Nisha's War: A gorgeously evoked wartime ghost story, perfect for fans of Frances Hardinge and Emma Carroll

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The atmospheric cover illustration by Matthew Land is sure to tempt readers in and the end papers continue the interest, showing a range of pictures, posters, notes and objects which offer tantalising clues about the story ahead. The evocation of wartime, of a sense of eeriness and of an isolated island are brilliantly portrayed.

Nisha’s War by Dan Smith – Get Kids into Books Nisha’s War by Dan Smith – Get Kids into Books

Nisha’s story of her life in Malaya is told in a series of flashbacks, mainly recorded in the journal she’s keeping as a form of therapy to process the traumatic wartime events she’s lived through. The fact that she is ‘different’, coming from Indian/ English parentage, being an ‘outsider’ and having partially lost her hearing due to a bomb blast all add to the wave of prejudice she encounters from many villagers.It has also given me an insight into the big driving sales and marketing engines of the publishing industry, reinforcing the fact that a book has to sell itself to keep its position on the shelves. Local lad Jamie, Land Girl Joy, kindly cook and housekeeper Mrs Foster and her husband Mr Foster and, of course, the formidable Mrs Barrow.

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When they arrive at the imposing Barrow House, they are made to feel less than welcome by Nisha’s grandmother, the formidable Mrs Barrow who informs them that there are a set of rules which she expects to be followed, rules which are shared with them by the kind-hearted housekeeper, Mrs Foster. Her Papa unfortunately didn’t get onto the same ship they were on, and you see the struggle that many people in WW2 must have gone through about not knowing where somebody you cared for was and if they were alive or not. Missing the heat of home in Malaya, her grandmother’s house in the North of England seems especially cold and grey. Prepare to be chilled by the latest gorgeously evocative wartime ghost story by Dan Smith with stunning atmospheric cover illustration by Matthew Land.I had already visited FortSilosoin Singapore, and taken aLOT of photographs of the artefacts and displays. Mrs Barrow experiences drastic character development as she finally realises how cold and distant, she has been to Nisha and her mother. When Nisha’s mother falls seriously ill with a suspected recurrence of malaria, Nisha finds herself alone and in desperate need of a friend.