Gaele Hi
A troublesome and difficult to like character in Lucy, she’s just like her mother: over-indulged, selfish, self-absorbed, sharp-tongued and manipulative, she’s always felt out of place and unwanted by her mother, even as she is following closely in her footsteps. Repeated moves and adjustments as her mother jumps from rich man to richer man, her current stepfather has been funding (read paying off) Lucy’s exploits in Singapore, until a confrontation with one of his potential investors leads to her being sent back to an Aunt in England, one she doesn’t remember. Lucy was incredibly difficult to empathize with: she’s built a shell of waspish responses and self-indulgent behaviors that, when finally explained are understandable, but wear very thin through the early chapters. There is little to no self-awareness of her less attractive traits, and her desire to be loved and accepted and finally acknowledged by her mother leads her into bad choices. Incredibly bad choices. On the way to her “exile’ the ship is torpedoed and her dreams are again thwarted as she awaits rescue from a lifeboat to head to her aunt’s. Enter Bill, a 12 year old child from London, evacuated from the city because of the Blitz, and the two form an unlikely friendship. Much like Lucy, Bill has always felt out of place which leads him to act out and get in trouble, if only for attention. Wanting to go home, as the country isn’t for him, the two head off to London, a journey that is fraught with peril and dangers, even as we see Lucy, for the first time in our knowing her, to look out for someone other than herself. Encountering an American GI that she had first met in Singapore, the attraction is clear, but Lucy is starting to see her behavior as what it was: indulged, self-absorbed and off-putting, although the attraction she finds for the soldier just may be a turning point for her and her aimless life. Expectations for her own life were never completely tied to love, as she doesn’t really believe in it. But, no matter the man, he would be titled and wealthy, and this soldier is neither. But he appreciates the airs she pulls around herself like armor, finds her funny, and she has softened with her relationship with Bill, as the two are trying to find home and hope in a war-torn, weary country. Half adventure and half love story, the sights, sounds and struggles brought on by the war are clearly defined and described, even as the story is solidly character driven. And what a cast of characters! Lucy is troublesome from the start, and does show great growth and maturation throughout the story, even if she backslides into old patterns. Bill becomes the star of the show: a young boy with a world-weary attitude, used to fighting for every morsel of attention he’s given: he’ll steal your heart and make you hope for his life to change. While the romance was more than a bit predictable, the changes in Lucy that allowed for her to contemplate a relationship far different from those she knew with her mother is heartening, and if you can get past your initial dislike of Lucy, this is a story well worth reading. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via Edelweiss for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.
Mom Green
Well written book which takes you to Singapore and England. It was very enjoyable to be reminded of all of the women´s donations to the war effort in so many different way. Many twist and turns in the love story, which almost does not seem like the main part of the story but of course it is.
