Digging for Victory

Devon, 1941. Like her brother, Ralph, Bonnie wants to help in the war effort rather than tend the home vegetable patch. So when the mysterious Mr Fisher is billeted at their family home, Bonnie’s mission to uncover his secrets begins. Why is he here? Is he a shirker? Or worse … a German spy?

In this engaging and emotional verse novel the words dance on the page to tell the story through poetry. Digging for Victory is captivating, powerful and entertaining. The words form interesting shapes to mirror certain themes in the story, which creates the interest needed for a reluctant reader and creates a playful vibe.

While the story is about a girl in the Second World War, some will see it as a detective story, and others will latch onto the important themes running through the book. Cathy Faulkner weaves themes through the story so that your young reader will emerge with more insight into life – it tackles self-esteem, intrinsic versus extrinsic influences on identity, fitting in, bullying, rejecting stereotypes, grief and family. While being a positive and hopeful book, it is also very moving.

The verse format clearly tells the story through poetry and makes the book stand out from the crowd of WW2 stories. It is the perfect way to tell this emotional story while encouraging the reader to care about the characters.