Goodnight Mister Tom

Goodnight Mister Tom is set in the middle of World War Two between September 1939-1941. William Beech, the protagonist of the novel is sent to the village of Little Weirwold where he finds Mr. Thomas Oakley, a recluse. Mr. Thomas Oakley became a recluse as a result of his wife and child passing away from Scarletina, an infectious disease. The death of his wife and child had such a huge impact on him that he isolated himself at home for 40 years. He did not socialize due to their deaths.

Prior to William Beech stepping on Mr. Thomas Oakley’s doorstep, he was continuously punished and beaten up by his religious mother. Her cold-hearted attitude made William feel unwanted and useless. When William showed up to Thomas’ house he had bruises and marks all over his body from his mother. Mr. Thomas Oakley cared, dressed and fed William till he was told to go back to his mother because she was ‘sick’. At this point in the novel, Michelle Magorian makes the reader feel sympathetic for William and we know that the mother has evil intentions of William returning back home.

Goodnight Mr. Tom is a story of Willie's recovery from severe abuse that is given an unusually rich and vivid setting. The novel reads like a page- turner, when Tom journeys to London to find Willie. Goodnight Mr. Tom is grim and horrifying. The novel is also very descriptive and if you are a good reader and interested in the Second World War then this is the sort of book for you to read. Goodnight Mr. Tom is a very good book and it includes sadness as well as adventure. I think that most people who read this book will enjoy it and I certainly recommend it. I don’t recommend this book for young children; I don’t think that they will understand it a lot. Overall I rate this book an 8 out of 10.

Mission Telemark by Amanda Mitchison

Four teenagers and one deadly mission. The odds of them coming back, almost impossible. A story of courage and intelligence in the face of adversity as British Secret Services come up with a plan that could possibly end World War II. They decide to train Åse, Frederick, Jakob and Lars, four 13 year old adolescents, from occupied Norway. Their mission, to blow up heavy water stores at Vemork and prevent the Nazis from making an atomic bomb. You follow the characters journey through the snowy mountains and rivers and read on as they struggle to survive.

This is a great read for anyone around the ages of 14 or 15. I felt that I could relate well with the four main characters because we are all around the same age and their thoughts and feelings would be similar to mine in the same situation. Over the course of the mission the characters got closer and closer to each other and gained each other’s trust. When Amanda Mitchison wrote the description of Vemork, it was extremely easy to paint a picture in my head of the rocky cliffs and the flowing streams that surrounded the plant.

It kept me wanting to turn the next page because I had to know what would happen to the characters next and if anything would happen to them. I felt I was part of the expeditions that the group went on. There was also a great message about teamwork and how individuals can work together to get an objective done and i think that's important because it is something that we can learn to do today.

The Youngest Templar (Book 1 in series) by Michael P. Spradlin

The Youngest Templar is set in Medieval England and the Holyland. While the plot is set many centuries ago in history, the questions that trouble the main character Tristan are still being asked today. Is war really a glorious pursuit? What ideals are really worth dying for?
Tristan is an orphan, knowing nothing of his parents or origins. He has been brought up by the kindly, hard-working monks at St. Albans abbey. As he nears the age to leave the protection of the monks, Sir Thomas Leuw takes a keen interest in him and hires Tristan to be his squire on a Crusade to recapture the Holyland from the Muslim Saracens. The title refers to the Templar knights, who were the fighting units of the Crusades.
What follows is a thrilling, often violent, story of adventure and narrow escapes. The story ends with more questions than it began about Tristan and the precious treasure that has been entrusted to him.