The rest of the book gives information about the decades that pass and how the invention of a new forensic test helps find the answer. There are alternating chapters from Jennifer and Ronald. You really understand what Jennifer went through, but you also understand Ronald’s point of view. The book changed these two people and it will really make you think as well.

I never knew about the Germans occupying the Channel Islands during the Second World War – had no idea about this. But they did – and that is part of the narrative of the book – islanders telling their stories of the Occupation. It’s a clever central idea that allows these stories to be told in easily digested portions, in a very readable way. And then there are several other stories linked in with this as well.

The novel is a series of letters to and from the main character who is an author. Watching her changing attitude to different people, Guernsey and life is a large part of the pleasure of the book.

While these musical inmates were better fed and treated, it left them with terrible guilt which they continued to live with even after the war. Young readers would need to have some background information about the Holocaust to understand the full meaning of the book.

Art Spigelman is well known for his graphic novels, his most famous one being “Maus” – his parents’ story during the Holocaust. Art lived in New York in 2001 and his daughter had just started in a school at the foot of the towers three days before the event. But this is not just Art’s story – it is the story of so many people in the city, and of the city itself. Each double page includes so many different pieces of information on them that you need to spend time to take it all in.

This is an amazing work of art, and an incredible insight into an event which changed the Western world forever.

But Katherine likes her – she needs friends when she moves to Sydney to live with her aunt after shocking events have happened in her family. It’s just that as the story progresses, Katherine begins to doubt that the pluses are more than the minuses in her relationship with Alice.

It’s great to see a book set in Sydney. Katherine’s parents seem very realistic and Alice’s ability to twist most people around her little finger is almost scary to watch.

We are taken into the hearts and minds of these two people to see how they have coped with the situation. Ellie decides to move on with life, while Frank can’t until he finds a “replacement” for their son. Moving to India to work for a company which could be seen as an exploiter of the indigenous people, doesn’t help their situation.

My only concern is the structure – would be interested to know what others think. Why not do a straight chronological narrative? Why cut the narrative to go back in time to catch up to the present, considering that we knew most of it already.

Get ready for lots of twists, turns and surprises.

Not having seen a disaster of such proportion in Australia, it is difficult to understand the government mishandling of the situation – how so many people had to live in such dreadful conditions waiting to be evacuated. The comic form is clever – with not too much text in each picture as sometimes happens, and almost a colour coded system to show different families.

It’s a great way to find out this disaster, especially from the human side.

Interesting to see the reaction of Dorry’s parents. I would have thought they would know more about what she was doing and where she was.

Has ALA Best Book for Young Adults Award (American) though I am sure that there would be similar situations in Australia where young people have moved into extremist groups because they are lonely.

 *note for Modern History girls – this book is set during the Russian revolution and studying the Romanov’s in year 11 adds further knowledge and extra interest  when reading!

 However I highly recommend Whitcomb’s other book A Certain Slant of Light – a lovely ghost/romance novel with lots of poetic allusions. (Probably for Young Adult, or even Senior Fiction)