Michelle Magorian

This made me bawl like a baby. During WW2, young Willie Beech, an evacuee is sent to live with Tom Oakley. Tom is a gruff rather solitary old man who has lived a solitary life since the death of his young wife and infant child many years ago. Willie is a sad, neglected child, covered in bruises from his mother's frequent discipline with a belt, and for the first time he finds out what it is like to be properly looked after by an adult. Tom comes out of him self too, and the two forge a show more strong bond. Then Willie's emotionally unstable mother calls him back to London, and something terrible happens - it's a very big plot spoiler, so I won't tell what it is, but I nearly could't see the page for tears.
Very highly recommended - but you will need tissues. show less

8-year-old Willie is one of the many London children evacuated to the countryside during WWII. He gets placed with the town curmudgeon, Mr. Tom, and thus a beautifully unlikely pair is born. Willie comes from a poverty-stricken part of London and has been physically and mentally abused by his mother. He's small and thin and weak; he's also far behind where he should be in school. But Mr. Tom, despite his gruff exterior (forged by his own tragic backstory), is all kindness and gentleness when show more it comes to caring for the boy, and Willie soon starts to thrive. He makes friends, finds confidence in himself, and learns that love isn't terrifying or painful. But then his mother writes that she wants him back home and both he and Mr. Tom have some heavy decisions to make.
Oh, but this is a lovely book. I have an absolute soft spot for Evacuated London Children stories, and this is one of the best. Not only is the relationship between Willie and Mr. Tom so very well crafted, but all the other members of the small country village have depth and their stories are lovingly told as well. It's a perfect mix of heartbreaking and happy-making without being at all saccharine. Highly recommended. show less

As an ardent anglophile, I loved this wartime novel -- the setting in a small town during WWII and the slow unfurling of the characters was just delightful. I read it, initially, because someone I know is annoyed at The War That Saved My Life, and feels that it was a bad knockoff of this book. I have to say that I liked them both, for different reasons, and while they share the major plotline of an abused child benefiting from the London evacuations, I think they are very different books. show more This one is for a more mature audience, and confronts worse things, I think, or at least, more extreme ones. Nonetheless, a lovely idyll about love and fresh air and kindness. show less

Wow... storia commovente e delicata, forse non epica, ma certamente scritta bene e coinvolgente.
Qualcuno potrebbe obiettare che si tratta di una storia buonista, troppo piena di buoni sentimenti a buon mercato, ma io l'ho letta davvero con piacere e lo rifarei subito.

Il libro racconta la storia di due debolezze che insieme diventano una grande forza e si aiutano a vicenda a superare i dolori e i dispiaceri della vita.
Da una parte un burbero vedovo che si isola da tutto e da tutti come un show more eremita fuori dalla società, incapace di lasciarsi alle spalle il suo lutto; dall'altra un ragazzino maltrattato ed abusato che non conosce il significato della parola "felicità" perché non l'ha mai provata nella sua vita.

E forse quel burbero vedovo e quel ragazzino triste avevano solo bisogno di incontrarsi per dare una svolta e un significato alle proprie vite ed è quello che accade a partire dal 1939 nella campagna intorno a Londra, dove i ragazzini della capitale venivano sfollati e affidati temporaneamente agli abitanti dei villaggi per salvarli dai bombardamenti nazisti sulla città.

Ma è anche un libro che racconta di un'amicizia adolescenziale, quell'amicizia vera e totalizzante, per quanto infantile o forse proprio per questo, che lascia segni profondi nell'anima dei protagonisti.
Dovendola definire, direi che è una storia di rinascita e di speranza e credo che sia impossibile non empatizzare con i personaggi di questo libro, a meno di avere un cuore di pietra.

Confesso che ultimamente sono un po' troppo propenso alle lacrime, ma non so proprio come si possa leggere questo libro senza versarne qualcuna (siete avvisati).
Però leggetelo, fa bene al cuore show less