Robert Westall crafted compelling narratives that often transported young readers to pivotal historical moments, particularly during World War Two. His stories explored profound themes of courage, friendship, and the impact of conflict on childhood experiences. Westall possessed a distinct literary voice, adept at balancing the grim realities of war with enduring hope. He masterfully depicted vulnerable characters confronting adversity, leaving a lasting impression through his emotionally resonant and engaging storytelling.
Twelve-year-old Harry struggles to make it on his own after his family is lost in a German air raid. But as he and his dog companion journey along the northern English coast, there is never enough distance between them and the terrible war.
Living in World War II Britain, Chas McGill is determined to outdo his rival Boddser Brown in obtaining the ultimate war souvenir. When he finds a crashed German bomber in the woods complete with machine gun, he knows he can not only beat Boddser hands down, but can also play a role in the war.
Amid the terryfying times of WWII, one brave cat leads the way to safety, out of the blazing hell of blitzed Coventry. People touch her for luck; fear her as an omen for disaster. Wherever she goes, she changes lives. Her determination never wavers, she is the Blitzcat.
Shortly before the beginning of the Gulf War, Figgis (real name Andy) starts talking in his sleep in a strange language Tom doesn't understand, and calling himself "Latif." "Latif" gradually takes Figgis over - and Tom begins to understand that Figgis has somehow become another boy, a boy in the Gulf.
In medieval France, huge, powerful cats and a magic dagger help Cam, a young English jack-of-all-trades, through a series of unusual and dangerous adventures.
Alone and unhappy in Garmouth, Anne becomes obsessed by the old Life Brigade's Watch House. It stands tall, a memorial of horrible violent watery deaths. Such a place is bound to be full of restless spirits of long-dead sailers - but what do they want with Anne? Who is writing in messages in the dust? And is there someone watching and waiting behind the empty windows of the Watch House?
Staying with her uncle and his tyrannical housekeeper Caroline befriends a pregnant cat and a cheeky boy called Bobbie, and through them learns the true spirit of Christmas
Is there a barrier that divides the dark unknown from the everyday world around us? If so, is it broken sometimes by the dead returning, by the undead, or by alien creatures? What else could account for the chance meeting (or was it?) between a young student and hitch-hiker who turns out to be so much stranger than she seems? Why else should three successive crews flying a Second World War bomber - Blackham's Wimpey - be driven to madness, despair, even to death, though the plane returns from each mission without a scratch? Who are Fred, Alice and Aunty Lou; the figments of Peter's imagination that become a real life nightmare for Roger and Biddy? There is St Austin Friars, too: a church without a congregation - until a burial service, oddly arranged a month ahead, is attended by a sinister assortment of the living and the dead. And Sergeant Nice, an ordinary policeman in an ordinary seaside town faced with a series of quite extraordinary thefts; the work surely, of no human hand-Chilling, but often humorous as well, these stories creep up on you and take you by surprise.
