2018 Book Award Shortlist
Letters from the Lighthouse by Emma Carroll
About the Book:
We weren’t supposed to be going to the pictures that night. We weren’t even meant to be outside, not in a blackout, and definitely not when German bombs had been falling on London all month like pennies from a jar.
February, 1941. After months of bombing raids in London, twelve-year-old Olive Bradshaw and her little brother Cliff are evacuated to the Devon coast. The only person with two spare beds is Mr Ephraim, the local lighthouse keeper. But he’s not used to company and he certainly doesn’t want any evacuees. Desperate to be helpful, Olive becomes his post-girl, carrying secret messages (as she likes to think of the letters) to the villagers. But Olive has a secret of her own. Her older sister Sukie went missing in an air raid, and she’s sesperate to discover what happened to her. And then she finds a strange coded note which seems to link Sukie to Devon, and to something dark and impossibly dangerous.
Published by Faber & Faber
About the Author:
Emma Carroll was a secondary school English teacher for many years. Letters from the Lighthouse is Emma’s sixth novel; she has also written the highly-acclaimed Frost Hollow Hall, The Girl Who Walked on Air, In Darkling Wood, The Snow Sister and Strange Star. She lives in the Somerset hills with her husband and two terriers.
45 responses to “Letters from the Lighthouse by Emma Carroll”
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Letters from the Lighthouse is a gripping,page-turning story and I have never read a story like this in my life. It is my favourite book that I have read this year, even though I have only read 20 pages – but its still really good so fa.r
I haven’t finished Letters from the Light house yet, but I am close. This book is brilliant. I’m not a fan of war books but this book is ok. I love it.
its a suspenseful book that uses good vocabulary and relates to real peoples lives in the past (1941). it is – in my opinion – in the genre of adventure and mystery.
I think that Letters From the Lighthouse was one of the best books I’ve ever read, I thought it was so good because of how the story changed every few pages and that kept me reading the book and I couldn’t possibly put it down.
This book deserves to be one of the shortlist book titles. It has the most dramatic start of all the books I’v ever read. It’s amazing!
I love this book because you cant let go when you start it and I also love the detective theme to it.
letters from the light house brilliant book and has a potential of winning
A Fantastic book that is intriguing at every point. Olive is an inspirational girl who is helpful in any way possible. Emma Carroll is an amazing author and I look forward to reading more of her books. I thing that this is one of the best books that I have ever read.
An fantastic book that is really intriguing at every part. Olive is an inspirational girl who went through a lot and helped in every way that she could. Emma Carroll is an amazing Author and I look forward to reading more of her books. I think that this is one of the best books that I have ever read.
From the first few pages of this book it hooked me in, this author is very talented and her books are amazing I would definitely recommend this book.
this was the first book I read for Shrewsbury Bookfest 2018 and I loved the idea of the story and I am doing this story for the letter competition and art competition I’m so glad I chose this book its so far my favourite by a lot
Great book!
I enjoyed reading Letters from the Lighthouse. It was interesting to find out more about WW2, as it is our topic at the moment. I liked how there are so many twists in this book and I really liked the fact that you can never tell what’s coming next. Every chapter holds a different secret waiting to be unlocked and read. I recommend this book to anyone who likes a gripping historical fiction story.
I loved Letters from the Lighthouse. It had me hooked from the start and a was always turning the page with enthusiasm.I loved how it was so mysterious and it made me think. It also made me feel like I was Olive and I was the one who was uncovering the secrets. Queenie and Ephraim seem horrible people at first but they turn out to be kind people with good intentions. I had lots of different opinions throughout the book about what was going on and my predictions must have changes at least ten times. This book also made me interested in WW2 and what life was like in that time. 10/10
I loved this book. Every single chapter was a mysterious puzzle that you had to solve. In addition to this, it made feel like I was in the war and i was experiencing the air raid that happened at the cinema. It was heart-warming and a joy to read. Emma Carroll is a stunning author and needs more credit.
Letters from the lighthouse is a very realistic book and makes me think I am actually there every time I turned the page it made me want to read on.7/10
This was probably the best book out of the six. I enjoyed this because it was a sad story at the beginning but then it started to get happier throughout the book. Also, this book was interesting I got to learn about world war 2 and what happened around these times. I would love to read more of Emma Carroll’s books. I recommended people who have big imagination. I LOVED IT!
