There was time, during World War Two, that Britain was under constant threat of bombings. The attacks would often happen at night, and the only warning they’d get was an air raid siren just before. Once the siren went off, they had to grab their families, and rush to the nearest subway tunnel or underground shelter. Sometimes they didn’t make it in time, and were blown up; sometimes they did, only to emerge in the morning to find their home and all of their belongings nothing but rubble and ash. It was a horrible time to be British, and people feared for the safety of their children, so a solution was created: ship your children off to another country for the time being! One of these ships was called The City of Benares and would take ninety children to Canada as a part of the Children’s Overseas Reception Board (CORB) program. It was a great idea that would take them far away from the action. But sadly, nobody could’ve predicted the torpedo, and nobody could’ve predicted the hundreds of lives that would be lost. This is the story of the sinking of “The Children’s Ship”, the young lives that were lost, the ones that weren’t, and the people who became heroes overnight.
I cannot express how glad I am that I found this. If I hadn’t, I probably would’ve never found out about it. I absolutely love reading history that I never learned in school, and I think it’s extremely important that tragedies like these are never forgotten. The suspense was very well done as well. I recommend this book to any history fanatics like me.
My favorite part of the book was definitely the last ten or so chapters. I won’t spoil what happens in them, but they do contain a lot of tension.
Reviewed by Dahlia, Twin Hickory
HCPL TeenScene's Read + Review 