*Shortlisted

Review by Ella, age 11, Charlton Kings Junior School, Cheltenham
The Angel of Grasmere is superbly written. After just a few pages, I was gripped by the author’s storytelling and couldn’t put it down. The narrative is a perfect mix of friendship, the reality of war, and some blood and gore. I enjoyed getting to know the main characters (Tam, Peter, Eric, and Joss).  I also enjoyed learning about the impact that war had on families. I can’t imagine that happening today although, unfortunately, I know it does. Despite that, it did take me a while to get used to the story switching perspectives between Tarn, Peter and evacuee Eric to what Joss sees as Tarn’s presumed dead brother. If I were to change something, I would change Tarn’s reaction to finding out her brother is still alive. Tarn was more angry than excited which didn’t seem realistic. Overall, the Angel of Grasmere was a well-written and truly captivating story. A must read and I rate it four and a half out of five stars.

Review by Alex, Year 6, The Cathedral School of St Peter and St John
I really enjoyed reading Angel of Grasmere because it’s about war and how Grasmere suffered due to the Axis (German army) during WW2. The setting in WW2 times made it interesting because I find war history fascinating. My favourite character was Josh, Tarn’s older brother. He was sent to war, and everyone thought he had died until he returned and anonymously helped the village by giving fish, bread, and fixing things. I didn’t like Dennis because he stole lead from the school roof, which was valuable at the time, and when Josh was hiding from the police, Dennis gave away his hiding spot, leading to Josh’s military prison sentence. I already knew a lot about WW2, so I didn’t learn new facts, but the book was still thought-provoking. The most exciting part was when the mystery man’s identity was revealed to be Josh. I would recommend this book to pupils who are interested in war. I learned that “fells” are mountains, “becks” are streams, “tarns” are lakes, and “forces” are waterfalls. Overall, I liked everything about the book and would definitely recommend it to other pupils.