This is an amazing book! I love the way that you have made it really realistic. Reading this really got me into world war 2 and how people used to live in the olden days. This is one of the books that at the start it was quiet upsetting but through out the book it got really interesting- especially the quick sand which really got me on my toes. I really recommend this book for lovers of history and someone that has a massive imagination. I LOVE IT.
Set in the Blitz, this book covers bombing, evacuation and people smuggling! There are many books set at this time – this book shines bright. Emma Carroll is a brilliant author.
Letters from the Lighthouse is an intriguing book that keeps the reader drawn to it. This book has to be one of my favourite books that I have read so far. This book is filled with emotion which makes the reader feel like they would be a character in the book. Emma Carroll deserves a massive round of applause for her marvellous work.
I haven’t finished letters from the light house yet but I love it, I’m not a fan of war but this book is brilliant .
“Letters from the Lighthouse” in my opinion is one of the best books in the history of all books. It literally doesn’t let you take your eyes away from the pages! You simply have to read on! Throughout the whole book I was either sat there with a lump in my throat, or a smile on my face. I recommend it to anyone who’s into history or likes a gripping, mysterious and emotion mixing adventure of a story.
Couldn’t put this book down! Letters from the Lighthouse is such an amazing story, set in WW2. At the start, when everything seems normal, an air raid splits a family apart. The brother and sister are sent to Budmouth Point, near the Devonshire coast. Whilst they`re there, they start to unravel where their missing sister Sukie is… This book is so well written! I think letters from the lighthouse deserves to win bookfest! I give this book 5 stars.
I thought that ‘Letters from the Lighthouse’ was an extraordinary book that taught children and adults all about the war and what everyone had to go through. It definitely brings the images to my head through the way Emma Carroll uses description. I would rate this book a 5/5 and recommend it for history lovers!
I loved Letters From The Lighthouse – IT WAS THE BEST BOOK EVER!!! I loved it because it is a fabulous book all about a young girl (Olive) ,who lived in the time of world war II, that goes through a great adventure in Budmouth Point. Read this book to find out more. I think this book is for everyone!
I loved Letters from the Lighthouse because there`s a mystery in every part of the story.My favourite character is Esther because her mood changes through the story.I recommend this book to anyone who likes mystery.
‘The Letters From the Lighthouse’ is a wonderful, heart-warming story. It is my favourite book I have ever read, apart from Harry Potter! My favourite character is Olive because she is the person clever enough to crack the code. I love how this story flows and fits together. I agree with the review by The Telegraph on the front cover: Emma Carroll knows she can keep her listeners in thrall.
‘The Letters From the Lighthouse’ is an amazing story of a girl and her brother trying to solve the mystery of their missing sister, Suzie. From the very start through to the last page, I was gripped to the book! It made me gasp; it made me want to adventure more and to learn more about WW2. This book has shown me what life was like during WW2, what people did and the sacrifices they had to make. I would recommend you give it a read.
Letters from the Lighthouse…
This book is the best book I have ever read, this book is amazing for any age or gender. Olive is the main character and Cliff (her brother) traveled to Devon to stay safe from the German bombs in WW1. Along the way they meet another school girl called Esther Jenkins and she and Olive definitely don’t like each other but they worked together to solve the mystery of Sukie, (Olive’s missing sister.) Then Olive and Esther became best of friends. I would recommend this to anyone as it is amazing, especially if your into history!
I really liked Letters From The Lighthouse because it was a sad story but in a way happy because in the the end they have a happy and enthusiastic life.I would recommend this book to anyone who likes war and emotional based stories. I liked the part when the family was reunited together at last after a long journey to the lighthouse. I also thought it was sad when Olive and Cliff found out how there dad died.This would be a book for boys and girls to read if they pick it up depending on there personality .
I just finished letters from the light house and it was fantastic this book is for girls and boys and I loved to predict what was going to happen next. Some characters in this book totally thrilled me my favorite was Cliff as he always was brave and he liked to see a lot of things. But that doesn’t mean I don’t like any of the other characters because I really loved them all Especially Queenie and Esther because there were just so unpredictable and I really liked that one minute they could be kind and one minute they could be ever so mean. I recommend this to every one and I guarantee you will love it! 10/10 100%!
