Publishers Weekly
★ 02/18/2019
In this WWII thriller, Strange (The Secret of Nightingale Wood) crafts an evocative portrait of wartime suspicion and intrigue. Narrator Petra (Pet) lives with her older sister Mags, and her English Pa and German Mutti in a lighthouse cottage on England’s South East coast—a lighthouse they must paint camouflage green as Britain faces imminent war. In 1939, local authorities drag Pet’s beloved Mutti, classified as an “enemy alien” because of her German ancestry, into a tribunal to investigate her loyalties. The authorities rule to intern her indefinitely “as a matter of national security.” Divided into three parts, the narrative expertly reveals a web of rumors, doubt, prejudice, and mistrust even within Pet’s own family through unraveling secrets about Pet’s parents’ wedding, Mags’s relationship with a local boy, a trip to Dunkirk, and their Pa’s charts and logbooks, seized for evidence by the police. Strange seamlessly blends a local legend, of four girls turned into ancient standing stones on the lighthouse’s clifftop, with the larger story. A standout historical novel with a memorable protagonist, strongly sketched setting, and a compelling, twisty plot. Ages 8–12. (Apr.)
From the Publisher
Praise for Our Castle by the Sea* "A plot summary can only hint at the satisfaction of reading this tightly interwoven story with its haunting setting and memorable characters." — Booklist (starred review)* "Strange seamlessly blends a local legend of four girls turned into ancient standing stones on the lighthouse's clifftop into a larger story...A standout historical novel with a memorable protagonist, strongly sketched setting, and a compelling, twisty plot." — Publisher's Weekly (starred review)* "Lucy Strange's second middle-grade work features elegant prose and an enchanting protagonist. Pet is earnest and unwavering, and the "small, mousy, and unimportant" girl at the beginning of the story is quite different from the strong young woman who emerges by the end... This haunting, historical novel is sure to touch young readers' hearts." — Shelf Awareness (starred review)"The slow dismantling of Petra's faith in her loved ones adds a delicious instability to the growing unease of this WWII thriller. — Kirkus"[Lucy Strange] gives us a real sense of how war and other people's suspicions can be contagious and fracture the strongest family unit." — The Times (UK)Praise for The Secret of Nightingale Wood:A Shelf Awareness Best Children's Book of the YearA BookPage Best Children's Book of the YearAn Amazon Top 20 Best Children's Book of the YearA Kirkus Best Book of the YearA Telegraph Top 50 Book of the YearA Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book of the Year* "In an imaginative, compelling first-person narration, Henry wraps her story in fairy tales, exposing her guilt, grief, isolation, and fear as she unravels the stunning secrets of Nightingale Wood. An evocative, beautifully written, mesmerizing debut tale with lush fairy-tale themes and a poignant exploration of mental illness-enthralling." - Kirkus Reviews, starred review* "Compelling...Strange effectively weaves in fairy tales, poetry, and themes common to classic children's literature, reflecting Hen's love of books. A brave heroine propels this strong and richly layered novel, a memorable portrait of grief, resilience, and rebirth." - Publishers Weekly, starred review* "Strange tells a lovely, extraordinarily enchanting coming-of-age tale." - Shelf Awareness, starred review"From the first page, I was entirely smitten and compelled to read on until I finished this mysterious and poignant story." - Pam Muñoz Ryan, author of Echo and Esperanza Rising"This is a haunting gothic tale of love, courage, healing, and family." - School Library Journal
School Library Journal
04/01/2019
Gr 5–8-Myth and the grim reality of World War II combine in Petra's reality. Petra, older sister Magda, Pa, and Mutti live in a southern England coastal community in 1939, where they serve as the keepers of the lighthouse. Petra is paralyzed with fear over the legend of the standing stones below the lighthouse, believed to be four daughters who turned to stone singing their fathers' boat away from the treachery of the Wyrm sandbar on the beach. Pet faces her own demons as her mother's German heritage causes her to be taken to an internment camp, and her father and Mag's suspicious activities have Petra wondering if anyone can be taken at face value on the eve of the Dunkirk evacuation. Citizen suspicion as well as the sea itself act as secondary characters as Petra balances fear, bravery, and love in a dramatic final scene. Readers who enjoyed Kimberly Brubaker Bradley's The War That Saved My Life will appreciate this read-alike. Strange's writing employs poetic language that creates vivid pictures of clouds, sea, and loss. The first-person narration keeps readers firmly in Petra's young world view as do her equal flashes of bravery and helplessness in the face of adult interference in her family unit. The heartstopping revelations of the German spy ring end the story on a high note, balancing Strange's more contemplative lyricism. VERDICT Superlative writing and sneaky spycraft make this World War II story appealing to most readers and libraries.-Caitlin Augusta, Stratford Library Association, CT
MAY 2019 - AudioFile
Author Lucy Strange narrates her second book, capturing the historical thriller’s gothic atmosphere. The story transports listeners to the southeast coast of England at the beginning of WWII. Strange imbues her words with impactful inflections and poignant pauses that take listeners into the heart of 12-year-old Pet. An encroaching war is confusing enough, but worse yet are changes that begin when her family has to paint their beloved lighthouse green. Soon that means little when Pet’s German-born mother is interred as an enemy alien. Amid the larger backdrop of the rescue at Dunkirk, family members’ puzzling, secretive actions finally make sense. Through her writing and narration Strange provides a believable sense of Pet’s growth from disabling anxiety to courage and determination. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2020 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2019-01-15
An English girl whose mother is German is ensnared by her neighbors' bigotry and by apparent treason at the onset of World War II.
Twelve-year-old Petra lives in a lighthouse on the coast of England, so close to Europe that she can see right across to France on a clear day. When the war begins, some of the villagers—her neighbors for her entire life—behave abominably to Petra's family. Her German-born mother is accused of treason and sent to an internment camp, and though Petra is confident of Mutti's innocence, someone has been sending state secrets to the Nazis. Could it be that Petra's nearest and dearest aren't what they seem? No one in her family is acting normally. The stakes seem to rise slowly, coming to a breaking point as Petra's personal tragedies intertwine with the grim reality of the Dunkirk evacuation. The (historically accurate) increasing maltreatment of the town's German-British and Italian-British families increases Petra's sense of dislocation in her previously cozy village setting (characters are all white). Strange's deft hand with the had-I-but-known flavor of foreshadowing maintains a beautifully eerie, slightly gothic tone (occasionally at the expense of a believable 12-year-old voice).
The slow dismantling of Petra's faith in her loved ones adds a delicious instability to the growing unease of this WWII thriller. (Historical fiction. 11-14)
