediately after Empire of the Sun; although the horrors of war eventually hit home for the boys in Dawn of Fear, their obsession with building a secret hideout just seems frivolous when my last read featured a boy whose main concern was trying to get himself sent to a POW camp so he'd have a *slightly* reduced chance of starving to death.
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August 8, 2024Living in England during World War II, Derek and his friends Peter and Geoffrey are used to the sound of air raids. It's background noise to them, and when the sirens go off they're excited rather than scared like the adults. The boys decide to build a new fort, and in the process start feuding with another group of local kids.
One of her few (only?) books without a fantastical element, this feels very grounded in and lived in. Everywhere there's signs of war - the poor quality food, the bomb shelters, the mothers going to work in factories - but for these kids, it's all they have ever known. The tension rises and rises, and the ending is quite bleak.
One of her few (only?) books without a fantastical element, this feels very grounded in and lived in. Everywhere there's signs of war - the poor quality food, the bomb shelters, the mothers going to work in factories - but for these kids, it's all they have ever known. The tension rises and rises, and the ending is quite bleak.
May 18, 2018
I found this book to be very unappealing. First it was dry and didn't have anything that hooked me right away. Second, there was some awfulness that just seemed to grow and grow without much resolution. And yes, I do understand that most WWII books touch on terrible things, there always seems to be some light thrown in as well (at least for kids' books) but this was just lacking. Pure darkness with no redemption or explanation for its place in the story. I would not recommend.
August 27, 2013
Susan Cooper always writes well. This is one of her deceptively simple books. On the face of it the story is an uncomplicated children's story, but it is, as the title suggests, about learning what fear really is. For Derek and his friends, Peter and Geoffrey, think the war is, as Derek's father said of their attitude: 'Just a great game.' They continue to build their den, go to school, fight off the neighbouring street's children who destroy their den, and wonder, for there are undercurrents they sense the grown ups know about. Even the nightly air raids are adventures, not seriously scary.
Over the nine busy days of the story Derek changes from the boy who thinks war is exciting, who collects shrapnel and enjoys watching the dog fights, to one who understands war as destruction and death.
Susan Cooper's skills turn this difficult subject into one any child can understand. It is also a book which would give a youngster an understanding of what it was like during WWII, seen through the eyes of Derek, someone their age and a likeable character. Whilst I've made the novel sound like a history text, which it could be used for, in fact it is a cracking good read, as are all Susan Cooper's books.
Over the nine busy days of the story Derek changes from the boy who thinks war is exciting, who collects shrapnel and enjoys watching the dog fights, to one who understands war as destruction and death.
Susan Cooper's skills turn this difficult subject into one any child can understand. It is also a book which would give a youngster an understanding of what it was like during WWII, seen through the eyes of Derek, someone their age and a likeable character. Whilst I've made the novel sound like a history text, which it could be used for, in fact it is a cracking good read, as are all Susan Cooper's books.
May 16, 2008
Young Derek is trying to grow up during the bombing of London. He learns lessons about sacrifice and fear in a world we can't control. Overall, I was disapointed in this book. I never fell in love with the characters because they just never revealed themselves to me. The author tries to throw in some deepness at the end of the book, but it's too little too late. An extra thing, the artwork on the cover does not happen in the book, which I found interesting since I found the book to be a let down when it came to substance.
July 29, 2016
I promised myself that I would read some more books about WWII from the English citizen's perspective after I returned from my trip to the UK. This is the first in the line up of books that I have chosen. It is a young adult book but it is well written (as most youth literature is these days) and it is painful to read and yet beautiful. Susan Cooper has never yet disappointed me and I would recommend this book just as I have all of her others. But read it too, don't just give it to your children. It is one that should be discussed a wee bit.
March 13, 2020
Most of this book seemed to be an old-fashioned story for boys. Set in World War II it follows three boys - Peter, Derek and Geoffrey - and their lives living on a street at that time. We see them build a secret camp and the tensions between them and the 'Children from the White Road'. And like many such books things are 'smashing' and 'beastly'!
