Shrapnel Boys
London, 1939, and twelve-year old Ronnie Smith is a boy with problems. A gang of school bullies, a headmaster who delights in caning him. A violent father – although things have been better since Mum chucked him out. And now, a war.
At least the war brings one benefit: the school bully is evacuated, while Ronnie and his brother stay with their Mum, a hospital nurse. But then, Johnny Simmons comes to install an Anderson shelter in their back garden. Johnny charms Mum. He charms Ronnie’s younger brother, Micky. Can they not see what Ronnie sees? That Mum’s new boyfriend is a bad ‘un? As Johnny worms his way into the family, Ronnie has only his best friend, Lugs, to turn to.
So begins a page-turning adventure, in which, Famous Five-style, Ronnie and his friends are sucked into dark doings. But, unlike the Famous Five, these boys – and their enemies – are nuanced. The boys feel real: they joke, they banter, they love their mums and get into trouble. While adults worry about the war, the boys tend towards curiosity and excitement. They collect shrapnel, they spot planes. Adults do good things, and bad things.
This boys’ adventure slips in many themes. The historical setting is vivid, relevant, and delivered without holding up the story. Relationships are well portrayed, using naturalistic language, including mild swearing. The language is justified, as Ronnie deals with so much more than the war. As Ronnie navigates friendships, loyalty, bullies, gangs, anger management, and what his schoolteacher calls ‘Moral Integrity’, I laughed, I cried – and I learned.
Written with humour, delivering gut-wrenching life lessons, Ronnie’s story is as relevant today as it was eighty years ago. Highly recommended, and not just for kids.
