The Swallows flight by Hilary McKay

 Synopsis 

Erik and Hans are German boys. Ruby and Kate are English girls. They grow up in worlds that would never meet, until war tumbles their lives together. 

Then one September afternoon there are choices to be made.

How is courage lost, and found?
Who is really the enemy?
And what does friendship truly mean, in the middle of a war?
Meanwhile Rupert and Clarry work secretly for peace – and a brighter future for them all . . .

Review

I must confess to coming late to the party! I haven’t yet read Hilary’s companion novel ‘The Skylarks War’, but on the strength of this book, it will definitely be on my TBR pile!

This is a family saga read for middle grade children which is such a fantastic read. I made sure to pay attention to the beginning of each chapter which gives you an idea of who’s perspective we coming from in that chapter. Although I am familiar with this style of writing, many children may not be, so I can see this would be a great introduction for them. Myself, I love this  style of writing as I enjoy getting into the heads of all the characters.

This book is perfect for me, since I love world war 2 stories in particular. Being a children’s book, there are lots of the gruesome detail of war that was missed out, however Hilary still touches on the persecution of the Jews, prisoner of war camps and evacuation of children albeit in a tender way. This creates such a brilliant learning opportunity for further study and discussion.

The characters in the story are greatly developed and we either love or hate them! I really felt for Ruby and her tough relationship with her brother Will, I found myself being upset for her in certain parts of the story. I enjoyed the relationship between Erik and Hans and they were my favourite characters in the story. It was really interesting reading about how they grow from boys to men and the strong bond they have with each other.

There wasn’t a particularly climatic end to this story. The story is lovely and mellow throughout with twists and turns evoking strong emotions which then resolve themselves. I really enjoyed the ending and it left me feeling happy and satisfied!

I highly rate and recommend this book and it will no doubt become an excellent book to be read in class along side topic work of the Second World War. Adults would also really equally enjoy this book and perhaps it should also be marketed as such? Hilary includes an excellent glossary at the back of the book which explains all the references to the important parts of the war. 

Many thanks to Macmillan and NetGalley for an early e-arc of this book.

ISBN: Not known at time of review 

Publisher : MacMillan children’s books

Publication date: 27th May 2021