Under a Fire-Red Sky

By Author / Illustrator

Geraldine Mccaughrean

Genre

Historical Fiction

Age range(s)

14+

Publisher

Usborne

ISBN

9781836040774

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

10-04-2025

Synopsis

From the award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Geraldine McCaughrean comes an utterly immersive and unforgettable novel set during the London Blitz, inspired by her firefighter father.

With the Second World War looming, four young people sit on a train waiting to be evacuated to a safer place...but they don't want to go. They climb out of the carriage and head back home to Greenwich, forming an unlikely friendship.

They spend their days trying to be useful. Laurence is building a secret machine. Gemmy searches bombed-out homes for things of value - only to find an adorable mutt she can't even give away. Franklin wants to join the Fire Service, although it means lying about his age. Olive looks after her father, who is broken by the deaths of his fellow firefighters. And together, the four roam the streets of London, discovering their resilience amongst the secrets of the city.

But as the Blitz unleashes a barrage of bombs on London, turning the sky ragged with flame, can the friends keep each other safe and survive?

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Reviews

Sue

Stuck on a train full of younger children being evacuated, there are four who do not want to leave the city. Gradually, each comes to realise that they could simply get up and leave the carriage - and so they do. First to go is the Gremlin, followed by Lawrence, Olive and Franklin. Linked by this experience, they form an unlikely friendship as they face the Blitz in Greenwich.

Trying to summarise a book by Geraldine McCaughrean is almost impossible! Drawing on her firefighter father's experiences of the London Blitz, Under a Fire-Red Sky is a story driven by the experiences of these four unlikely friends as they cope with family life and changing relationships against the backdrop of the horrific events of the war.

All their hopes and dreams are ruined as the world they know drastically changes. The Gremlin is a runaway, trying to escape her abusive father, ending up living in an abandoned van with her dog, Mutt. Despite being too young, Franklin is desperate to join the fire service. Described by his teacher as 'rather intense', Lawrence is determined to finish his secret 'project' and Olive, dutiful, well-behaved daughter, really doesn't want to leave home. Although Olive and Lawrence vaguely know one another from school, the four teenagers are strangers to one another, yet are now bound together by their decision to leave the train.

Meticulously researched and thus rich in historical detail, Under a Fire-Red Sky is a compelling and absorbing read, conveying a strong sense of what life must have been like in London during the Blitz, with beautifully written, powerful descriptions throughout. Both content and style make this one for older readers as the lives and experiences of the four main characters and various events in the book are hard-hitting, presented without sentimentality, yet made all the more poignant by this.

Geraldine McCaughrean is a master storyteller. This is one not to be missed.

300 pages / Reviewed by Sue Wilsher, teacher