That Burning Summer by Lydia Syson

That Burning Summer

by Lydia Syson

Full of passion, this wartime coming of age story is about a girl, a boy and a crash-landing

Romney Marsh, July 1940. When invasion threatens, you have to grow up quickly. Sixteen-year-old Peggy has been putting on a brave face since the fall of France, but now the enemy is overhead, and the rules are changing all the time. Staying on the right side of the law proves harder than she expects when a plane crash-lands in the Marsh: it's Peggy who finds its pathetic, broken pilot; a young Polish man, Henryk, who stays hidden in a remote church, secretly cared for by Peggy. As something more blossoms between the two, Peggy's brother Ernest's curiosity peaks and other secrets come to light, forcing Peggy and Henryk to question all the loyalties and beliefs they thought they held dear.

In one extraordinary summer the lives of two young people will change forever, in a tense and gripping historical drama from Lydia Syson, the author of the acclaimed A WORLD BETWEEN US.

Reviewed by readingwithwrin on

3 of 5 stars

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3.5 stars

When I first heard about this book, I figured it was going to be a little bit like Summer of my German Soldier (did anyone else have to read that in middle school?). So I was pretty excited for it considering this one is set in Britain and I was curious to see how different it would be. Instead, it's about a Polish pilot and British girl brought together in a very different way than one might expect.

Told from three different perspectives Henryk, Peggy, and Ernest.

Peggy while young and sheltered is now trying to learn more about what's happening to her country and her family, but her mom and aunt try to protect her and keep her away from what is truly happening around them. While they want her to grow up, they also don't want her to lose her innocence and hope for the world. This is something that annoys Peggy, and she tries to do everything she can to try and show them she can handle what's happening.

Then we have Ernest the naive and extremely nervous young brother. He is so focused on following all of the new rules that the government is putting out to try and keep the people protected, that he forgets them which makes him even more nervous. He is also having to deal with bullying because of something his father has done, that he doesn't know about.

Henryk the Polish pilot whose plane has gone down and he is terrified and unsure of what to do now. He doesn't want to fly anymore, but he knows he can't leave the service either because of how needed pilots are and because of where he has come from.
This is when Peggy and Henryk meet and even though Peggy is afraid of him because she doesn't know about Polish pilots working for Britain and because she thinks he could be a spy. Sadly for her, he's not a spy, instead, he is just a young man far from home that believes he has nothing left of his old life.

Overall I did enjoy this story, sadly it just wasn't what I was expecting and let's face it recently we've been spoiled with very complex WWII stories. This one is more of just a quick and easy read that teaches you about something that has never been talked about in a YA novel before.
The main reason this book didn't work for me though, is because I never grew attached to the characters, it's just like they were there and that was it. We read about the struggles and the possible dangers they were facing, but you never feel scared for the or worried about the life changing consequences they could face.
I did find it absolutely fascinating to learn about Polish pilots and how they continued on even after their country had fallen to the Germans and were willing to fight for any allied country that would take them.


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  • Started reading
  • 10 June, 2017: Finished reading
  • 10 June, 2017: Reviewed