Picture this: it’s 1942 in London. World War II has been going on for three years now and life as everyone knows has been changed forever. This is where the reader begins, following the main character, Nellie Morris.
The historical fiction book “Nineteen Steps” written by Millie Bobby Brown and Kathleen McGurl debuted with a 3.7 out of 5 stars on Goodreads and 91% of Google users have said they like the book.
Brown’s novel is about a young girl who lives in London during World War II and her story is full of love, adventure and hope through tragedy. She meets an American airman and he shows her the bigger world outside her small town. Just when she thinks nothing could bring her down, something happens that shifts her world forever.
Nineteen Steps is based on Brown’s grandmother’s life during World War II. In McGurl’s blog she talks about her time working with Brown.
“I was sent a lot of research that had already been pulled together by Millie and her family, and plenty of ideas, and we had a couple of Zoom calls. And then I knuckled down and wrote the first draft,” McGurl said.
Brown has talked in several interviews about how she wants to keep history alive, especially the history elderly people have to give. This is what inspired her to write “Nineteen Steps.”
The main character, Nellie, goes through many conflicts, but how she navigated her way through these challenges is what adds the essence to the story. She loves her family very much and she holds them very close to her heart. She proves this through many daring tasks such as chasing after a bus for her sister and taking a dog after the owners died.
The writing isn’t very complicated, as the writer normally writes books for children, but is descriptive to portray a vivid story. On the other hand, the book deals with some heavier topics such as war and loss, so it should be recommended to grades seven through 10.
In total, “Nineteen Steps” by Brown and McGurl is a fun read for those who want to learn more about history while investing themselves into fun characters.
