Lifeboat 5 (Reprint)

Description: Based on the lives, rescue, and continuing friendship of British evacuees Bess Walder, 15, and Beth Cummings, 14, who spent fourteen hours in the North Atlantic with their hands grasped across their overturned lifeboat after the Nazis torpedoed the SS City of Benares on route to Canada in 1940. Includes historical notes.

Brief description: Susan Hood is the award-winning author of many books for young readers, includingAdas Violin, Alias Anna, Harboring Hope, The Last Straw, Lifeboat 12, andShaking Things Up. Susan is the recipient of the E.B. White Honor Award, two Christopher Awards, the Amricas Award, the SCBWI Golden Kite Award, and two Bank Street Flora Stieglitz Straus Awards, given to a distinguished work of nonfiction that serves as an inspiration to young people. In addition to winning many state reading awards, Susans books have been named a National Jewish Book Awards finalist, a Sydney Taylor Notable Book, a NCTE Notable Poetry Book, a NSTA Best Stem Book of the Year, an Amazon Teachers Pick, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, and a Bank Street Best Book of the Year. Visit her at SusanHoodBooks.com.

Review Quotes: Hood s latest is a companion story to Lifeboat 12 that highlights the powerful strength of friendship and family in the most perilous of events. Bess, 15, is desperate to escape the German airstrikes in London and the personal attacks made by school bullies. She convinces her parents to allow her and her 10-year-old brother, Louis, to apply to the evacuation lottery provided by the Children s Overseas Reception Board. When they win a spot on the SS City of Benares traveling to Canada, Bess is ready for the fresh start. Life on a luxury liner is exciting for the 90 children and their chaperones. Bess even finds a friend who finally understands and accepts her wholeheartedly. But when a German U-Boat torpedo strikes their ship, it becomes a race against time to evacuate and survive in the frigid water until help arrives. This novel-in-verse evokes the raw emotions of a teenager, her curious brother, and the relentless sea all struggling to find peace and safety in this lesser-known tragic World War II nautical event. Extensive research, notes, and photographs offer readers a closer look at understanding the sinking of the Benares and the effects it had on the war effort and survivors. VERDICT A highly recommended purchase for all libraries who cherished Lifeboat 12 and seek another inspiring true story of a young girl s extraordinary resilience.