Two pairs of friends in two different countries and a lone dog come together to help each other during a turbulent point in history. Hilary McKay opens with Erik and Hans in Berlin 1931. In her opening sentence, Hilary McKay shows who Erik is immediately: "One summer, when he was ten years old, Erik became famous for buying dead flies." It's a wonder of a "hook" yet, as you read on, you learn why Erik is buying dead flies and this shows how kind and empathetic he is, feeding swallows fallen from a nest. The swallows also symbolize Erik's love of flight. Hans becomes his best friend and savior. (Ruby Amaryllis, Kate, Dog) ( )

Growing up in Germany just before the second World War, Erik dreams of working at the Berlin Zoo, while his best friend Hans runs a pastry stand at the gate. In England, Ruby and Kate are also growing up, mostly oblivious to the looming thunderclouds of war. They get to know one another because they share a godmother, Clarry. When war breaks out, Erik and Hans are drafted into the flying corps, and that's how the characters' stories eventually intertwine.

McKay's writing continues to be splendid. I'd put this about on the level with The Skylarks' War, to which this book serves as sequel -- not as strong as some of her books, but still a solid read. The characters really shine, and the emotions carry the reader along through the book. The horrors of WWII are kept at arms' length, especially since, in her author's note, McKay explains that she didn't feel that it was her place to directly address the suffering of the Jewish people in this war. Another good home-front WWII read for those who can't get enough of this kind of story. ( )

This ended up being one of my favourite novels of 2022! It’s perspicacious and poignant and vividly-written. Most of it set during the 1930s and early 40s, alternating between Germany and England. Erik loves animals and together with his friend Hans daydreams about a future in which Erik will work at the Berlin zoo and Hans will sell pastries at the gate. In Plymouth, Ruby doesn’t get along with her older brother, and the other kids at school are mean about her birthmarks, but she has a beloved cat and the chance of a pen-friend -- Kate, from Oxford. Kate is the youngest in a large, lively and loving family. She often misses out on school or trips to London because she’s illness-prone, but she writes about her siblings’ antics and adventures in her diary. There’s also an (initially) unnamed dog who lives in a scrapyard.

I loved how evocatively Mackay captures her characters’ experiences of friendship and family and growing up -- and of the war. Their emotions are fiercely powerful and made me tear up, more than once. (Not something many books manage!) I also liked the way Mackay pieces her plot together, with details becoming unexpectedly important later.

This is a children’s novel, with intriguing glimmers of more grown-up stories around the edges. I would have been interested in seeing those in more detail, and a couple of times I was actually disappointed that Mackay didn’t elaborate, but I also appreciated the way she weaves these things into a book for children. They’re not ignored, they’re just not centre-stage, and as an adult it’s possible to fill in some of the gaps yourself.

#send back in time to my younger self

[...Vanessa] added that Kate could be a friend to Clarry’s other goddaughter, Ruby, in Plymouth.
“They can write to each other,” agreed Clarry.
“I don’t know about the one in Plymouth,” said Kate’s father, “but this one here doesn’t strike me as the literary type.”
“You’re wrong, you know,” said Clarry. “She has a very intelligent face.”
Peter said that it was a common mistake to confuse baldness for brains [...] ( )

This book would have been as lovely as The Skylarks’ War, had it not changed a fact for plot convenience. Just because one is not biologically connected does not mean one is no longer related. It’s actually offensive. ( )

Back in the world that McKay built for Skylark, with some familiar characters making an appearance. I love the effortlessly British nostalgia that this book brings up -- the echoes of other beloved familiar characters, experiencing the trials and tribulations of a different time. I also just adore the way McKay tackles relationships and storytelling -- the relationships are rarely easy or untroubled, but the love is still present. The depiction of WWII is similar -- no easy black and white, good vs evil dichotomies here -- the Germans are as charming and lovable as the British are, and as full of sorrow and fury and angst and suffering. What you will not find in this book is a direct story about Jewish suffering -- there are some secondary characters and they are important and they are cared for, but their story is not centered here. I think that's an acceptable choice, especially given that McKay addresses it in her afterward, and is clear that she thinks it's not her story to tell.

Advanced Reader's Copy Provided by Edelweiss. ( )