Reviews

This was an incredibly poignant story. It had a slow start for me because although I was curious about Lucy and her history I really wasn't pulled into the story until both points of view were presented. Once I could begin to see the two sides of the story coming together, it moved much more quickly because I just had to know exactly how the two came together.

There are wonderful characters and relationships in this story. It was amazing to see how the Wheatcroft family took in Lucy and loved her through all of the difficulty it created for them. The slow understanding of all of the tragedy through which Lucy suffered and persevered was made even stronger by seeing it through her actions and the consequences for her and the family that took her in.

* I received an electronic copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review.

skyegbooks's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful informative sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Predictable plot from the get go.

Content Warnings

ngracie_xx's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

laurenmamie's review

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adventurous informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

janeerayy's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Beautiful writing, plot twist, historical

anoushkaghosh's review

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5.0

This book was mind-blowing, that's all I got to say.

amdame1's review

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4.0

Alfie and his parents live on a small island off the English coast. One day while he and his dad are out fishing, they hear crying from an uninhabited island and discover a young girl. They rescue her and take her home with them as she was close to dying. She is mute except for two words: Lucy and piano. Lucy (as they call her) and Alfie become friends and everyone tries to figure out who this girl is and where she came from.
Love the historical accuracy and detail of the book. Characters are all complex and well-rounded. For example, not everyone is all bad or all good; rather, they are nuanced. Because the main characters are around 12-years-old, this will sell best in upper elem and middle school, but high schoolers who are interested in WWI could also be quickly drawn into it.

*My only hang-up with it was not being able to tell if it was actually written about Morpurgo's family or not. This is because the first section is called "To Begin" rather than "Prologue."

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