London Calling by Edward Bloor

[Bmat]

London Calling

By Edward Bloor

Twelve-year-old Martin Conway was unhappy in the expensive private school that he attended. He was bullied and frustrated.

One day a boy named Jimmy appeared from behind the radio that had belonged to Martin’s grandmother. Jimmy asked if Martin would help. It took a number of visions of Jimmy in Martin’s dreams before Martin realized that what he was learning while going with Jimmy to World War II torn London were incidents that he could not know if he had not actually been there, in that time. Martin needed to find out what Jimmy meant when he asked if Martin would help.

London Calling is listed for people age 10 and up. I found it slow reading, especially the first half of the book. The conditions in London during the war were terrifying and heartbreaking, not something that I enjoy reading. I would not recommend the book to a person who is a reluctant reader, since they might well be put off of reading. There were elements of science fiction and historical fiction in the novel. There were some parts that I regret learning about, sadly, but when I researched I found that these events did happen. Even though I feel that the author is a skilled writer, I did not enjoy the book.