John Bloom and the Victory Garden by Leigh Shearin Book Review

About the Book

Title: John Bloom and the Garden of Victory | Author: Leigh Shearin | Publication Date: October 27, 2014 | Publisher: Independent | Pages: 195 | Recommended Ages: 9+ 
 

My Review

John Bloom and the Victory Garden is an imaginative story about John Bloom and his gang of friends. Readers will enjoy the adventures the friends share in their small town during the days leading up to and following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. I was drawn to reading this book because my grandfather fought in World War II and often spoke of Victory Gardens. It is evident from reading this book that the characters in the story reflect individuals from the author's real life by the way the character development is done with such love. Because the story begins in December though, the characters do not actually get to planting the victory garden in this first book. This fact, if i am perfectly honest, was a bit of a disappointment for me as a reader. I kept reading with the expectation the story would develop into one about growing a victory garden; however it felt as though this book was really just an introduction for future stories to come. From that perspective, the story was charming, as long as it was viewed as the first in a series of books. The dialogue reflects that of a child living in the 1940's era, and it will be entertaining to a child of today's culture to envision the simplistic nature of kids lives back then. I look forward to reading part two of this book and hearing all about growing the victory garden.

Disclosure:  * I was given this book free-of-charge by the author in exchange for my honest opinion. All opinions expressed are my own.