Sandy Taylor's
When We Danced at the End of the Pier absolutely blew my mind and I still talk about it and recommend it often. I've still been holding off on reading the other books in that particular series because I've felt that there was no way that they could measure up. How could an author possibly pen multiple books that would both tear at my heart and make me laugh until I cried? Of course, then
The Runaway Children was announced, and a spot on the blog tour opened up for my birthday, and I knew it was somehow fated. Somehow I knew that Sandy Taylor was once again going to keep me up at night, and her characters would become treasured loved ones.
I wasn't wrong at all.
The Runaway Children focuses on Nell Patterson and her little sister, Olive. They're evacuated from their home in the East end of London with their brother Tony -- leaving behind their mother, newborn brother, and everyone and everything they know and love. Like so many other children they were sent to the countryside in Wales. Watching the two girls adjust to their changing circumstances was as much of a roller coaster for me as it was for the characters. I grew attached to Taylor's villages and inhabitants -- most of them, anyway. Most of all, though, I grew attached to Nell and Olive and their amazing relationship. The age difference is significantly different here than it was between the sisters in When We Danced, but here it worked in making the relationship even more special.
I don't want to say too much because I fear that if I truly start gushing about how perfect this book was, I won't be able to stop until I've given it all away. This is one that needs to be read rather than told.
*****
Visit the other tour stops:
UK 🇬🇧
http://amzn.to/2xAwtXf
US 🇺🇸
http://amzn.to/2iDTz5i
A heart-wrenching, unforgettable story of two evacuee sisters during the Second World War… Perfect for fans of Orphan Train, Nadine Dorries and Diney Costeloe.
London, 1942: Thirteen-year-old Nell and five-year-old Olive are being sent away from the devastation of the East End. They are leaving the terror of the Blitz and nights spent shivering in air raid shelters behind them, but will the strangers they are billeted with be kind and loving, or are there different hardships ahead?
As the sisters struggle to adjust to life as evacuees, they soon discover that living in the countryside isn’t always idyllic. Nell misses her mother and brothers more than anything but she has to stay strong for Olive. Then, when little Olive’s safety is threatened by a boy on a farm, Nell has to make a decision that will change their lives forever…
They must run from danger and try to find their way home.
Together the two girls hold each other’s hands as they begin their perilous journey across bombed-out Britain. But when Nell falls ill, can she still protect her little sister from the war raging around them? And will they ever be reunited from the family they’ve been torn from?
An unputdownable novel of unconditional love, friendship and the fight for survival during a time of unimaginable change. The Runaway Children is guaranteed to find a place in your heart.
About the author:
Sandy Taylor grew up on a council estate near Brighton. There were no books in the house, so Sandy’s love of the written word was nurtured in the little local library. Leaving school at fifteen, Sandy worked in a series of factories before landing a job at Butlins in Minehead. This career change led her to becoming a singer, a stand up comic and eventually a playwright and novelist.
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