But there's a darker side to book, we see the war in the background and how they don't know a life without it. They don't fully understand the dangers and long to be closer to the excitement, delaying going into shelters to try see a dogfight. It's not till the end of the book that they suddenly appreciate how awful the war is.
I wanted to enjoy this book, but I found for me there was a bit much on their camp, and mud-ball fights etc. which dragged on. It emphasises the impact of the ending on the ordinary boys, but it feels rather flat and uninteresting. Which is a shame, as seeing how their view on the war they are living in develops felt quite skillfully done.
But there's a darker side to book, we see the war in the background and how they don't know a life without it. They don't fully understand the dangers and long to be closer to the excitement, delaying going into shelters to try see a dogfight. It's not till the end of the book that they suddenly appreciate how awful the war is.
I wanted to enjoy this book, but I found for me there was a bit much on their camp, and mud-ball fights etc. which dragged on. It emphasises the impact of the ending on the ordinary boys, but it feels rather flat and uninteresting. Which is a shame, as seeing how their view on the war they are living in develops felt quite skillfully done.
January 8, 2021
For a kids book, I found this hard going, and I struggled to keep going and finish this book. The ending is worth it, in that brings together so many of the ideas spread throughout the story. Very bleak throughout, but guess it works to show the realities of WWII for English kids in a way that makes sense for kids reading it.
content warning:
content warning:
April 5, 2025
This lost me in terms of momentum, but once I decided to plow through it on a plane, it became clear that the whole thing is an allegory for war, and also about war. Very meta. Lots of symbolism, while remaining utterly readable as a surface level story. 3.5 rounded up to 4 for being important and evocative.
April 2, 2018
I thought I should read some of Cooper's other books, besides The Dark is Rising series. This was really good. It mostly just goes along, tra la, slice-of-wartime-life, and then the ending really got me. So well done.
January 15, 2018
I found this book interesting for a few chapters and the middle boring with a touching ending.
April 29, 2019
this book is bad
May 25, 2020
Novella with remarkable insight into the savage life of boys -- this time during the Blitz.
July 20, 2020
Boys living their lives during the Blitz, lives of their own. Parents are there of course, living in their own separate parent world. But this is life as seen by a child, and well done it is.
July 6, 2021
By turns boring and horrific.
January 21, 2025
This book shocked me. I hadn’t expected an old children’s book I found for a Euro to move me like this one did. I shouldn’t say more about it, besides recommend it be read.
April 26, 2020
As with other older treatments of childhood in World War II (such as Carrie's War), this book focuses on the day to day perspective of the children themselves and doesn't load onto the children insights and political views that they would very probably not have had. Nor does it set out to teach readers about rationing etc. It is just a story set in a particular time and place which is why it is so powerful. The three boys in this novel are highly convincing, including the ambivalent relationship of Derek and Geoffrey. Their daily comings and goings and excitement about the barrage balloons and days off school feel real, as does the occasional awareness of the danger of the war. The climax of the novel is stark and offers the reader no comfort or resolution. Overall, this could be a very effective way of opening up the life of a child during the war to a KS2 class though the lack of action might hinder access for some, particularly in the age of Alex Rider et al., and the writing and sentence construction could be a challenge to some. A teacher would need to be aware of the sudden ending. The book is not long and could work as a class book to support study of life in Britain during WW2.
April 4, 2014
I read this as part of research for an essay I am planning for my MA on representation of war in children's literature (particularly WW1 and WW2) as a possible contrast book against Robert Westall's work. There are elements in this that are similar to Westall's The Machine Gunners - mainly how children often create their own sense of war during times of conflict. In both books, children gather into groups and plan their own kind of Home Guard. In both, there is tragedy that affects the children directly, who are consistently and constantly bombed. However, while Westall's work has been criticized for being overly violent, there is a sense of optimism at the end that isn't there in Dawn of Fear (I won't say any more for fear of spoiling it!). While Dawn of Fear is aimed at younger readers than The Machine Gunners, what unravels is potentially more distressing so I would take care when reading this with children younger than 10.
