MMGM: Arctic Star by Tom Palmer

I've read about convoys and their escorts crossing the Atlantic Ocean during WWII, but never about the ships that escorted convoys traveling parallel to Norway to a base in northern Russia through waters alive with German submarines loaded with torpedoes and Luftwaffe just waiting to take to the air and strike. But even more terrifying than U-Boat attacks and airplane strikes was Hitler's newest ship the Scharnhorst, "the most feared German vessel on the ocean" and rumor has it that she is on the move. Needless to say, this novel, based on a true story, is action packed. 

It may only be October 1943, but teenager Frank, along with his childhood friends Stephen and Joseph, have bundled up to go out on the deck of the HMS Forgetmenot, a convoy escort, to chisel as much ice as possible off the deck of the ship. It's not easy task, given the rough sea, the high waves, and the rolling and tossing of the ship. Which is how Frank suddenly lost his balance and found himself falling into the sea. Sure he was a goner, Frank is surprised to wake up back on the ship. 

Frank recovers, and eventually, the ship makes it to their destination in Russia, but on the way back to their home port, they are torpedoed, and once again Frank finds himself in the freezing Arctic waters as the HMS Forgetmenot sinks. Picked up by a rescue ship, Frank realizes his friend Joseph is dead, but Stephen, who was in the engine room, has miraculously survived. 

Frank and Stephen are given a Survivor's Leave, returning home to Plymouth, England to see their families, and pay their respects to Joseph's father. While there, they receive their orders to report to the HMS Belfast, back on Arctic Convoy duty. And while the HMS Belfast is a larger ship that the HMS Forgetmenot, the trip north to Russia is still filled with fear, anxiety and danger. 

The book ends with the Battle of North Cape, the real life battle between the Arctic Convoy and the dreaded Scharnhorst battleship. I said it is a nail-biter and it is right up to the end. Palmer's descriptions of the cold weather and icy waters of the Norwegian Sea, the ice that coated the ship and had to be constantly chiseled away to prevent the ships from getting top heavy and capsizing, were realistic enough to give me chills despite reading it during a heatwave. 

But even more realistic than the elements were Frank's thoughts and fears. Frank is a sensitive, conscientious boy, and dealing with a dangerous mission should be enough for a anyone who is still a teen, but he must also deal with worry about his mother alone in Plymouth, grieve for a friend who died while the two friends were not on speaking terms, and his own fears of what could happen. The story is told from Frank's first point of view and I thought Palmer did a great job of giving readers a sense of what it was like to be Frank without overwhelming them with too much tension. 

Arctic Star isn't a very long novel, but packs a powerful punch. The Arctic Convoys were such difficult and harrowing missions that an special award called The Arctic Star was created in 2012 for those men who served on what Winston Churchill called "the worst journey in the world." The book is not named for this award, but rather for the North Star that plays a small but important role in Frank's story.

Back matter includes an Author's Note and photographs of men who served on the Arctic Convoys, as well as additional information on the HMS Belfast.

This book is recommended for readers age 8+

This book was purchased for my personal library

Be sure to check out the other Marvelous Middle Grade Monday offerings, 

now being carried on by Greg at Always in the Middle.

Andrew Higgins and the Boats That Landed Victory in World War II by Nancy Rust and Carol Stubbs, illustrated by Brock Nicol

Andrew Higgins and the Boats That Landed Victory in World War II

written by Nancy Rust and Carol Stubbs,

illustrated by Brock Nicol

Pelican Publishing, 2020, 32 pages

How many times have we seen photos or film of that pivotal day, June 6, 1944 and the Normandy landings during WWII and focused only on the brave soldiers storming the beach, without giving a second thought to the odd looking boats that brought them there? Now you can get to know the man who delivered those soldiers and their equipment to the beaches of Normandy and who helped bring about the end of the war. 

Born in 1886 in Columbus, Nebraska, Andrew Higgins always loved boats, but and he loved a good challenge. When he was 12, Andrew built his first boat, a wrecked sailboat he found in the river by his house. Yet, after all his hard work, he found his rebuilt sailboat was too slow for his taste. So, he challenged himself to build a bigger, faster boat. Speed seems to have had a great deal of appeal to Andrew, but school didn't and so he quit and became solider, then a farmer, a truck driver, and later owned a lumberyard. But nothing satisfied him.

Andrew began designing boats when he opened a lumberyard in New Orleans, and needed something that could move his cut trees through the shallow waters there. Another challenge for Andrew, who designed a flat bottom boat to do the job. Naturally, as the lumber business slowed down, boat building became Andrew's main focus. In fact, he built such great boats for those shallow waters that his landing boats, a/k/a Higgins boats, could "crunch through driftwood, bounce over logs, climb a beach, ...wham up on a sloping concrete sea wall." They were so good that more and more people wanted them.

