For Uni Course -
Having finished my first read through:

Considering I'm not a big fan of Historical Fiction, and and even lesser fan of Wartime novels, I genuinely enjoyed this little book.

The characters where well rounded, not irritating or boring, and not perfect or cliché caricatured (although I think it's hard for characters in children's novels not to be at least a little bit cliché). And of course, the addition of a dog always makes everything better!

I can definitely see this book being an great project piece for school work: the book manages to stay away from the battlefield itself (which is of course a difficult balance in children's novels and often can become quite gruesome or hard hitting), focusing on the idea of community, family, refugees and spies. Accompanied by a simple protagonist's moral narrative, the book promotes equality and understanding in an easy read for children that leads the reader down a puzzling plot that can either be entertaining to figure out, or just as interesting to let unfold as you go on.

The setting gives plenty of room for classroom ideas also. I find that wartime books are always set in one of either battlefield/trenches or seaside/countryside but this novel strikes a nice balance by beginning in busy London, and moving the reader to the seaside town with the characters.

I'm quite looking forward to a re-read now where I can pick it apart a little better.