Goodnight Mister Tom: Michelle Magorian (A Puffin Book)

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William heals through his friendship with another recluse, Geoffrey Sanderton, a young man who lost a leg during the war and gives William private art lessons. After Geoffrey shares a photo of his own best friend, who is also dead, William begins to come to terms with Zach's death. Using Zach's bike, William teaches himself to ride. He realises that Zach will always be a part of him. William also grows closer to Carrie as they bond over Zach's memories.

William remains bedridden and traumatised by his ordeal. He blames himself for the death of his sister, as he was not able to give her enough milk. Zach visits him daily. William grows stronger and visits his favourite teacher, Annie Hartridge. From Annie and Zach, William learns that he could not have fed a baby on his own and that a woman cannot conceive a child on her own. He realises his mother had sex with a man, though she told him that it was a sin for unmarried men and women to consort. He no longer blames himself for his sister's death. Slowly but surely, with Mister Tom’s kindness and wisdom, and the help of the good people in the nearby community, Willie begins to flourish. He makes friends, and discovers what it’s like to have a normal childhood.You will love Tom. He’s the perfect adult character of all time for me! I just wish every adult to be this giving, caring and nurturing towards every child. Willie finally reaches the standard of reading and writing required to join his friends in Miss Hartridge's class. There, rather than struggling, he actually performs very well, much to everyone's surprise. Carrie, a top student in the class, requests to take the exam so she can attend high school. William Beech is an evacuee from London during WWII, and Tom Oakley is the reclusive elderly man who has the boy foisted upon him. Will is a child who has been abused and bullied and his fear is evident almost immediately to Mr. Tom, who is a very kind man at heart. The reader witnesses the growing relationship that saves these two people, who don’t always fit with the rest of the world, as they face both everyday life and some traumatic experiences together. The twins Carrie and Ginnie are almost impossible to tell apart but are actually quite different in personality. Like George, Carrie is very interested in plants and animals, whereas Ginnie prefers more traditionally feminine pursuits, such as homemaking and sewing. They tend to confide everything in each other so when Carrie decides to ask if she can take the examination for the local high school and confides her plan in Zach, Ginnie's feelings are very hurt. Carrie is extremely intelligent and loves studying, and is also ambitious and determined to not fit into the usual mould when it comes to opportunities for women. Despite support from her father, Carrie's attendance at the high school is not something her mother truly believes in and consequently Carrie often has to study outside of the home where her mother cannot find her to avoid being told to stop reading and do chores instead. Carrie has a particularly close relation with Zach, and so his passing deeply affects her. In the last chapter, we see a budding relationship between Carrie and Will. Annie Hartridge It soon becomes apparent to Tom that Willie hasn’t had a happy childhood, that in fact, he’s been subjected to cruelty and deprivation, and so Tom sets out to improve the boy’s life.

We see that Tom is a man of integrity, who has a strong grip of what is right and wrong. If something is right, he will do it, regardless of whether or not it is easy. Tom breaks the rules of the hospital by kidnapping Willie because his moral sense, personified through his wife, tells him to do so. His fiercely loving nature gives him the courage to make these difficult choices and take risks to defy what he perceives to be unfair. William Beech Michelle Magorian's award winning historical novel is a wonderful re-read for me, I read it so long ago and it was a joy to re-acquaint myself with it. Some of you may be familiar with the story through the fabulous movie starring John Thaw. At the beginning of WW2, young Willie Beech is evacuated from London to a small rural village to stay with the withdrawn, grumpy loner that is Tom Oakley. When Willie first arrives he is a frightened and traumatised child, and no wonder, he has been abused, neglected and bullied, but as he begins to settle into the community and eat proper meals, he starts to blossom, even overcoming his fear of Sammy, the dog. Tom and Willie are so good for each other, but Willie's happiness is endangered with his terrifying return to his nightmare of a cruel, 'religious' mother. When Tom doesn't hear from Willie, he decides to go to London. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review*

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The other protagonist of the novel, Willie is an eight-year-old evacuee from Deptford, a neighborhood of London. After a huge threat of bombing raids from the German Air Force in his hometown, Willie is sent to Little Weirwold, a country village in the north of England. When Willie arrives on the doorstep of Mr. Tom, he is a nervous, scrawny, and quiet little boy. He has been subjected to intense abuse and neglect from his extremely religious mother all of his life. This abuse has shaped Willie into someone who can barely engage in a conversation with Mr. Tom and frequently wets the bed. Everything in his new home initially terrifies Will, such as a squirrel in the yard and Sammy the dog, who he eventually comes to love. Tom Oakley, or "Mister Tom" as William calls him, is a reclusive and ill-tempered widower in his sixties. He is avoided by the community and vice versa. William's mother wanted William to live with someone who was either religious or lived near a church, and Tom takes in Willie. Though initially distant, Tom is moved after discovering William's home life and treats him with kindness. William grows attached to Tom and his dog, Sammy. I just can’t imagine what it must have been like for all those children who were sent away at the beginning of WWII, to live with total strangers.