I was drawn in from the very first page of this book. It will make you laugh, cry and wonder. Each character seems to have a hidden meaning. Olive: look for a bright side. Esther: dig a little deeper. Queenie: don’t judge a book by it’s cover, and Ephraim: even the darkest of people have a bright side. This book will warm your hearts as well as freeze them.
Brilliant!
I am reading letters of light house now and i have to be honest so far its amazing the secrets in it blew me and it surprised me at how Queenie is at the moment.But the awesomeness of the book doesn’t thrill me because iv’e read the girl who walked on air and it was fantastic so i also recommend that book to if you enjoyed letters of the light house so far i’m giving it a 9 out of 10 but at the moment i think it could easily change!
Letters from the Lighthouse was one of the best books i have read in my life! This book is full to the brim with interesting facts about WW II. I love the amazing characters and story plots in this book, I love the way the writer has made it fe1el as if you are in WW II when you reed the book! AMAZING!!!!!
I enjoyed the time I read this book.I loved how every chapter ended with a cliff hanger, it created tension and gave me an urge to read on.My favourite character was Olive because she never gave up, but digged for the answers.I highly recommend Letters from the lighthouse to anyone who is interested in World war,and a mysterious adventure.
Letters from the Lighthouse was an amazing book. Although it’s about war it’s still really good. At some points in the book it’s sad, funny and happy. The blurb gives the book a really good background to the book. if this book was in a shop I would buy it. I would give the book a definite 10/10
The Matilda Effect is brilliant book because it inspired me to do anything and everything even if people say it’s ‘ not for girls’. It’s got really good description and is amazing. My favourite part was when granny joss discovers a planet and then professor smocks(a mean scientist) says he found it. I would easily give it 10/10.
I liked ‘Letters from the Lighthouse because there was a lot of unexpected events happening. My favourite part of Letters from the Lighthouse was the ending because the last line is really gripping. My favourite character is Cliff because hes always high-spirited and joyful.
Letters from the Lighthouse: A wonderful read. I would love to have this book on my bookshelf: not a single page of this book is boring. I was either on the edge of my seat, crying or – for most of it – smiling! I think this books offers a wonderful opportunity for children of my age to see how poorly treated people were in those days and what it was like living during the war. This book kept me enthralled.
I chose this book because I could tell it was about WW2 because of the Spitfires on the cover. I really enjoy finding out about how people and kids coped with life during the war. Its really good how its from a girls perspective and not a boy looking for war trophies.
Olive is really scared but has to work through the problems. Im loving it. Its scary, sad, exciting and interesting all in one.
I LOVE this book even though I’m only on page 10 it’s one of the best books I’ve ever read I recomend this book to people so far that like adventure/tragedies I LOVE it
I loved Letters from the Lighthouse. It’s about war and I’m not a fan of war but I might start reading books like this now. I recommend it to anyone who likes mystery and action. The main characters are Olive and her younger brother Cliff. They wonder where Sukie (their older sister) is. My favourite bit is when Olive finds out it is not Queenie who writes to Sukie it’s Ephraim but Olive wonders why.I recommend it to everyone who likes mystery and action. The main characters are Olive, Cliff, Sukie and Ephraim.
I recommend Letters from the Lighthouse to anyone. I promise you will love it! The main character is Olive and she has got a younger brother and an older sister. In the book it’s about the war and Olive’s sister goes missing. Olive and her younger brother get evacuated to Devon.My favorite part is when Sukie (Olives older sister ) goes missing because you wander where she had gone.
I thought this was a really original story that kept me reading into the night. I’ve read other historical fiction set during WW2 but Emma Carroll includes facts that I hadn’t heard before. The mystery is gripping and Olive and Cliff meet some really interesting characters in Devon – I loved Esther and Queenie who both taught me that appearances can be deceptive.
From the very first few pages, this story is full of gripping adventure, mystery and is at times, breathtaking. Olive, the main character, shows courage and resilience despite huge heartache – a real role model. I loved Emma Carroll’s ‘In Darkling Wood’ from 2016 Bookfest and this story may have even topped that. Beautifully written, extremely relevant with tension building until the very end. Brilliant!