Great read, perfect escapism.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my review.

I love wartime Homefront stories, and I never fail to learn something new. Digging For Victory was no different and I found the descriptions of some of the unusual wartime projects absolutely fascinating. I don’t read many novels in verse, but it does make books so easy to digest that Digging For Victory almost feels like a accessible digest of other books in the same historical period…a route into the warmth and fascination of the genre that will be great for more reluctant readers. I was amazed at how much character and feeling could be packed into such a quick read. Original and lovely.

Bonnie lives in a small village during WWII. Her older brother is in the RAF and she longs to do something for the war effort other than just growing vegetables. She longs to do something heroic, unlike the strange man who lodges with them, who the rest of the village have branded a ‘shirker’. However it turns out that although what he does is top secret, he’s definitely not a shirker.

This lovely story explores an aspect of war on the home front. The story is told entirely from Bonnie’s perspective and explores her relationships with her friends, parents and the mysterious lodger. Written in a poetic form, it is an unusual style of writing for a story of this nature, but it works beautifully.

This would be an excellent text for teaching about the Second World War.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

With both Lesley Parr and Phil Earle having recently released fantastic novels centred around WWII, it could be debated whether there's room in the market for any more. Well, Digging For Victory, a middle-grade verse novel written by Cathy Faulkner, proves that the answer is a big, fat yes. Focussing on digging for victory, conchies (conscientious objectors who wouldn't fight) and dangerous decoys, it offers yet another angle on this historical topic.

Bonnie Roberts is desperate to be a hero like her brother who's an RAF pilot and is less than impressed when she's put in charge of the family's vegetable patch. She's even less impressed when a mysterious Mr. Fisher is sent to stay with them. Is he a conchie? If not, what is he doing to help his country?

As Bonnie investigates, she uncovers something surprising. Something that might just change herself...

For me, the fact that this is written in verse makes the story extra special and sets it apart from other WWII novels. The beautifully crafted verse gives the story a poignant and impactful simplicity and a pace which resembles the steadiness of marching boots. Bonnie is a fantastic character - curious and frustrated and the novel gives a strong sense of how everyone was affected by the war and how everyone played a part.

The subject of decoys is a completely new one to me, highlighting the educational impact of WWII novels and the continuing need for them. It is these personalised accounts that make it real and relatable to the next generation and the story plot fascinated me. The verse makes it a quicker read than an average novel and doubly effective to use in the classroom. This is history and storytelling at their best.

The setting is Devon in 1941 and twelve year old Bonnie's big brother Ralph has just got his papers for the RAF. He's a bit of a hero figure for Bonnie and she's keen to do something for the war effort too. With Ralph's bedroom now vacant the family has been allocated a lodger who is also in the RAF, but doesn't seem to do anything except sit around in the house all day. It's all a bit of a mystery. The village children think the lodger is a shirker and begin to bully Bonnie. This is a good adventure which will give the children of today a flavour of what life was like during WW2.

I have always been partial to a good verse novel and this doesn't disappoint. Brilliantly crafted, with shape poems dotted here and there to fabulous effect, this Home Front story deals with big themes with a lot of heart. A great début!

Thank you to Firefly Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Publishing on 4 May with Firefly Press, Digging For Victory follows twelve-year-old Bonnie as her family host the mysterious Mr Fisher while her brother’s away at war. She worries he must be a shirker or, worse, a spy – and wants to set about proving it.

It took me a while to warm up to this book, but once I liked it, I liked it a lot. It’s a bit of a slow starter – for a while I found the verse style it’s written in a little bit jarring. There are points where it works well – Bonnie’s description of a zoetrope in which the words form the shape of one is especially pleasing to the eye – but others where it’s worth questioning whether the verse benefits the entire book. Personally, I would’ve preferred a book without the verse format, with the occasional chance for the words to take shapes – but as I’m unsure how this would look on the page without some rather erratic spacing I can understand why it doesn’t happen here. (Another slight nitpick was that at times the verses try to rhyme and at others they don’t at all – a commitment to one or the other makes for smoother reading.)

In addition, Bonnie takes her time in becoming a likeable character. Despite the development she undergoes throughout the book, she gets to be obnoxious for quite a few pages beforehand – some of her early internal monologue reads like a Second World War propaganda machine. There is endless talk against shirkers (or ‘conchies’, as she calls them) and a line about swapping her spade for a gun that feels a little bizarre coming from the mouth of a twelve-year-old.

However, this is a story about illusions, and just as many other people in the book – Mr Fisher, Bonnie’s friends, and even the loathed ‘conchie’ – are not all that they seem, neither is Bonnie. As the story progresses, her internal thoughts become less frustrating to read – she finds her feet both as a character and in her dialogue. She becomes rather easy to root for, in fact – as does Mr Fisher.

Mr Fisher is really the catalyst for this book becoming a four-star review – without giving too much away, he’s one of the most complex and interesting characters within the story, and it is his interactions with Bonnie that lend the book a rather warm quality. That and Bonnie’s efforts in the garden, which are wonderfully and poetically described. When the words are arranged on the page in the same shape as growing stems or seed beds, the verse style really comes into play. When the action ramps up, the flow of this style actually works better than full-length prose text in terms of maintaining a good flow and conveying the fast-paced events taking place.

So just as Bonnie has to admit that people are not what she first thought they were, I too have to admit that this book, although a slow starter, really put roots down in my heart.

