This is a young adult fictionalized true story of the City of Benares, a cruise ship, transporting children and some families to Canada during the Second World War. The British government was trying to protect children from the German bombings. Unfortunately, the ship was torpedoed, sending a few survivors into small lifeboats and the rest of the passengers to the bottom of the ocean. This book traces the story of several children and their experiences with their family before departure, on board the ship, and after the sinking of the ship.

Due to the factual, third person viewpoint, I initially thought this book would be dry and the characters would remain distant. However, while remaining true to the language and culture of the time, Lewis gently draws us in and shows us how these were real, lovable children. The stories told of each lifeboat are fascinating, suspenseful, and moving.

Although the story is deeply tragic, the determination, heroism, courage, and compassion of passengers and staff are inspiring. This book is an example of how far-reaching and horrifying the effects of war are on even the most innocent victims. ( )

On September 17, 1940, the City of Benares, which was carrying 90 British school to Canada to keep them safe from German bombing, was torpedoed by a German sub. Lewis has written a fictional account of this tragedy which is intended for young adult readers. Of the 90 boys and girls on the ship, only 13 survived.

Lewis describes how the children were selected and the steps that were taken to get them to the ship and care for them while in transit to Canada. For young readers, she describes what it would have been like to travel on a luxury liner in 1940. She even goes into great detail on how a life boat is loaded and released into the water.

Once the ship is torpedoed, she recounts how the survivors made it to the safety of the life boats and how some of them were thrown into the water and rescued by crew members or other adult passengers. While most boats failed to deploy or were swamped as the ship sank during a storm, a couple were found within a few hours; however, No. 12 was not found for eight days and Lewis chronicles the hardship that the 40 plus people in that boat went through until they were found by a Sutherland flying boat.

This was a disaster I was not aware of until I read this book and the tragedy led to the end of the excavation program of British children to the colonies.

The book was listed on the short list for the Ontario Library Association Silver Birch Award. ( )