Goodnight Mister Tom: Michelle Magorian (A Puffin Book)

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The most recent theatrical adaptation, Goodnight Mister Tom, won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Entertainment. This story takes place against the backdrop of a charming and quirky English country town full of colorful characters. What I did learn from this novel is that the countryside is so much more superior than the city, but for the stupidest reason in the world.

The story is fictional but also educational, I even learnt new things about what happened during the war. I love wry humor - I love humor that is never outwardly spoken, but you have to find it in the little subtexts - those little nuances that indicate that it is said with a lilt that makes it a humorous tone - blink and you'll miss it. Magorian’s overall lesson in her compelling and powerful story is the healing power that comes with unconditional love. Tom explains a bad dream that Willie has repeatedly been having regarding this exact event, and argues that he needs to be with someone who loves him.We are also able to feel compassion for her in the book, understanding, as Tom points out to Will, that she is a mentally ill person who has most likely had a very sad life. my favourite character in this book is Ginny because she decided to take a test that girls didn't usually do. Tom is a hardworking, responsible man and puts the need to take care of Willie above his own preferences, such as his years-old daily routine.

Although he has never travelled far, he takes the train into London and eventually finds Deptford and William's home. I always hold out hope that books for young adults that have important themes may somehow find a way into the hands of younger readers. One thing I distinctly noticed was how groundbreaking this book must’ve been when it was first published 40 years ago.To coax him out of his shell and give him the help and courage to be who he can be, only to take him away? In the ensuing years, Goodnight Mister Tom has earned Magorian the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize, and has been adapted for stage and, in 1998, the silver screen. Ms Magorian’s writing feels so comfortable to me; it’s simple and gentle but never ventures into twee-ness (twee-dom? Tom opens the letter Willie's mother has sent with him and is furious that she has included the belt she uses to beat him along with his meager possessions. I loved reading about Will's journey, he lives a trying life with a lot of pain but he's happy in the end.

This little town welcomed him with open arms so much - that they got so much joy in seeing him grow - that they saw how this little boy changed an old man, who had been grieving for his wife and child for forty years. Aside from the personal story, the book raised a lot of questions for me about how the evacuation was handled.

Willie's mother pours anger on him for his new found happiness and hatred for his being friends with Zach because Zach is Jewish. He's a small boy with such a big heart - so very full of artistic talents and want to be something more, but too afraid to voice his own wants. He had such a transformation in character that it was great to see how he gradually picked up the town accent and Zach’s phrases and smiled more. He loves art but was never allowed to paint, as that is reserved for the literate children in his class.

Will has endured some ghastly abuse at the hands of his mother, the description of which is now burned into my brain. When I read a book like this one, I try to imagine what my eight or ten year-old self would have thought of it.

So Thomas, a man withdrawn by choice and grief, and William, a boy withdrawn by abuse and neglect, found themselves together and slowly healing in each other’s company.