When reading the reviews of this book, the one that stood out was titled 'Heartwarming' which is more or less spot on. The story concerns an Irish family in East London in 1941 who face a testing time while war rages in the background. Despite all their problems, however, the family always manages to show solidarity, pull together and help eachother as well as others within their close knit community. The author captures the essence of the time the story takes place so well that it almost feels like the book was written then rather than now. The dress sense, the music, the vehicles, the prices, the food and the transport all accurately depict 1941 effortlessly and naturally. The descriptions of the air raids are also quite chilling as well as eye opening. The book, even when the worst of the problems were going on amongst the air strikes, had a more or less constant warm and fuzzy vibe to it and it was a real pleasure to read. Depending on how quick a reader you are, this would be a perfect book to read (or at least finish) around Christmas. Thank you to Readers First for sending me this book to review.