Fliss is on the way to visit her grandmother in Wales - the grandmother who she doesn't get on with - with her mother who is recuperating from chemotherapy. But her mum is getting better, that's the main thing, so Fliss can concentrate on being grouchy and not looking forward to meeting her grandmother Margot, who is so cold and always so unforgiving of Fliss's every mistake . . . But when the six months is up, Fliss consoles herself, she and her mum will go back to London and back to Real Life!
In the meantime Fliss needs to get used to her new school, not upset the scary girls, and just keep her head down (whilst still making sure that everybody knows she is from London, of course). Then Fliss discovers a diary at the back of her bookcase. It is from the 1940s and is set in World War II, and, Fliss realises, is actually Margot's diary from when she was a young woman during the Blitz. Intrigued, Fliss begins to read. There she discovers a whole new side to Margot, a wartime romance and also Margot's deepest, most buried secret. And it is then that Fliss discovers something terrible in her own life that she is going to have to come to terms with...
A brilliantly written love story from acclaimed teen writer Juno Dawson
My thoughts
Just a perfect read for me. I've been a huge fan of Juno's work since Hollow Pike and I was very excited to get my hands on this. I'm pleased to report it is awesome and I think it is my new favourite Juno Dawson book. I loved Fliss as a character, getting to know her, seeing her adapt to life in Wales and all the rubbish that comes with being the new girl. Juno captures that teenage voice perfectly. I loved the historical elements to the story and how Fliss learnt more about her Grandmother Margot from reading her teenage diaries set during WW2. I love good historical fiction so this really appealed to me from the moment I heard the book was split like this and I was so pleased that it was done really well. The story itself I really enjoyed. Without going into spoiler territory I really like where the story went and how poignant is was towards the end and seeing how the relationship between Fliss and Margot develops.
Comments