Review: Lifeboat 12

Lifeboat 12 by Susan Hood
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Great book! Perfect for those who love stories about kids overcoming and surviving desperate situations.

Set in England at the beginning of WWII, this a fictionalized account of the experiences of then 13-year old Kenneth Sparks, who spent 8 days adrift in a lifeboat along with 5 other boys, one woman, and a number of crewman after the ship that was supposed to be taking the children to safety in Canada was sunk by a German U-boat only a few days after leaving port.

Written in free verse, the story draws the reader in and continues at a faily quick pace, with the rhythm, font, and word placement on the page helping to convey the mood and actions at points in the story. It is a fairly quick read, and while the background story is very tragic (only 13 of the 90 evacuated children on the ship survived), this story focuses on the miraculous survival of Lifeboat 12, so while there are sad parts, it should not be too much for most middle-grade/younger YA readers.

The author did extensive research, including interviewing the real Ken Sparks, and has included a great deal of factual information an extensive bibliography of source/resources in the end notes, as well as photos.

I would recommend this to any young readers from ages 10-14 who are open to books in verse and enjoy history, adventure, or survival stories, particularly fans of The War That Saved My Life, Refugee, or Hatchet.

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