After reading the back of this book, I was already excited to get started reading it. Then I actually opened it, and I was instantly wrapped in the story. No slow beginnings here.
Shelter Me by Alex McAulay is a book of non-stop action that will have you hooked immediately. When a book starts off with a girl innocently shopping with her risqué aunt one moment, and then getting bombed the next, you know you’re in for something wicked. Maggie Leigh is living in London during World War II with only her arthritic, religious fanatic mother for company. All of her friends have fled the city because of the constant bombing occurrences, so the only time she’s ever with somebody she likes is when she gets the semi-frequent visit from her aunt.
After the bombing, however, her aunt is seriously injured and her mother panics. She sends her off on a train with a mysterious letter to stay with an uncle, aunt, and cousins she barely remembers. She finally reaches her stop and at first, no one is there to pick her up from the seemingly deserted station. Then a black car creeps up the driveway and out comes a dark figure that surprisingly turns out to be a nun, Sister Bramley. Maggie is at first relieved and then horrified when the nun tells her she’s taking her back to a convent in dreary Wales by her mother’s orders, and is proven by the letter, that says her mother feared for her soul because of her associations with her ‘heathen’ aunt.
The convent is rather similar to a medieval castle and just as foreboding. Then she meets Mother Superior, a lipless burn victim who’s entire face is burned and has eyes for slits, who is her welcoming party. When Mother yells to Sister Bramley to do horrifying things to Maggie, Sister Bramley shows some kind of decency by not obeying Mother Superior’s requests, but a face-to-face confrontation with Mother Superior was quite enough punishment.
Soon after, she meets Kate, another off the beaten path character, similar to her aunt, who has the mouth of a sailor and believes in religion about as much as an atheist. The two hit it off, and Kate gives Maggie tips for survival at the convent. Maggie is then called from breakfast to confessional, but contrary to what all Catholic rules say, it is Mother Superior and not a priest is to hear her confessions. Afterwards, Mother Superior inquires about what Maggie fears most. Intelligently, Maggie lies and says she’s afraid of the ocean, and so her penance is to strip and cleanse herself of her sins in the frigid water of the Atlantic.
A younger girl, Eileen, who is also sent to do penance, joins her and the two make the treacherous climb down the cliff only to be greeted by a Nazi who hold Eileen hostage and tells Maggie to get a few odd things from the convent. By the time Maggie comes back however, Eileen has already shot the Nazi and the dying soldier is rambling about a crate. Maggie and Eileen open it, and the odd things requested are instantly explained; a baby is stowed inside.
The nuns soon discover what happened, and Maggie is blamed for helping the enemy and imprisoned and Eileen has mysteriously run away with the baby. With a little help from Kate, the Maggie escapes and the two find Eileen and the three are on the run. Not long after, Alison, a rich but nice girl who Kate automatically hates because of her social standing, joins the three. From then on, the group are constantly on the run and constantly face one unfortunate event after another.
A lot of the time, the book will have you thinking that you knew exactly what is going to happen but there are constantly new, shocking twists in the story that will throw you off track again, including the ending! This is one of the best books in a long time and I would 100% recommend it to anyone, even if it wasn’t their usual genre
.... Viola ...
Shelter Me (release January 6) can be preordered here:
This sounds soooo good. Thanks for the review! :) I know I'll be reading it!
ReplyDeleteAwesome review!! This sounds very very good. I am so jealous that you got an early copy. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised you liked this book because I thought it was very weird. All the characters seemed crazy and the ending was unexpected but kind of unrealistic.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your review for Shelter Me not ten minutes later I was emailing Alex asking for a copy to review. I read it and was as amazed by it as you are.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the great review!