‘”Hello, Auntie Ida,” he said, smiling innocently up at her.
Ida opened her mouth to reply but the words stuck in her throat. Staring down at the lad’s square jaw, broad forehead, black curly hair and soft grey eyes, the blood drained into her boots.’
Actual Rating: 3.5
When I picked up ‘A Ration Book Childhood’ I was expecting a warm, family-orientated wartime story. I wasn’t anticipating it being happiness all of the time – how could I considering the danger of a wartime setting? – but I was imagining a story full of love that focused on what life was like for those in the capital during the war. Happily that is the sort of story that I received, on the whole and once I’d grown attached to the characters within the novel it was quite a warm and wonderful reading experience. Unfortunately it did take me longer than I anticipated it would to grow attached to these characters but I think, maybe, that this was the case as – unknown to me – this was the third book in the series.
If I’d already met the Brogan family and read the previous instalments in the series I think I would have warmed to them much quicker and enjoyed the earlier portion of the book a little more. This especially would have come in useful considering the difficult period that the family’s marriage was going through. I did still come to care for the characters however and they were all wonderfully written. There were some that I loved and one or two others that, despite limited mentions, I grew to hate, leaving me feeling sorry for the poor individuals who had to deal with them.
Despite being the third book in the series I wasn’t ever lost as to who was who or what was going on. This book works perfectly well as a standalone novel although, considering the time that it took for me to warm to the characters, I probably would still recommend picking up the first book to begin with.
The setting was really well written and felt well researched and rounded. I can’t say for certain how accurate it was, as I’m no kind of expert on wartime settings, but it definitely appeared to give a picture of what life was like during the war. There were the blackouts, rationing and daily trips to the shelter. There was waking up to bombed out streets and sleepless nights as the ground above thundered and shook. There were shortages, moves and re-moves; families starting over with next to nothing, people in uniform everywhere and fear for those sent off to fight. There were also lovely little touches like mentions of what radio shows were on and the speech felt appropriate for the time too.
Altogether this was a lovely, warm story to read which I just wish I’d gotten into sooner. The later half was four stars for me but, as I couldn’t connect at the beginning, the earlier portion did seem to drag a little at times. I honestly do believe that, had I read the previous instalments, this would not have been the case as I’d already have been emotionally invested. I do want to pick up the earlier two books sometime and also plan to pick up the fourth instalment next year to find out what happens to the Brogan family next. So yes I do recommend this book, but I’d probably advise starting with ‘Pocketful Of Dreams' (also known as 'A Ration Book Dream') which I hope to pick up soon.
Ida opened her mouth to reply but the words stuck in her throat. Staring down at the lad’s square jaw, broad forehead, black curly hair and soft grey eyes, the blood drained into her boots.’
Actual Rating: 3.5
When I picked up ‘A Ration Book Childhood’ I was expecting a warm, family-orientated wartime story. I wasn’t anticipating it being happiness all of the time – how could I considering the danger of a wartime setting? – but I was imagining a story full of love that focused on what life was like for those in the capital during the war. Happily that is the sort of story that I received, on the whole and once I’d grown attached to the characters within the novel it was quite a warm and wonderful reading experience. Unfortunately it did take me longer than I anticipated it would to grow attached to these characters but I think, maybe, that this was the case as – unknown to me – this was the third book in the series.
If I’d already met the Brogan family and read the previous instalments in the series I think I would have warmed to them much quicker and enjoyed the earlier portion of the book a little more. This especially would have come in useful considering the difficult period that the family’s marriage was going through. I did still come to care for the characters however and they were all wonderfully written. There were some that I loved and one or two others that, despite limited mentions, I grew to hate, leaving me feeling sorry for the poor individuals who had to deal with them.
Despite being the third book in the series I wasn’t ever lost as to who was who or what was going on. This book works perfectly well as a standalone novel although, considering the time that it took for me to warm to the characters, I probably would still recommend picking up the first book to begin with.
The setting was really well written and felt well researched and rounded. I can’t say for certain how accurate it was, as I’m no kind of expert on wartime settings, but it definitely appeared to give a picture of what life was like during the war. There were the blackouts, rationing and daily trips to the shelter. There was waking up to bombed out streets and sleepless nights as the ground above thundered and shook. There were shortages, moves and re-moves; families starting over with next to nothing, people in uniform everywhere and fear for those sent off to fight. There were also lovely little touches like mentions of what radio shows were on and the speech felt appropriate for the time too.
Altogether this was a lovely, warm story to read which I just wish I’d gotten into sooner. The later half was four stars for me but, as I couldn’t connect at the beginning, the earlier portion did seem to drag a little at times. I honestly do believe that, had I read the previous instalments, this would not have been the case as I’d already have been emotionally invested. I do want to pick up the earlier two books sometime and also plan to pick up the fourth instalment next year to find out what happens to the Brogan family next. So yes I do recommend this book, but I’d probably advise starting with ‘Pocketful Of Dreams' (also known as 'A Ration Book Dream') which I hope to pick up soon.