Think about the things we have every day and the comfort we live in.  Now, imagine bombs falling around your house and having to be under the pressure of running away across the Atlantic, leaving your life and family behind.  For some in history, this mere idea for us was reality for them. In Lifeboat 12 by Susan Hood, thirteen-year old Ken in England is considered lucky by most, because he has been selected to go seek refuge in Canada with other children.  World War Two is raging around him, with the Germans advancing from France to England. Ken’s town is being heavily bombed, and there is nothing he can do except to go. However, he feels unsure and guilty. If he gets to go, why not his family?  Well, his father, because is stepmother is mean and doesn’t care for him, and his only memory of her is watching her turn away from him as he leaves. Otherwise, Ken’s last remnant of his family is the large overcoat that cost his family most of their hard earned dollars.  To help cope, he starts to make friends with the keen personalities of the other kids he’s with. When the cruise liner arrives, Ken and his friends are amazed at the the luxury of it. Great food, tons of toys, and even a Royal Navy escort! After they are “In the clear”, the main battleship leaves and only three remain – the cruise and two other ships.  Even when they think they are safe, lifeboat drills are almost a daily thing on the cruise. Little did they know, those lifeboat drills would actually come in handy. Ken is asleep when the torpedo hits. He soon wakes up to find the ship in a state of chaos. He rushes to his lifeboat, but is too late. He missed it because he went back to his overcoat that his stepmother bought him.  Ken finds spots in Lifeboat 12, which becomes his savior. Lifeboat 12 is one of the few that survived lifeboats of the three torpedoed ships. With only eight days of food and water left, Ken and the others on the lifeboat will have to find a way to survive. Ken wants to have a perfect life – with his family, the war finally over – but he knows it‘ south of reach. Will they make it back to England so Ken can be with his family?  Or will they join the others at the bottom of the sea? Read Lifeboat 12 by Susan Hood to find out!

 

This book connects to the book, Refugee by Alan Gratz.  Refugee is told from three perspectives, all of them being from kids that are fleeing from their country.  Many times this was by sea, which involved small lifeboats or rafts to get to land. Both books follow kids on their journey through the ocean, as they run away from their chaotic country.  Refugee is at different times periods, from WW2 like Ken, to modern day Syria. All characters have some internal motivation, whether it’s family or government to leave. Will these three make it safely to their destination? Read Refugee by Alan Gratz to find out!