Synopsis
With the end of World War II, Gavin and Norah, who had been sent to Canada for safety, must return to England after a five-year absence, and Gavin is faced with the difficult choice of leaving his beloved Canadian family and his best friends.
Reviews
Grade 5-8-This is the third installment in the lives of two British children who were evacuated to Canada during World War II. In The Sky Is Falling (1990) and Looking at the Moon (1992, both Viking), readers were introduced to Gavin and Norah, and followed them through their first few years in Toronto. In The Lights Go on Again, the war ends, and the young people make plans to return to their homeland. The conflict arises out of Gavin's reluctance to leave, especially after his parents' sudden death during a bombing. He truly feels like a Canadian boy, and he has almost no memory of his home. Pearson successfully captures the mood of the war era without sacrificing the youthful point of view of the protagonist. Historical details, like collecting stamps for war bonds and paper drives, are unobtrusive. The characters, even distant relatives and school chums, are multidimensional and seem to come to life on the page. Still, it seems that the novel never gets off the ground. No genuine dramatic tension is created until near the end, when Gavin announces his desire to stay in Canada and be adopted by the elderly woman he calls Aunt Florence rather than leave with his sister. That issue is resolved very quickly. He goes back to war-torn Great Britian, and to what is left of his family and their bombed-out home. The potential to engage young readers with wonderful historical fiction is in these pages, but it has slipped through Pearson's fingers.
Lucinda Lockwood, Thomas Haney Secondary School, Maple Ridge, BC
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Gr. 4-6. It's 1945. Ten-year-old Gavin and his older sister, Norah, have lived in Toronto for five years as English war guests of an elderly Canadian lady and her daughter, who have grown to love the children. In this sequel to The Sky Is Falling and Looking at the Moon, the war is drawing to a close when the children's parents are killed in an air raid. Unlike Norah, Gavin cannot remember his parents and feels no grief. When their grandfather comes to take them back to England, Gavin must decide where his heart lies and where his home will be. Pearson portrays the characters' strengths, flaws, and emotions with honesty and finesse. While those who have read the first two novels in the series will find this more immediately involving, the book stands on its own as a convincing portrayal of characters and events as well as of a particular time and place. Carolyn Phelan
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