February 1, 2024
Derek and his friends, Peter and Geoff, live outside of London during World War II. Their nights are often spent in backyard bomb shelters while German bombers fly over on their way to London. Occasionally, a bomb is accidently dropped on their neighborhood. Even when a bomb explodes near the school killing a nice old woman, Derek and his friends are unable to feel any fear. They react to the temporary closure of school with joy. The forced vacation gives them more time to build their secret camp and hunt for treasures left in the bomb craters. A tough gang from White Road sabotages their camp and steals their hidden cache of artifacts. The mud and fist fight that ensues is quickly overshadowed by the bombing that takes place that very night. Suddenly, the war becomes very real, and Derek’s feelings about it are changed forever.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com
December 27, 2010
this was a kick in the head.
one week in the life of a half dozen 10-12 year olds near London during ww2. not a nice story. made me thankful for not living during wartimes that affect me personally. this goes in depth about what "normal" life was like in Britian then. breakfast, play, radio programmes are natural part of the story.
the ending could have gone many ways, fortunately it didn't, it went true to the story.
just read the bio of Susan Cooper on goodreads. i assumed she wrote the book as an outsider, an american having well researched contemporary English life. she grew up in Britian, first woman to edit the Oxford university paper, wrote for Ian Fleming before coming to US and owning the Newbery medal for several years and marrying Hume Cronyn.
now i need to find out if she wrote an autobiography.
one week in the life of a half dozen 10-12 year olds near London during ww2. not a nice story. made me thankful for not living during wartimes that affect me personally. this goes in depth about what "normal" life was like in Britian then. breakfast, play, radio programmes are natural part of the story.
the ending could have gone many ways, fortunately it didn't, it went true to the story.
just read the bio of Susan Cooper on goodreads. i assumed she wrote the book as an outsider, an american having well researched contemporary English life. she grew up in Britian, first woman to edit the Oxford university paper, wrote for Ian Fleming before coming to US and owning the Newbery medal for several years and marrying Hume Cronyn.
now i need to find out if she wrote an autobiography.
August 10, 2009
Rather different from usual war stories, Dawn of Fear presents us with a very civilian, almost humdrum take on World War II. Three boys, Derek, Peter and Geoffrey, go to school, build fortresses and fight with rival gangs against a backdrop of near-daily air raids and bombings. I thought the boys' childishness and emotions were very realistic, though as another reviewer has commented, the opportunity to inject more depth into the story comes too little, too late in this book.
April 29, 2012
This book takes a bit to get up to speed but ultimately it does a good job of dealing with a very difficult topic. The book is about young boys during World War 2. Originally they are fascinated by the war but over the course of the book they learn to feel differently. It's a pretty gut-wrenching read as an adult but I couldn't say how it would go over with a younger crowd.
It's not my favorite Susan Cooper book but it was quite good.
It's not my favorite Susan Cooper book but it was quite good.
October 18, 2014
For adults, this book about three boys in England during WWII will be pretty predictable; for the young adult readers for whom it is intended, however, the ending may come as a surprise. The book is an ordinary story about ordinary boys, who find the war unremarkable because it has been their backdrop for so long. The shattering event at the end therefore comes as a shock, but the choice to structure the book this way seems an appropriate testament to the randomness of tragedy in war.
June 10, 2009
During WW2, Daerek and his friends fearless unconcern with enemy planes that fly over their neighborhood on their way to bomb London, undergoes a change as the raids become more severe. When a rival group of boys destroys their secret camp they come face-to-face with grown-up hatred. A bomb directly hits one boys house killing the entire family and things will never be the same. Grades 4+
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews