It’s 1941 and Europe’s at war. After narrowly surviving a bomb attack, London schoolchildren Olive and Cliff are evacuated to seaside Devon. It’s a pretty place, but they’re barely welcome…and is it all as sleepy and safe as it first appears? German planes scout overhead, garden vegetables are destroyed, something’s afoot. When Olive finds a coded message in her pocket, she is drawn into an urgent wartime intrigue.

Full of messages about compassion and humanity, Letters from the Lighthouse is a wholesome introduction to wartime fiction. Esther’s story is an emotional highpoint and Monsieur Bonet’s account of the orchard makes a bittersweet ending.

An enjoyable middle grade historical adventure that works as a soft introduction to war literature.