Two young boys, an old tramp, a beautiful lost dancer and her baby - rag-tag survivors of a sudden war - form a fragile family holding together in the remnants of a fun fair. This is a vivid, poetic story about life in the margins and the power of empathy and imagination to triumph over adversity.Skip's an outsider, a quiet observer. He draws pictures to make sense of the world. He's never fitted in. So he takes to the streets. Life there may be hard, but it's better than the one he's left, especially when he teams up with old Billy. Then come the bombs which leave little Max in his care, and also Tia, the sad dancer, with her sweet baby, Sixpence. Scavenging for food, living on love and imagination...how long can Skip's fragile new family hold out as war grips the city?'I love how outcasts, eccentrics and the uncommon qualities of being human emerge as heroes in Glenda Millard's novels. The authenticity of the characters comes from her willingness to expose her soul with every sentence.' Stephen Michael King'This book shows how the kindness of strangers can often be purest, and how those who have nothing can be the richest people in the world.' Anna, age 15'It made me think about what was important in life.' Keely, age 14
Reviews with the most likes.
Work was slow last night, so I read this. I really liked Skip, he had incredible attention to detail (just like his artist heroes). This is a quick, thoughtful read. I enjoyed the story and thought the characters were strong.
I had some issues with the foreshadowing...there was a lot of it, and it usually ended up the opposite of what had been predicted. I can't go into it without listing a bunch of spoilers. Two I have a feeling this book has been “fixed” with American idioms that were not present in the original version. I am willing to bet they were playing cricket on the beach, not baseball etc. Not that it mattered. We were not supposed to know where the characters were anyway-it was a nameless war-torn city.
The story is one of hope.
I recommend it to anyone who loves EOTW fiction, because this is a new take on it-Skip and Billy are homeless and barely surviving BEFORE the war and this puts them in a BETTER position than others.
There is a lot to ponder and discuss in this little novel.
I do wonder if we should move it out of juvenile fiction and into YA, simply so that it may find a bigger audience. Also the cover is very Shan looking and may confuse the kiddos who pick it up.
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