Scan barcode
A review by piperhath
The Girl from London by Olivia Spooner
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The Girl From London follows the story of Ruth, a young schoolteacher who volunteers as an escort to help evacuate children from Europe, down under to Australia and New Zealand during WWII. We also follow the story of Hazel, a young Kiwi who is traveling to the UK in 2005 and was gifted Ruth's story by her grandfather as a farewell present. Where will these two stories overlap?
Thank you so much to Tandem Collective Global and Moa Press for organising this read-along and for the copy of the book. This was, as always, so much fun! Now onto the review.
To quote my mum, this is "something different for you" and she's correct. Historical fiction books are not usually ones I reach for (so many good books, so little time) but this might just be the book that changes that narrative! I especially loved reading a book set around our neck of the woods, it made me feel more connected to the storyline and also felt homely.
As for the content itself, it was very informative. I knew little about the child evacuation program during WWII before reading this book so it expanded my knowledge on that. I also had no idea about the Rangitane tragedy so I spent a good hour browsing the internet for more information on that. I also loved Fergus, Betty, and Una's characters and wished we got to have more of their scenes throughout.
While I did enjoy the story as a whole, I did struggle to connect to the two main characters Ruth and Hazel. Maybe it's because I haven't had my around-the-world adventure yet. I also wasn't vibing with the whole "unavailable" trope in this story and kinda thought it was unnecessary, especially for Hazel's story. Like why can't they just be friends? Why must they always fall in love? The writing style was also a little sloppy but still had a good flow.
The ending was also quite enjoyable but I agree with other readers when they say the middle portion had little depth and at times didn't hold my attention.
Overall, this was still a really enjoyable book. It was very fast-paced and captivating. I'd recommend this book to any historical fiction lover or someone who wants to hear more stories from Down Under.
Thank you so much to Tandem Collective Global and Moa Press for organising this read-along and for the copy of the book. This was, as always, so much fun! Now onto the review.
To quote my mum, this is "something different for you" and she's correct. Historical fiction books are not usually ones I reach for (so many good books, so little time) but this might just be the book that changes that narrative! I especially loved reading a book set around our neck of the woods, it made me feel more connected to the storyline and also felt homely.
As for the content itself, it was very informative. I knew little about the child evacuation program during WWII before reading this book so it expanded my knowledge on that. I also had no idea about the Rangitane tragedy so I spent a good hour browsing the internet for more information on that. I also loved Fergus, Betty, and Una's characters and wished we got to have more of their scenes throughout.
While I did enjoy the story as a whole, I did struggle to connect to the two main characters Ruth and Hazel. Maybe it's because I haven't had my around-the-world adventure yet. I also wasn't vibing with the whole "unavailable" trope in this story and kinda thought it was unnecessary, especially for Hazel's story. Like why can't they just be friends? Why must they always fall in love? The writing style was also a little sloppy but still had a good flow.
The ending was also quite enjoyable but I agree with other readers when they say the middle portion had little depth and at times didn't hold my attention.
Overall, this was still a really enjoyable book. It was very fast-paced and captivating. I'd recommend this book to any historical fiction lover or someone who wants to hear more stories from Down Under.