During WWII, Andrew made all kinds of boats for the military, including PT boats and Higgins boat with its drop down ramp that could be used for transporting soldiers and heavy equipment like tanks from large ships to beach shores. Andrew had to hire more workers to build his boats, and because he believed in a workforce that was diversified and treated people fairly, he hired women, people of color, then started a childcare center and a free clinic. Not only that, he paid equal pay for equal work. Andrew Higgins and his boats were a success story on the home front as well the as the fighting front lines.

Thanks to the Higgins Boat and their ability to move soldiers and large equipment even under the harshest circumstances, wars would be fought differently from then on. After the war, President Dwight Eisenhower said that Andrew Higgins was "the man who won the war" thanks to his Higgins Boat.

I had never heard of the Higgins Boat, even though pictures of it are so common. Yet, when I asked a friend whose father was in the Navy if she ever heard of a Higgins Boat, she knew exactly what it was and role it played in WWII, but she didn't know anything about the man who designed it. Hence, the need for a well done biography like this one. And in fact, I found Andrew Higgins and the Boats That Landed Victory in World War II not only informative, but really interesting. 

I loved this well-written, accessible picture book for older readers, but besides excellent writing, the text is extended and enhanced by the very detailed, very realistic painted illustrations by artist Brock Nicol. He chose a bright palette for the images of Andrew growing up and seeking his passion, and switched to a palette of army greens and browns for the WWII images. I think he really captured Andrew Higgins' life and his work as befits an American hero. 

Back Matter includes a Glossary, an Author's Note, and a list of Important Dates in the life of Andrew Higgins. You may also want to watch this interview from September 2020 with authors Nancy Rust and Carol Stubbs by curator Josh Schick at The National World War II Museum in New Orleans 

This book is recommended for readers age 7+

This book was an F&G gratefully received from the authors. 

An iconic image of a Higgins Boat on D-Day

Attacked at Sea: A True World War II Story of a Family's Fight for Survival by Michael J. Tougias and Alison O'Leary

In 1941, the Downs family - father Ray, mother Ina, Lucille, 11, and Sonny, 8 - had hoped that by spending some time in Columbia, South America and Costa Rica in Central America, where Ray worked for the United Fruit Company, they would be able to save enough money to buy a house and new car when they returned to the United States. But now that the US had entered the war, they decided it was time to return to their home in Texas and their oldest son Terry, 14, who was staying with his grandparents. Ray also hoped to join the Marines when they were back in the U.S. 

On May12, 1942, the family set sail from Costa Rica on the SS Heredia, a luxury liner turner freighter. The Downs parents were somewhat concerned about the trip. German submarines had been hunting, attacking and sinking American ships in the Atlantic Ocean and along the eastern seaboard, and now they had begun to infiltrate the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico as well. 

The ship was equipped two mounted machine guns and Navy Armed Guards who kept watch 24 hours a day for German submarines. Sonny and Lucille were curious about everything on the ship and the crew willingly answered their questions. In fact, as the only two kids on board, they were treated somewhat specially by the captain and crew. 

Meanwhile, two German subs had entered the Gulf on the lookout for ships like the Heredia. Most of the Heredia's trip was uneventful, but close to home, the Navy guards thought they spotted something in the water and the captain decided to change course for Corpus Christi, Texas to see if he could get any information. The Downs family, ready to be home, wanted to get off the ship in Corpus Christi, which was closer to their home, but were not permitted to. They were scheduled to arrive in New Orleans the next day. 

That night, while the passengers were sleeping, the Heredia was hit with a torpedo, followed by more hits. The Downs family managed to make it out of their two staterooms together, but were separated by a rush of water on the deck that sent Ray, Ina and Sonny into the Gulf. 

All four family members survived being sent overboard. Eventually, Sonny found his father, and together with the captain and another passenger managed to get one of the ship's rafts in the water. Lucille was found on the ship by one of the crew who convinced her to jump overboard. Once they were in the water and together with other crew members, he fashioned a raft out of a hatch cover for her to sit on while they held it and swam away from the sinking ship. Ina landed in a slick of warm gooey oil that coated her face, eyes and the coat she had on. Unable to see very well, Ina clung to a piece of flotsam. 

The family spent 24 hours in the water before they were rescued, during which time they suffered from hypothermia, dehydration, and sharks swimming around them. The time spent in the water, hoping to be rescued in time, makes up the bulk of the book. 

The Downs Family

Attacked at Sea is a compelling story of courage and resilience, all the more so because it is not fiction. In fact, I could not put it down. Tougias and O'Leary present the events in the kind of objective journalistic style, including details that fiction might leave out. The writing style, though less emotional that fiction, feels all the more compelling. What is really interesting is the way Tougias told the story from the points of view of each family member individually, as well as the two German captains of the submarines patrolling the Gulf for ships to add to their records. 

