Todays post will probably be pretty long, so lets just dive right into it.
I just finished reading No Safe Harbour, The Halifax Explosion Diary Of Charlotte Blackburn, by Julia Lawson. And well, loved it!
The book:
( I think the colouring is a little off in this picture.)
Summery:
It is the height of World War 1, and 12 year old Charlotte has a list of worries that seems to never end. And at the top of them all, is her brother, Luke, who has been fighting in France for a year. To Charlotte, however, this worry is very far away, and she vows to keep record of life on the home-front. The first months of entries describe just that; fights with her older sister, talks with her twin brother, knitting socks, what it is like to help deliver the milk and to have a German friend that everyone holds a grudge about. That's when the unthinkable happens. Two ships collided in the harbour, resulting in the largest man made explosion to ever occur until Hiroshima, in WW2. Charlotte survives with nothing but her diary, but it appears as if her family is not so lucky. Fearing the worst, Charlotte takes to her diary on living in a city much like No Man's Land.
My Review:
9.9 out of 10.
This is the kind of book that just want to pick up and hug when you are done with it. The kind of book that makes you just want to run up to your room after school and read. The kind of book that you will be lending to half the people you know by the end of the month. Let me just clear this off, you are going to cry. Period. Its downright sad at parts, (no spoilers!) but a real page turner at that. I must admit that every time I finish a Dear Canada book, I want to say it is my favourite, but this one makes the top three hands down.
So why not a solid 10 out of 10?
I wouldn't say the book is SLOW at the beginning, I would just say it is faster near the end. The back of the book describes the explosion, when it doesn't really happen until a third of the way into it. Before I started, I was a little confused by that. "September 26th? But the explosion happened on December 6th?" I did not like it at the time, but I think it was a good thing they had that on the back. I mean, the parts at the beginning were good, and what other entry would they use? Trust me, you will like it. It really builds suspense in in entries leading up.
Also, I think there could be a bit more emotion after the explosion.
Other than that, the book was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. Julie Lawson is really an amazing author. I'm not sure if you know what I mean, but she does a great job of making you remember that Charlotte's name is Charlotte. She also did a good job of this in A Ribbon of Shining Steal. Maybe that is just me being weird. To add to that, Julie Larson did such a good job of making the book real. You cannot love your family ALL the time, and the book demonstrates this nicely. I know that a lot of authors would say, "Oh, how lovely and kind my big brother John is," just to make you sadder when they go missing, but I prefer the realism of this book much better.
I really like the cover, too. At first glance the girl on it looks sad, but I think she shows little emotions, making it easier to picture Charlotte doing various things. I do not really know how they choose that painting, however. It is not from the time of the story at all, and they only used part. It is kind of funny when you see the whole thing:
Weird, huh?
All in all, I would recommend this book, hands down, to anyone over the age of 9. It is a bit gruesome at parts, a fair warning, but you will learn a lot from this book.
-Katie
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