Nisha's War: A gorgeously evoked wartime ghost story, perfect for fans of Frances Hardinge and Emma Carroll

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I also really enjoyed the relationship which develops between Nisha and her grandmother which is incredibly heart-warming. I’ve climbed a live volcano, trekked in the Sumatran jungle, and shot the rapids on an inner-tube from a logging truck. This is a thrilling, engrossing wartime adventure: a story of family and friendship, of belonging and acceptance, and of loss and hope.

Nisha’s War,’ by Dan Smith. – Library Girl and Blog tour: ‘Nisha’s War,’ by Dan Smith. – Library Girl and

The time, setting and themes of the book really appealed to me and although I didn't have a finished manuscript to read, I had a strong idea of what the cover was going to look like, I just had to somehow get that down onto the page, and make it pretty! Jamie ‘s first appearance was when he saved Nisha from choking on alemon sweet, shortly after they become good friends. Despite being forbidden to go near the tree, she finds herself inexorably drawn towards it where she meets the boy, Twig.The atmospheric cover illustration by Matthew Land is sure to tempt readers in and the end papers continue the interest, showing a range of pictures, posters, notes and objects which offer tantalising clues about the story ahead. Nisha’s War is a stunning, hauntingly atmospheric wartime adventure which swept me into a ghostly tale of loss, forgiveness and hope; a powerful depiction of the trauma caused by war and of healing within a family. Nisha’s home is destroyed by war and she and her mother, Amma, flee to her father’s ancestral house in England, perched on a cliff top on the cold Northern coast. Later, she wakes to find herself on the path leading to the mysterious weeping tree which sits on the cliff edge, beckoned towards it by the boy she has seen earlier.

Review: Nisha’s War – Book Craic

This is a perfect melding of the historical and the otherworldly which kept me utterly gripped throughout as danger creeps ever closer, time runs out, and secrets are uncovered. The story begins after Nisha and her mother arrive at the train station; Mr Foster takes them to their new home.Whilst Nisha faces prejudice due to her Anglo-Indian heritage, she also forms some wonderful friendships, especially with a young boy, Jamie, who she meets whilst on a visit to the nearby village. Nisha’s story of her life in Malaya is told in a series of flashbacks, mainly recorded in the journal she’s keeping as a form of therapy to process the traumatic wartime events she’s lived through. Local lad Jamie, Land Girl Joy, kindly cook and housekeeper Mrs Foster and her husband Mr Foster and, of course, the formidable Mrs Barrow. When they arrive at the imposing Barrow House, they are made to feel less than welcome by Nisha’s grandmother, the formidable Mrs Barrow who informs them that there are a set of rules which she expects to be followed, rules which are shared with them by the kind-hearted housekeeper, Mrs Foster.