The Last Lifeboat: A Novel by Hazel Gaynor

(Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book!)

 

about book: (summary from Goodreads)

Inspired by a remarkable true story, a young teacher evacuates children to safety across perilous waters, in a moving and triumphant new novel from New York Times bestselling author Hazel Gaynor.
 
1940, Kent : Alice King is not brave or daring—she’s happiest finding adventure through the safe pages of books. But times of war demand courage, and as the threat of German invasion looms, a plane crash near her home awakens a strength in Alice she’d long forgotten. Determined to do her part, she finds a role perfectly suited to her experience as a schoolteacher—to help evacuate Britain’s children overseas.
 
1940, London : Lily Nichols once dreamed of using her mathematical talents for more than tabulating the cost of groceries, but life, and love, charted her a different course. With two lively children and a loving husband, Lily’s humble home is her world, until war tears everything asunder. With her husband gone and bombs raining down, Lily is faced with an impossible keep her son and daughter close, knowing she may not be able to protect them, or enroll them in a risky evacuation scheme, where safety awaits so very far away.
 
When a Nazi U-boat torpedoes the S. S. Carlisle carrying a ship of children to Canada, a single lifeboat is left adrift in the storm-tossed Atlantic. Alice and Lily, strangers to each other—one on land, the other at sea—will quickly become one another’s very best hope as their lives are fatefully entwined.

my thoughts:

Love, love, love! The Last Lifeboat by Hazel Gaynor is the epitome of historical fiction at its very, very best! I mean it, this book has it all in spades. The writing is superb, the characters are unforgettable, and the story is compelling. The book is unputdownable. I found myself reading late into the night, because I had to read it all at once - it was just so damn good. 

So, what is this awesome story about? It's about courage, history, and hope. Based on true events, this is the harrowing story of Operation Pied Piper during WWII - when children were shipped to Canada, New Zealand, etc. in a bid for their safety during the war. Gaynor writes the story from two perspectives: a mother named Lily, who struggles to decide whether she should have her children evacuated, especially as the bombs are raining down in London; and, Alice, a schoolteacher who decides to help evacuate British children overseas. Alice boards the SS Carlisle, along with Lily's children, Georgie and Arthur - the plan is to help get the children to Canada.  The ship has a convoy of protection, sailing alongside. Except, the convoy ends when they reach a certain point out at sea, thereby leaving the ship venerable to attack. And, it gets torpedoed. The ship sinks.  A lifeboat is left afloat and Alice is on it, along with some children, and crew from the ship. In London, the parents are finding out that the ship has sunk and they are reeling in fear and grief, eager to find out what happened to their children - Lily is one of these parents. And, that is all I will write about this amazing and beautiful story. You must check it out!!

I would happily recommend The Last Lifeboat to anyone and everyone - you are going to fall in LOVE with this story!! Make sure to get your hands on a copy of this book ASAP!! 

 

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book!