It’s 1940 and the world is at war. In London, 10-year-old Margaret Rose wakes up one morning to discover that a bomb has destroyed her home and killed her parents. It’s a miracle that she has survived. But where will she live now? Who will take care of her?

Eventually contact is made with relatives in Australia and she is shipped out there. Most of the family welcome her but her cousin, Lizzie, doesn’t seem very happy to have her. Margaret knows that children can be moved on to another household if things don’t work out with the first family, and she is desperate to stay with her uncle and aunt. She has to keep Lizzie happy. At least, she thinks, she is safe there in Queensland, so far from the German bombing raids. But then Japanese planes fly over Townsville.

Pamela Rushby beautifully captures the ambience of England and Australia during World War II. Many Australians don’t realise that the war actually reached our mainland; there were bombing raids on Darwin and Townsville. The author brings those times to life, seen through the eyes of two young girls named after the English princesses. It was a time when everyone was required – even the children – to make sacrifices for the good of the country.

Reviewed by Wendy Noble
Age guide 10+