Letters from the Lighthouse: ‘THE QUEEN OF HISTORICAL FICTION’ Guardian: 1

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After months of bombing raids in London, twelve-year-old Olive Bradshaw and her little brother Cliff are evacuated to the Devon coast. Yet again, she has excelled in bringing to life thoroughly believable characters, capturing an authentic voice for her narrator and weaving an exciting plot which captivates you from the earliest pages. Olive is a brave heroine and there's a good twist towards the end that even the most wily readers won't see coming. It’s a fantastic independent book seller that will actually be responsive and select appropriate books for you.

Olive’s mother decides that the city is no longer safe for her children so Olive and her younger brother, Cliff, are evacuated to coastal Devon. The book had a happy ending, despite the difficult experiences the characters had endured and if I could, I would give this book a five star review. But that doesn’t mean I don’t like any of the other characters because I really loved them all Especially Queenie and Esther because there were just so unpredictable and I really liked that one minute they could be kind and one minute they could be ever so mean. In addition to this, it made feel like I was in the war and i was experiencing the air raid that happened at the cinema. She stumbles on discoveries that lead her on a daring mission to save others who are in terrible danger.We meet three siblings during an air raid in London and follow Olive and her brother Cliff on the hunt for the truth to their sister going missing. German bombs are falling like pennies from a bottle when Olive and her family are struck by a bomb blast. Trying to find her sister during such an air raid, Olive makes a surprising discovery … one that is to resonate throughout the story and which leads her to question her sister, the sister who has now gone missing … leaving Olive with a coded message, one she is determined to decipher. Underlying themes of prejudice are woven throughout the story and lots of differing opinions on situations taking place in the War are offered. Furthermore, can Olive and Cliff penetrate the chill of their evacuation and find safety, solace and thereafter, Sukie?

Olive, Sukie and Cliff go to the cinema to brighten up their mood as a few weeks ago they found out that their father had died as a soldier but was very proud to be dying for his country. Twists, turns, coded messages and conflicts prevail in this beautifully pitched story that provides a fine balance between sensitivity and adventure. The story begins when Olive, her older sister Suki and her younger brother Cliff go to the cinema and get caught in an air raid attack. Letters from the Lighthouse has a unique plot which I personally think Emma Carroll has succeeded in to make it a bestseller.I'm not good at writing reviews but I think this book was a completely great book, I like all the plot-twists and I really do think it links to WW2 and it seems that I'm observing the scene in real life. A heart-wrenching and poignant tribute to 'all the boys and girls, 1914-18', it is a must-read for children and adults alike. There are echoes of Michael Morpurgo and Nina Bawden, but in a style of her own Carroll (The Girl Who Walked on Air, Strange Star) sews together accessible history with a cracking plot and a character to love in the strong, principled Olive. An inquisitive and caring protagonist, supported by a wonderful cast of secondary characters, makes this an engaging and appealing historical fiction that young readers, and in particular fans of books such as Good Night Mr Tom and The War That Saved My Life, will treasure. My favorite part is when Sukie (Olives older sister ) goes missing because you wander where she had gone.

There, Olive has to solve a mystery of her own: a strange coded letter holding very important information which seems to link her sister (Sukie) with Devon and to something important and impossibly dangerous.Letters from the Lighthouse is Emma’s sixth novel; she has also written the highly-acclaimed Frost Hollow Hall, The Girl Who Walked on Air, In Darkling Wood, The Snow Sister and Strange Star. And then she finds a strange coded note which seems to link Sukie to Devon, and to something dark and impossibly dangerous. Remarkables REMARKABLES Intriguing, stunning, or otherwise remarkable books These include fine editions, foreign publications exceptional for their interest or production, special editions and some first-rate books from very small publishers. I have even talked the head into a little revamp of the library so that we can display them properly! It is a story of ordinary people determined to offer help to those in great need … what a powerful message!

As they find they have something in common, and both aim to help those in need, the girls’ friendship strengthens. I love reading children's books, talking to them about books, engaging them in reading for pleasure and recommending books to them. Once told by poet Ted Hughes her writing was ‘dangerous’, it took Emma Carroll twenty years of English teaching and a life-changing cancer diagnosis to feel brave enough to give her dream of being an author a try. The treatment of Jewish people during the war is covered with sensitivity; through the eyes of open-minded, relatable characters, children reading this book are able to gain an insight into prejudice and the power of their voice when speaking out against it. They come first and it is essential to put the right book into the hands of every child to encourage them to read for pleasure.I read through the book beforehand and then timed my teaching to coincide with the book so that my children were able to better visualise what I was teaching them.