Tougias and O'Leary also continue the story with somewhat detailed information of the aftermath of the sinking of the Heredia and the impact it had on the lives of those they wrote about. To date, only Sonny is the only family member still living.  

Back matter includes A Note from the Authors and an extensive Bibliography. Also included are photographs of the family, the German captains, the ship, and some crew. 

Attacked at Sea should appeal to anyone interested in exciting true WWII stories. 

This book is recommended for readers age 10+

This book was an EARC gratefully received from NetGalley 

Torpedoed! A World War II Story of a Sinking Passenger Ship and Two Children's Survival at Sea by Cheryl Mullenbach

When we think of ships being torpedoed in the Atlantic Ocean during WWII, we generally think of warships being sunk by Nazi submarines, or U-boats. In fact, the first ship sunk after England declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939 was a British passenger ship, the S.S. Athenia, attacked less then 10 hours later.

Mullenbach introduces her readers to the events that led to the sinking of the Athenia and the aftermath mainly through the experiences of two teens who were on the ship and survived. Russell Park, 11, lived in Philadelphia but was already an experienced traveler, who loved history and was fascinated by how things worked. Florence Kelly, 14, lived in Cleveland, loved big band music and going to the movies with her best friend on Saturdays. They were “…two ordinary American kids who weren’t thinking about the frightening actions of world leaders…” (pg 8) as they prepared for their European vacations in May 1939.

And though their summer vacations were cut short by world events, they had been wonderful. But, when Hitler invaded Poland on September 1,1939, Americans in Europe scrambled to book passage, hoping to return home before war began. Through a combination of circumstances, Russell, along with his parents, and Florence and her mother ended up on the same ship sailing home.  Both Russell and Florence were looking forward to returning home to family, friends, and the new school year. 

There were 1,102 passengers and 316 crew on board the Athenia when the ship began her journey across the Atlantic Ocean. At the same time, a German U-boat was also in the Atlantic, commanded by Oberleutnant Fritz Julius Lempe, and searching for ships carrying troops and war materials, which is what he supposedly thought the Athenia was doing when he gave the order to torpedo it.

Mullenbach covers a lot of ground in Torpedoed!  Placing Florence and Russell at the center of events, she manages to fit in a lot of historical information about what was happening in prewar Europe, as well as giving readers an up-close and personal account of the harrowing sinking and rescue of the Athenia’s survivors (128 people did not survive). She even follows up with information about the commander who mistakenly (?) bombed the Athenia. Mullenbach carefully crafts a detailed narrative of this ill-fated journey that is both gripping and so terrifying at times and completely accessible for young readers. And ironically, while their paths crossed several times, Florence and Russell never actually met before, during, or after the Athenia was sunk. 

Torpedoed! is a story that will certainly appeal to everyone, but especially to young readers interested in history, WWII, and nonfiction survivor accounts. Mullenbach has also included lots of photographs and maps to help orient readers, as well as a Time Line of events, Notes and a Bibliography for those interested in more information. 

Interestingly, the Athenia has recently been in the news once again. BBC reported that the remains of the ship may possibly have been discovered a few hundred miles from Ireland, on Rockall Bank. You can read about it HERE

This book is recommended for readers age 10+
This book was sent to me by the publisher, Chicago Review Press

Dazzle Ships: World War I and the Art of Confusion by Chris Barton, illustrated by Victo Ngai

During WWI, the Germans had a real advantage over their enemies, Britain and the United States. They had perfected the use of submarines from which they could launch torpedoes, making their enemies ships literal sitting ducks. Britain was especially desperate to find a solution to the sinking of ships, both military and non-military, since, as an island, they relied on boats to bring them much of what they needed, especially food, and so far, nothing has worked.

That is, until Norman Wilkinson, a lieutenant-commander in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, came up with an unlikely idea - camouflage the ships. 

But how do you camouflage a huge ship? Wilkinson knew you couldn’t make a ship invisible, but they could be painted so that they confused submarine officers trying to figure out which way and how fast the ship in their sights was traveling.

The idea of camouflage was nothing knew, but Wilkinson suggested painting a crazy pattern on one side of a ship and another crazy pattern on the other side. The patterns used were called dazzle and amazingly enough, it seemed to work. Pretty soon, two dozen women artists were creating dazzle patterns that were then applied to ships by painters and artists working together.

Did dazzle camouflage save any ships from being torpedoed? The British painted 3,000 ships, the Americans painted 1,000, but in fact, there may have been too many other factors making it hard to determine how effective the dazzle ships really were.

