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Above Us The Sky by Milly Adams Book Review

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Above Us The Sky by Milly AdamsMilly Adams is an exciting new author, with a wonderful knack of bringing characters to life vividly and bringing the story off the page and into the imagination. Above Us The Sky is a brilliantly researched, and hugely enjoyable novel. Sad in places but ultimately uplifting, this book is set in wartime Britain. Phyllie, a young teacher, is a great character. She becomes a surrogate mother to her pupils. She is particularly protective of Jake, a Jewish boy who has to put up with anti-Semitism. She is a great teacher but finds it hard to adjust to country life and custom. As things become tough she finds love and support in community.

This is an engaging and entertaining story of love and loss. The attention to detail is superb. I loved that the role of the Women’s Institute was including in the novel and you really feel like you are in the submarine, such is the brilliance of her writing. This is a well-written book and a stunning debut. I cannot wait for another Milly Adam’s book as this one is educational, entertaining and riveting all at once.

A compelling new Second World War novel. Evacuees, the WI, and keeping calm and carrying on. Perfect for fans of Katie Flynn and Ellie Dean.

As the threat of bombing raids intensifies, newly-qualified teacher, Phyllis Saunders, is evacuated with her school to Dorset.

Here she encounters prejudice and suspicion. But she is determined to make the best of life, for herself and the children in her care. All the while her fiancé and submariner, Sammy, is facing danger out at sea.

Then the Blitz hits London and Phyllis, trying to persuade her mother to return to Dorset with her, gets caught up in it herself. Shaken but alive, she returns to the relative peace of the countryside. But soon she is nursing a secret she can tell no one.

Until the news that Sammy’s submarine has been sunk reaches her, and she is forced to make a decision she hopes she will never regret…

Above Us The Sky is available here.

 

 

Above Us The Sky – Milly Adams Book Review by Kathleen Thompson

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Book Review- Above Us The Sky – Milly Adams by Kathleen Thompson

An unputdownable debut from an exciting new author.

Phyllie, a young teacher, finds herself acting mother to her pupils, and to a Jewish boy, Jake, in particular, when the school is evacuated from London to rural Dorset. She bumps into a childhood sweetheart, Sammy, as they wait to board the train, and he mock proposes, to amuse the children. But did he mean it? And will he be safe in the submarine where he and Jake’s father patrol the dangerous waters of Norway?

Phyllie gradually adjusts to country life. Fiercely protective of her wards, she overcomes misunderstandings and conflict. But as her circumstances take a turn for the worst, she discovers genuine friendship and love—from unexpected sources.

Millie Adams weaves a compelling story of love and loss in war-time Britain. She draws the reader in with her intense details of life in those times. I truly felt the claustrophobia and stress of life within a submarine—and started to appreciate the constant danger and the frequent death or ‘burn-out’, of so many young men.

She describes life in the countryside with such detail and accuracy that one feels she lived through it herself —the reality of sugar rationing and ‘making do’ and the often forgotten role of the Women’s Institute, in holding things together and organising food supplies.

She touches on many influences on life in those troubled times—the festering anti-semetism, fuelled by Mosley’s ‘black-shirts’ and ignorance; the reality of the bombing and airborne raids on civilians and the ubiquitous pain of loss, often of someone far too young.

As I said, unputdownable. A truly excellent read, a book that is well-written, compassionate, amusing, observant, and so tense I could hardly turn the pages quickly enough. I can’t wait for Milly Adams’ next book.