Review by Adrianna Melillo -- Sandra Eden's War
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Adrianna Melillo
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Review by Adrianna Melillo -- Sandra Eden's War
[Following is a volunteer review of "Sandra Eden's War" by Michael Low.]
Michael Low’s Sandra Eden’s War transports readers to German-occupied France during the heart of World War II. Sandra Eden is a Special Operations Executive (SOE) whose mission is to stall Nazi progress as much as possible. This includes tasks like blowing up weapons manufacturers and railroad lines. Though some of the men in this novel have a difficult time operating under the command of a woman, Sandra continuously proves that she is a force not to be reckoned with. She quickly shuts down any man who tries to belittle her, and always gets her job done with utmost efficiency and grace. This is an exciting, action-packed read from start to finish.
There are many aspects of this novel that I appreciate. Sitting at the top of my list is the strong female lead. While I’ve read many World War II fiction novels with inspiring female characters, the women are generally victims of Nazi capture who are just trying to stay alive. Reading about a female leading a resisting force was something totally new. I also appreciated the many historical accuracies throughout the novel. Low clearly did his research.
In this novel, there is never a dull moment. The plot moved at a quick, consistent pace, so I was never bored. My only criticism is that, while I enjoyed this fast-paced nature, I think some of the more intense scenes would have benefitted from being slowed down and told with a bit more detail. The way it’s currently written makes it seem as though all of the conflicts were very quickly and easily overcome (even though each of the tasks were surely very difficult and dangerous). I think expanding these scenes a little would really put readers on the edges of their seats.
With my single criticism in mind, I still believe this novel is worthy of 4 out of 4 stars. It has clearly been carefully edited, as I did not find a single spelling or grammatical error (and props to Low for using the British spellings of certain words to maintain consistency with the characters’ backgrounds). It’s fairly short (about 152 pages), highly captivating, and unlike any other World War II fiction I’ve read.
I definitely recommend this one to middle-school readers. It’s compact and action-packed enough to keep a youthful attention span engaged. Likewise, it contains no inappropriate language or erotic content. This is a great introduction to World War II literature, and I think it has the potential to be a great resource for teachers.
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Sandra Eden's War
View: on Bookshelves
Michael Low’s Sandra Eden’s War transports readers to German-occupied France during the heart of World War II. Sandra Eden is a Special Operations Executive (SOE) whose mission is to stall Nazi progress as much as possible. This includes tasks like blowing up weapons manufacturers and railroad lines. Though some of the men in this novel have a difficult time operating under the command of a woman, Sandra continuously proves that she is a force not to be reckoned with. She quickly shuts down any man who tries to belittle her, and always gets her job done with utmost efficiency and grace. This is an exciting, action-packed read from start to finish.
There are many aspects of this novel that I appreciate. Sitting at the top of my list is the strong female lead. While I’ve read many World War II fiction novels with inspiring female characters, the women are generally victims of Nazi capture who are just trying to stay alive. Reading about a female leading a resisting force was something totally new. I also appreciated the many historical accuracies throughout the novel. Low clearly did his research.
In this novel, there is never a dull moment. The plot moved at a quick, consistent pace, so I was never bored. My only criticism is that, while I enjoyed this fast-paced nature, I think some of the more intense scenes would have benefitted from being slowed down and told with a bit more detail. The way it’s currently written makes it seem as though all of the conflicts were very quickly and easily overcome (even though each of the tasks were surely very difficult and dangerous). I think expanding these scenes a little would really put readers on the edges of their seats.
With my single criticism in mind, I still believe this novel is worthy of 4 out of 4 stars. It has clearly been carefully edited, as I did not find a single spelling or grammatical error (and props to Low for using the British spellings of certain words to maintain consistency with the characters’ backgrounds). It’s fairly short (about 152 pages), highly captivating, and unlike any other World War II fiction I’ve read.
I definitely recommend this one to middle-school readers. It’s compact and action-packed enough to keep a youthful attention span engaged. Likewise, it contains no inappropriate language or erotic content. This is a great introduction to World War II literature, and I think it has the potential to be a great resource for teachers.
******
Sandra Eden's War
View: on Bookshelves
Latest Review: Spring Fed by Bill Plyler
