Archive | July 2026

Five Go On A Hike Together by Enid Blyton

Jul30

Falling Into An Adventure

Five Go On A Hike Together by Enid Blyton is a marvellous children’s adventure. It is the tenth book in the Famous Five series but can be read as a stand-alone.

A few last days in the autumn sunshine see the famous five set off on a hike and camping across the moors.

There are some shady characters as once more, the five fall into an adventure. The unsavoury couple try to scare off the children who are plucky and not easily scared.

Enid Blyton has created another marvellous tale for those aged ten years and over.

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Avalon Sky by Jill Todd

Jul29

Coming To Light

Avalon Sky by Jill Todd is a contemporary thriller and part of A Kit Pevensey Thriller series.

We see that actions in the past have a far-reaching effect as long held, and buried, secrets come to life.

A true nature has been hidden since before World War II. As a whole different personality emerges, the reader is shocked.

We witness the value of true friendships as opposed to false friends who are focused on hate and hiding.

Evil walks amongst the characters. Evil has been hiding in plain sight. The deeds of the night are being revealed in the light.

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Trains & Tulips by Savannah Jane McCrary

Jul28

The Light Breaks Through The Darkness

Trains & Tulips by Savannah Jane McCrary is a powerful Christian historical Young Adult book that I loved from the start. I read it in just two sittings.

This is a book that will educate you as you read. The action is set in Holland during World War II. The author has clearly and concisely constructed her tale about the war, around the Dutch people. The cast of characters are from all walks of life. Savannah Jane McCrary’s ability to weave a tale brings history to life for the reader.

As the book progresses, the light over Holland is being extinguished but “the darkness will not last forever.” One day peace will come.

The Resistance had their own version of the 10 commandments. Number 9 stood out for me. “Thou shalt pursue light even in the darkness, for light remains light.”

The Resistance in Holland was strong. The members came from all walks of life, united in wanting to disrupt the Nazi war machine. “Some bullies can’t just be ignored. They need to be stood up to.”

As the noose tightened around the Jewish people, there would be those who would help. “At the end of my life, when I stand before God, I don’t want to say ‘I did nothing in the face of such evil.’ I just keep thinking ‘I have to do something.’”

We know that “we always have a choice… Sometimes it costs us.” – Could we have stood by and done nothing? Or would we have been moved to act? I would like to think it was the latter.

Characters did what they could. Some took photos. “Someone has to document this. Someone has to make sure justice is done.” Others hid babies. Others were more active and paid the ultimate sacrifice. “Soon, Heaven would no longer be a future hope but a present reality… A deep sense of peace filled him.”

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The Heroes Welcome by Louisa Young

Jul27

The Impact Remains

The Heroes Welcome by Louisa Young is a powerful historical novel that consumed me from the start. It is the sequel to My Dear I Wanted To Tell You. The books need to be read in numerical order or this book will not have such an emotional impact or connection.

The first book told of the horrors of World War I. This book is set in 1919 as peacetime is now faced. Lives must learn to adapt to what is a ‘new’ normal for them.

Young men returned from war. Some were physically injured. Others left their minds on the battlefields of Europe. “Peter was wounded and crippled by the war as much as any one-legged man.” For some, as soon as they closed their eyes, they were back in the mud and muck of the battlefields. Others, didn’t need to even close their eyes as the battlefields never left. There felt like nothing to live for. Even the love of family and friends couldn’t pull their minds back home. They retreated into whatever dulled the pain.

We learn that “everyone gets damaged by war. You don’t have to be in it to be damaged.” The women who greeted their returning menfolk were also damaged by war. Some tried to inject love and light into their lives. Others ran away – either physically or mentally.

There is the bravery of the couple whose soldier husband had his jaw blown off in France. He is forever physically scarred but makes the decision: “I’m not going to spend my life just surviving the war and my injury. I’m going to live my life.” For him, life is for living.

War is not glorious. “War is your friend’s blood on your face and his dead body in your arms.” And this didn’t just happen once; it happened again and again over a four-year period.

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