In this well-written chronicle about the Dazzle Ships of WWI, readers will be intrigued that such a far-fetched idea was accepted and carried out (even the King of England was dazzled by the ships). Barton’s text is enhanced and supported by Victo Ngai’s dynamic analog and digital media illustrations, which reflect not just the patterns of the dazzle ships but are rendered in the style and colors of the early 20th century, especially the art movement known as cubism.   

Dazzle Ships is a picture book for older readers is sure to appeal to anyone interested in the history of WWI and no doubt they will find this creative problem solving to a serious problem both fascinating and inspirational.

A WWI timeline is included that shows just how dazzle ships fit into the events of the war. And be sure to read the Author’s Note and the Illustrator’s Note for more information.

FYI: Author Chris Barton has contributed a very informative guest post at The Lerner Blog in which he writes about why he wrote Dazzle Ships. 

This book is recommended for readers age 7+
This book was purchased for my personal library

Example of a Dazzle Ship: HMS Kildangan 1918 (Public Domain)

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

It's 1945, Germany is losing the war it had began in 1939, and now, as the Red Army approaches the East Prussian countryside, thousands of people who can are fleeing to escape the brutality that the Russians have been inflicting on Germans everywhere they go.

Among the refugees trying to reach the seaport city of Gotenhafen, where they hope to board a ship that will evacuate them out of the path of the Russians, are three young people whose paths converge en route.  There is Joana, 21, a Lithuanian nurse who believes she is a murderer; Florian, a Prussian carrying questionable orders from a top Nazi official; and Emilia, 15, a traumatized young Polish girl wearing a pink hat.  Also traveling with them are an elderly shoemaker, one little boy who has just witnessed his grandmother's death, a blind girl named Ingrid and Eva, a large older woman.  A fourth young narrator, Alfred, is a Nazi sailor assigned to the ship MV Wilhelm Gustloff docked in Gotenhafen.

The novel is told in first person alternating points of view by Joana, Florian, Emilia and Alfred.  Each one has a history and a secret that slowly unfolds through their narration.  Florian is a talented artist who was mentored as a restoration artist by a Nazi, Dr. Lange, at a museum in Königsburg under Prussian Gauleiter Erich Koch supposedly for the purpose of restoring and saving Europe's greatest art treasures.  Now, feeling disillusioned and betrayed by his mentor, he is carrying information about what may have been the Nazi's greatest art plunder, information that the Nazis definitely do not want made public.

Because of her Aryan looks, Joana was repatriated to Germany as a Volksdeutsche (one with German ancestry).  Now, however, even as she works to save lives with her nursing experience, she is racked by guilt regarding a choice she made in 1941, a choice that separated her from her family and their fate in her homeland of Lithuania.

Emilia is the youngest, the most vulnerable and the most traumatized of the four narrators and has already run into the advancing Red Army twice, narrowly escaping with her life.  She no long has a homeland and a family, and to make matters worse, she is traveling without any identification papers, and guarding her secret with her life - literally.

Alfred, a lowly sailor, obsessively writes love letters in his head to a girl back home describing the importance of his work in the German Navy in general and on the MV Wilhelm Gustloff, in particular. Right from the start, Alfred is a smarmy, untrustworthy character, whose shameful secret involves his behavior towards the girl back home.

Salt to the Sea is a character-driven story about a little known maritime tragedy that resulted in the loss of over 9,000 lives, and about 5,000 of them were children.  Each character moves the story forward even as they take the reader back to their past.  I found this to be a compelling novel, even though it lacks a traditional plot.  But I think the structure that Ruta Sepetys uses makes this a more exciting novel, and the way it is structured lets the reader learns everything they need to know straight from the narratives of the four main characters.

The scenes each narrator provides are emotionally harrowing in their detailed descriptions of fleeing refugees and the chaotic aftermath of the torpedoing of a ship.  Just as she did in Between Shades of Grey (my review), Sepetys doesn't spare the reader uncomfortable truths any more than she does her characters when it comes to the horrors of war, but she also reminders us that there are still good, caring people who will never lose their humanity.

Do pay attention to the maps at the beginning and end of the novel to get your bearings of where the refugees traveled from and to.  There is lots of great back matter, including an Author's Note and information about the resources and sources Sepetys used.  This is the kind of information that adds so much the a novel and why characters like the ones drawn here are so realistic and believable.

Although I wasn't too crazy about the very end of the novel, this is still one of the best novels I read this year, and I've a lot of good ones so far.  I particularly loved the way each person introduces themselves to the reader: Joana tells us: Guilt is a hunter; Emilia says: Shame is a hunter; Florian begins: Fate is a hunter; and Alfred: Fear is a hunter.  Right off the bat our curiosity is peaked by knowing these are conflicted characters who feel hunted, the question is why.  And the answers combined with the historical setting make this a truly riveting novel.

A useful Discussion Guide has been made available for download by the publisher, Penguin Books

This book is recommended for readers age 12+
This book was an ARC from the publisher