Beryl Matthews

A New Day by Beryl Matthews is the story of a sister and brother who overcome the difficulties of their situation and the war with Germany to forge a new and better life for themselves. Orphaned at a young age, Hanna has always tried to look out and protect her younger brother, Jack. When he is taken as a foster child by a couple, she thought this was the right thing for me. Unfortunately, all the man wanted was a free worker, and he mistreated and beat Jack. Jack eventually took matters into his own hands and, lying about his age, he joined the crew of a cargo ship. At the same time, Hanna, now 18 left the orphanage and took a job as a nanny to twin boys.

The story follows these two young people through to the end of the war, Jack staying at sea and experiencing the dangers of the Merchant Navy while Hanna moves to the country with her new found family. A New Day was a light and easy but a little too predictable and overly sweet with all situations finding a simple solution and not a lot of depth being added to any of the characters. While I enjoyed the read, I am certain this will not be a book that I remember for any length of time.… (meer)

The premise of the book is promising: 2-year-old child from the slums sold by her desperate parents to a wealthy family. When the child is 17, her adoptive father tells her the truth about her origins, and even though she is horrified, she searches and finds her biological parents and her siblings. Unfortunately, after the first few chapters, the story turns bland, no surprises, all of the siblings are wonderful except for one token villian who only makes a token appearance. Everything turns out perfectly for everyone, and it equals boring and a disappointment.… (meer)