Brilliant KS2 book, and perhaps Y7 at KS3, for read along and exploration in class or by students on their own. Focusing on Bonnie's story of living on a farm during 1941 and the feelings of desperation and loneliness of her brother joining the RAF and being different from her peers.
The title explicitly connects to Bonnie's work on the vegetable garden while her mother takes over work in the dairy now that Ralph and the farm workers have gone off to fight. But the title refers to more than that and in further digging, Bonnie realises that heroism comes in many guises and roles.
A lovely story filled with well written characters and tension building adventures.
Highly recommended.

Bonnie wants to be a hero, just like her big brother who joined the army. But all she’s allowed to do is collect rags and grow vegetables. Until one day, a mysterious man is billeted at their house – a man with a soldier’s uniform but no official job. Is he a deserter? A spy? Or a hero himself?

This unusual novel in verse for 11-year-olds goes further than the simple adventure or war story. It’s about appearances vs. real heroism, family tragedies and resilience. It’s about life and how to go through it - from the point of view of a curious and brave little girl.

Simiilar to: "The Misunderstandings of Charity Brown" by Elizabeth Laird.

I really enjoyed this. A lovely story beautifully told focusing on an aspect of WWII that I haven’t seen done in children’s fiction. Perfect for ks2 pupils

Thanks to NetGalley and Firefly for this ARC.
This is my first MG verse novel and I thought the poetic style aligned beautifully with the wartime subject matter. Gorgeous writing with really nice attention to detail. Modern children will relate to Bonnie juggling school and family life, all the while determined to solve the mystery surrounding her family's new lodger. I enjoyed watching her friendship develop with Mr Fisher and I'm sure younger readers will find the storyline about his decoy activities as fascinating as I did! Five stars.

Digging For Victory contains a heartfelt message as well as valuable lessons for readers of this age group. I like how the story is told through the eyes of Bonnie, a twelve-year-old girl, and how the 1941 atmosphere is captured. Reading Bonnie's diary, for example, reveals her dissatisfaction with her jealousy toward her brother, who was sent to war, as well as how she solves the mystery of who Mr. Fisher is.

It took me a while to get into the story, but as it progressed, I began to feel both horror and sympathy for Bonnie and the family who sent their child to war. It piqued my interest and impressed me with Bonnie's tenacity and courage, despite the fact that she was still a child and wanted to help save others during the war. I give it 4.5 stars. I thoroughly enjoyed it and wholeheartedly recommend it.

Thanks to Netgalley and Firefly Press for the eARC!

I found this a difficult book to get into due to it being written in a very different style but once I got used to it I loved the storyline. A very different take on a world war 2 story but such a lovely accessible way for children to be helped to understand.

A beautiful, heartwarming story, so lyrically told and powerful enough to raise a tear and a cheer.

Dealing with the realities of wartime from a home perspective is not easy.

To do it eloquently, factually, and yet maintaining a flavour of the camaraderie of the time, without sounding like propaganda, and also the fear, doubts and misconceptions, is a challenging task. Especially when it is for a middle-grade audience who will have little or no awareness of the times, motivations and struggles.

I really can not praise this tale enough. Yes, there is a good overall vibe to the story. But it is a snapshot of a short period, a lone girl, her family, and multiple conflicting thoughts, understandings and priorities that could happen to one of us. There are home truths aplenty to make the younger reader and their families/ teachers think. War is seldom kind, at least for some, no matter the intention or outcome. I believe this is why Mrs shed a tear.

The writing style, the lyrical way in which the story and text quite literally dances, flies and weaves across the page, makes this just that bit extra special.

We read this over two days and would not have missed it for the world.

This is an excellent read for any young person interested in, or learning about life in Britain during World War 2. Bonnie is a young girl living in the countryside and coming to terms with her old brother being sent off to war as an air force pilot. Bonnie also finds herself isolated by the other children in the school playground when the mysterious Mr Fisher comes to billet in Bonnie's home. Very little is known about Mr Fisher, and Bonnie's mother insists he mustn't be disturbed or asked any questions. Bonnie's suspicions are raised when she discovers Mr Fisher's mud-stained boots sitting by the door. bonnie is determined to find out the truth about Mr Fisher and what he is up to, all to get her friends back.

This is a book that will keep you questioning Mr Fisher's motives right to the end, yet be warmed by the nurturing friendship that Bonnie and Mr Fisher develop.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I started to read this book not long after the author visited our school to talk to our UKS2 children, though I didn’t realise this was her book until I started reading. I like a story told in verse and am very interested in WWII so I hadn’t paid much attention to the author’s name initially. The book does not disappoint and I was fascinated to learn about the Decoy Men and the role they played during the war by creating realistic fake military sites to attract German bombers away from their targets. I am surprised that the bravery of these people is not more widely known.

This is a wonderful novel for 9-12 year olds and is perfect for readers/ classes who are exploring World War 2. Bonnie lives in the countryside and upon the departure of her brother to the RAF , the mysterious Mr Fisher takes up residence in the spare room. Local children think he may be a spy and Bonnie needs to discover the truth . But also Bonnie wants to make her own personal contribution to the war effort and is assigned the duty of maintaining a vegetable garden albeit with initial reluctance .As the story develops Bonnie finds herself in a life saving situation and eventually learns that to be a hero isn’t always about medals and public recognition and that discreet actions can bring the most powerful results. The character of Bonnie and the dynamic with the curious Mr Fisher adds a wonderful element of suspense and self discovery. The focus upon science, physics and gardening means this book is a perfect accompaniment for a class project and will enhance a cross curricular focus on world war 2 but most importantly Cathy Faulkner has written a great novel that is entertaining and a really good read .