It's May 1944 and Cassie Covington fleas from her uncle's funeral to find strangers searching her house so once again she fleas in fear of her own safety. She knows little about her uncle except that he had been a spy before the start of the war and that he was her only living relative. Where would she live now? Who could she turn to for safety? Little does she know that she holds the lives of thousands of soldiers in her hands.
A fast moving story of 'Who are the bad guys? Are there actually any bad guys?' in the Enid Blyton fashion but here Watson does it in a new way for a new generation. He tells the story without patronising the reader and brings to the young reader a lot of history about the war in a semi educational style. Having said that he brought forward things about the war that I didn't know (but that's not too hard) and that Maryom didn't know (and that's much harder). He also made you think, more deeply, about what life was really like for children during the war. We have all been told in the classroom what it was like but here Watson brings it much more to life and brings day to day things that you may not have considered before into your thoughts as well.
But without all this 'educational resource' stuff he first and foremost tells an excellent story that entertains for the sake of it. With a young girl for hero but boys dotted throughout the story it will appeal to all readers of nine or older although mature readers would probably enjoy this from the age of seven. Having said that, I am a little older than either of those age groups and I learned from it and more importantly thoroughly enjoyed it.
Publisher - Catnip Publishing
Genre - Children's 9+ fiction, War
Buy Hidden Lies (Paradise Barn Quartet)
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