The Only Blue Door

It is September 1940, Maggie and her young siblings, Grace and Billy, are living in the East End of London. Their father has been killed at Dunkirk and their mother is in hospital having her fourth child, while the children stay with a neighbour. In one of the worst bombing raids of the war their home is destroyed and the neighbour is killed. Bewildered and frightened, the children wander the streets until they are taken in by some nuns. But their problems are not over; no-one can trace their mother and, labelled as orphans, they are sent as child migrants to Australia.
Homesick and heart-broken when Billy is separated from his sisters and suffering the loneliness of life in a cold and unfeeling orphanage, Maggie tries to make a new life for herself.
Although she is thousands of miles from home she is convinced that her mother is still alive and is determined to reunite her family.

Review by L Hockin
Based on actual events, this beautifully written story had me gripped and emotionally attached to the characters and their struggles. Apparently well researched, it provides some insight into the long term impact of the events unfolding between 1939 and 1945, without being cliched. The tireless work and battles with 'red tape' of the organisations involved in evacuation and subsequent repatriation of thousands of children over this period, is aptly represented in the story.


Genre: Young Adult Fiction