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    Lifeboat 12
    Lifeboat 12
    Lifeboat 12
    Audiobook3 hours

    Lifeboat 12

    Written by Susan Hood

    Narrated by Bruce Mann

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    In the tradition of The War That Saved My Life and Stella by Starlight, this poignant novel in verse based on true events tells the story of a boy's harrowing experience on a lifeboat after surviving a torpedo attack during World War II.

    With Nazis bombing London every night, it's time for thirteen-year-old Ken to escape. He suspects his stepmother is glad to see him go, but his dad says he's one of the lucky ones-one of ninety boys and girls to ship out aboard the SS City of Benares to safety in Canada.

    Life aboard the luxury ship is grand-nine-course meals, new friends, and a life far from the bombs, rations, and his stepmum's glare. And after five days at sea, the ship's officers announce that they're out of danger.

    They're wrong.

    Late that night, an explosion hurls Ken from his bunk. They've been hit. Torpedoed! The Benares is sinking fast. Terrified, Ken scrambles aboard Lifeboat 12 with five other boys. Will they get away? Will they survive?

    Award-winning author Susan Hood brings this little-known World War II story to life in a riveting novel of courage, hope, and compassion.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateJun 25, 2019
    ISBN9781977368928
    Author

    Susan Hood

    Susan Hood is the award-winning author of many books for young readers, including Alias Anna, Lifeboat 12, Ada’s Violin, Brothers in Arms, The Last Straw: Kids vs. Plastics, Shaking Things Up, and Titan and the Wild Boars. She is the recipient of an E. B. White Read-Aloud Picture Book Honor, the Christopher Award, the Américas Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature, the Golden Kite Award, and the Bank Street Flora Stieglitz Straus Award, given annually for “a distinguished work of nonfiction.” Visit her at susanhoodbooks.com.

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    Reviews for Lifeboat 12

    4/5

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    • 5/5
      the voices were great but it cut off a little before it ended
    • 5/5
      Amazing/Action Filled book makes me want to flip every page over again and read it by myself jolly goodness!
    • 4/5
      Heavily based on a true story, including interviewing the person who is the main character in the book, this novel in verse tells the story of the survivors of a shipwreck. The SS City of Benares was transporting children to Canada in WWII when they were torpedoed off the coast of Ireland, and evacuated. One lifeboat got separated from the rest and was lost at sea. Fascinating history, and an excellent telling of a tragic tale. Boy main character, high adventure, very few survivors. I love how one of the more important adults in the story is the Lascar Steward, Ramjam Buxoo. The verse is effective, but I did find the book a bit of a slow start, and I wasn't entirely sure why it was in verse. A solid read about an aspect of WWII that isn't often covered in children's materials.
    • 5/5
      This book is based on the real-life story of Ken Sparks, a 13-year-old British boy who boards a boat bound for Canada with a bunch of other children ages 5 to 15 in hopes of avoiding the Blitz at home. But their ride is quickly torpedoed and the children are forced to abandon ship. Ken and roughly 40 people (children, adults, and crewman) scramble aboard Lifeboat 12 and are soon adrift on sea waiting for rescue....Based on a true story, this historical fiction novel was riveting and tells a lesser-known story from this period of history. It covers a little of everything from bombings to rations to warfare. The book ends with extensive backmatter relaying the actual facts (although it appears the fictional story stays very close to the true one), sources for more information, and archival photographs. I found the book incredibly compelling and read it in one sitting. Despite its length, it reads quickly as it is not a traditional prose novel but a novel in verse. Each short poem made me want to read the next one. However, I worry that this particular format might turn away the intended young reader audience. I think once they start it, they would also be equally engrossed by the story, but it's been my experience that kids just glance at that format and turn away immediately. I hope not in this case as it's a story of courage and resilience worth reading.
    • 5/5
      Lifeboat 12 by Susan Hood is a kid's historical fiction novel about the sinking of the SS City of Benares by a German U-Boat. Among the passengers were children being sent from London to Canada to keep them safe from the bombings. We see the story through the eyes of a survivor, 13yr old Ken Sparks. An accident of fate found Ken separated from his friend Terry, on Lifeboat 12, instead of Lifeboat 8 like he should have been. For 8 days, the survivors of Lifeboat 12 floated alone and lost, with dwindling water supplies. By the time rescue arrived one man had died, and several were critical. All were malnourished and suffering from 'trench foot’. But they survived when many didn't. This is their story. I loved this book! First, this is about a subject I know little about, and I found it fascinating. Hood wrote in Ken's voice, and from his perspective. What we know of the events are only what this boy knows. The tale is written via a series of free-verse poems that got very creative at times, with font changes and zig-zaggy words, that mirrored the emotions Ken was going through. Each poem pulled me to the next. I HAD to know if they got rescued. Every day they got weaker and weaker. Who might be gone the next day? I see more and more books like this, of late, where the stories are told through snapshot poems. Such poignant stories can be told this way, and I find that I quite enjoy the style. The end of the book has sections with the stats of the Benares, and a more concise rendering of the facts of the case. This is perfect for the middle-grade reader who loves history, and for classroom reading.***Many thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Children's for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.