Dear Mrs Bird by AJ Pearce

London, 1940. Emmeline Lake and her best

friend Bunty are trying to stay cheerful despite the Luftwaffe making life thoroughly annoying for everyone. Emmy dreams of becoming a Lady War Correspondent and when she spots a job advertisement in the newspaper she seizes her chance – but after a rather unfortunate misunderstanding, she finds herself typing letters for the formidable Henrietta Bird, the renowned agony aunt of Woman’s Friend magazine.

Mrs Bird is very clear: letters containing any form of Unpleasantness must go straight into the bin. But as Emmy reads the desperate pleas from women who may have Gone Too Far with the wrong man, or can’t bear to let their children be evacuated, she decides the only thing for it is to secretly write back . . .

MY REVIEW:

I absolutely loved this book from start to finish. The way the author uses capital letters to emphasise certain phrases, (for example; being chums with Lively Types or a list of Racy Elements), the language, the humour, the characters, it’s such a clever and funny book.

But of course it’s wartime, so there’s sadness and pathos too. I loved all the characters, Emmy is so brave and so kind, Mrs Bird is a force to be reckoned with, Bunty is such a lovely friend. You really feel as if you know them all.

It’s a book to make you laugh and cry. It’s got everything an excellent book should have. It would make a wonderful tv drama or film. I think this will be another big book this year, and rightly so. Highly recommended.

MY RATING: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

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