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gillothen's review
3.0
The sort of "gritty" book publishers approved of in the 70s, so a little surprising to find it's as late as 1995. Johnnie's dad is in the Army, he was sent to an approved school because he couldn't prove he owned a watch found in his possession, escaped and now lives on the edge of society with relatives who deal in scrap. A three-year-old girl appears and he's 'accidentally' evacuated to a gypsy camp on the edge of London and struggles to get her home safely. Some fairly brutal scenes of beatings, the toddler wetting herself and being beaten for it, strong (and violent) prejudice against evacuees and gypsy children.
A OK read, but it feels dated and I wouldn't exactly urge it on a child.
Spoiler
The end is inconclusive as, the child returned, he plans to escape again, back to the encampment. Not exactly hopeful.A OK read, but it feels dated and I wouldn't exactly urge it on a child.
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