What an incredible story set in the early days of WWII. Micky, Ronnie and Lugs are best friends and spend most of their days together, whether at school or hanging out on the weekends.
When war is declared, a competition between The Shrapnel Boys and a rival group is declared. They search for pieces of shrapnel after each air raid and bring it together to see who wins.
The winner either gets Micky’s bike or Harry’s go-kart. Micky only has the bike because of Johnny Simmons. He walked into their lives and engrained himself with Micky and Ronnie’s mum. Everyone fell for his charm, except for Ronnie. Ronnie knew bullying from their real dad and could sense that Johnny was dangerous.
Over the course of time, Micky gets drawn into running errands for Johnny, seemingly innocent but Ronnie knows there is more to it. He just needs to prove it. That becomes his sole focus- getting Johnny away from his family and behind bars where Blackshirts belong.
At times, harrowing, and at others, thrilling. This book is well written with a depth of characters that Jenny is widely known for creating. The boys become part of you as you read and you can’t help but want justice for the suffering they go through.
I felt all the emotions in this book- disbelief at the family falling for Johnny’s charms, anger over his treatment of Ronnie and compassion for Lugs as he deals with such a lot in his life.
I read it in one glorious sitting and it is a book that will stay with me. I doubt that I will ever forgot Ronnie, Micky or Lugs- not to mention Mr Etherington!
My Shelves Are Full 