Mrs F is using all her energy to look after her animals, in times of rationing and daily bombings, in the city. She has no time to nurture this unhappy lad that has arrived. As the sirens alert the people to take shelter, Mrs F and Jospeh dash to the zoo but Mrs F's strange ritual every night has Joseph confused. Mrs F (Farrelly) is the woman who is to look after Joseph. She is a stern woman who takes no nonsense from the young lad and makes him earn his keep, much to Joseph’s disappointment. He hasn’t even been there a day when he smashes his bedroom window. Based on such horrible true events in the history of WW2 but making the story more fictional and about a sweet friendship between both the boy and the gorilla really shows the effects of the war but what positive consequences it had. Despite this heart-warming affection towards this relationship this book was really sad at the same time showing the hardships and unfortunate truths of the war. It is overall a rollercoaster of emotions and was extremely well written based on the true events.

In this deeply moving story of Joseph’s journey of self-discovery Phil Earle not only tells a brilliant story of a child’s emotional development but also added an important and true dimension to World War 2 stories. A heartwarming story about the value of friendship and trust. In which love plays an important role. The characters were also conveyed in a great way. Joseph was really hateable (if that's a word) at the start, but you gradually grow to like him, and begin to realise that he is a boy that is mentally troubled by his previous life. Syd is a wonderfully kind, yet talkative character who just wants to help. Mrs F, well, you just feel sorry for her at the beginning - she was just dumped with this boy, that, let's face it, she didn't really want. Mrs F, Grans associate is the lady now in charge of him. She is short, strict and makes it clear his behaviour will not be tolerated and sets about making him conform by going to school, doing chores and working. And this is where the story takes a different direction. Mrs F runs the family Zoo at a time in the Blitz when food is rationed and people think animals should be put down. But Mrs F has Adonis the gorilla and as Joseph works at the Zoo with the help of his new friend Syd he begins to warm to her, him and vice versa. But Joseph is not the only one with difficulties and a past and will that be the end of the loss in his short life?. Can they help heal each other?. From this book, I learnt that and realised just how chaotic things were during World War Two. Having studied it, I knew it was pretty bad but the way the author described how bombs were exploding it made me see a new side to it and feel what people felt at the time. This book being set in WW2 made it very interesting seeing as you get to see what people had to regularly go through and how tough it is. The most exciting plot had to be Joseph being protected by Adonis the gorilla. This showed how not all big animals are wild, tough beasts but also caring and loving animals too. I would definitely recommend this to other people because it's so interesting and you get to see what happens in the war when you don’t get evacuated.

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The ending of the book was suitably sad and fitted the story well; the way Joseph and Mrs F were united in the face of their mutual loss was inspiring yet devastating for the reader. I read this book very slowly to savour every chapter and emotional scene. It will most certainly be one of my favourite all time reads. This story was beautifully told with rich language that would be a great resource for Y5/6 writing. It would also make a fantastic class read where pupils can share the emotion and thrill of this story together.

As Joseph settles into his new temporary home he realises that he is not alone, he also comes to share a bond with Adonis but as the bombs rain down on the city, both he and Mrs F know that if Adonis escapes his cage then they must do the unthinkable, a task neither of them wants.

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I do appreciate the instinct not to neatly resolve everything neatly, but these aspects just felt like they didn't get the attention they needed. The book made me research things I have never questioned before, and some of the answers were upsetting and gave way to a certain amount of anger, to say the least. Joseph Palmer is a 12 year old boy who has a rough childhood. His mother left him because she couldn't take care of him, and his dad had to leave him behind to fight in war. The young boy has a difficult character that mainly consists of tantrums and anger issues. Mrs F and Joseph co-exist, and whilst the fight to save Adonis brings them closer, they are still worlds apart. ‘Joseph felt a bond with Adonis in these dark days of his life and this filled him with happiness, but also dread. Happiness that Adonis finally trusted him, but dread that their friendship might soon be over.’ I think the novel would have benefitted from a few more external prompts and events occuring - a letter from Jospeh's father, a visit to Syd's house, that sort of thing. Moments that would help turn inert ideas into narrative, that would show us firsthand things we need to care about.

I loved this story. The theme of loss running through it makes this a sad but incredibly uplifting book. The plot is fast-paced and you really care what happens to Joseph and Mrs F. I kept willing them to understand each other and meet in the middle. The Second World War feels like another character in the book, with the bombs that show no respect and Hitler as the ultimate bully, and bullies must never win. Small snippets of daily life add texture to the story, a milkman delivering milk to a house that no longer exists, kids playing on rubble. When the Sky Falls is inspired by a true story. I would suggest that you prepare yourself for an emotional rollercoaster. I would also point out there are themes of a dark nature broached within the book that some might find a little unsettling. My thoughts: I definitely enjoyed spending time with the characters in this one. The story itself, well, the plot was hard-to-take at times. I'll try to explain. Hard on the heart.Joseph has anger issues, and that is evident from the very onset. But then again, so does Adonis, but for very different reasons. Joseph's situation is particularly poignant, and the author has got it nailed to a tee. Joseph is like a beast trapped in a cage, restricted in his movements, rejected by those around him and ridiculed by his peers. Feeling unloved, unwanted and useless.

In particular, the zoo, which is of course at the heart of the book, felt frustratingly underexplored. Its physical space, atmosphere and history are so intriguing and distinct and there are passages where the experience of being within it are very sharply imagined. But just too much is covered vaguely. He struggles to deal with the fact his Mum left when he was small and now feels even more alone as his Dad is sent to fight in WW2. He skips school frustrated with a learning difficulty he hides, has anger issues, fights and does mostly as he pleases until his Gran can take no more and he is sent to London, the result of a closely guarded kept promise. The plot is certainly different. Whilst you have our two main characters, the zoo also felt like a main character as did the war which felt eerie and ever-present in your mind. Joseph has other battles with school, in particular bullying and his serious troubles with reading. Like so many children of his generation, his dyslexia is not recognised or understood. Most children during the war were evacuated from cities, to safer places in the countryside. Joseph was not one of these children. He was 'evacuated' from his home in a place (which I think remains nameless) to a city (that as far as I know also remains nameless). Joseph is rude, abnoxious, and downright selfish. And he doesn't exactly get on with his host Mrs Farrelly. And when he's put to work on what remains of her zoo, it seems that even Adonis, the resident ape, takes a dislike to him. Soon, though, they seem to form a kind of friendship. But when the bombs start to fall, he has to make a choice - let the ape free or shoot him on the spot? And this decision may well cost him his life. A scrumptious plot that was fabulously delivered.Because of these details, I would recommend this book, to give others the opportunity to read about this interesting side of evacuee life. However, I myself would not read it again, for although I enjoyed reading it, it wasn’t particularly life-changing, nor is it my favourite book, but I believe that it was still worth reading. Oh wow! When the Sky Falls is the most emotional and exciting middle grade book that I have read this year! Take a moment to look at the front cover more closely. A fabulous illustration that gives you a peek at what lies inside that cover When the Sky Falls took into a part of WW2 that I haven't previously read about. We have read stories about life on the home front but this is a new angle looking at the struggles of a city zoo.