Fireweed

by Jill Paton Walsh

Book Overview

Two teen-age runaways who refuse to be evacuated from London struggle to survive the blitz of 1940. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0374423164
• ISBN13: 9780374423162
• Release Date: December 1988
• Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.1" x 7.6"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

Memorable

Fireweed is a coming of age story in WWII London. Two teenagers learn about self-reliance and responsibilities as they survive on their own during the bombing of London. Ms. Walsh captures the angst, selfishness, and drama of the young having to cope with a world that is suddenly changed forever, as well as the resilience and ingenuity that came with suddenly having to take care of themselves and eachother in a time when life continued on as bombs falling at any time became almost commonplace. I read this book first as a pre-teen. It has haunted me for years and is still touching now reading it again at 32.

The life with no help

Fireweed was a very good book. It is filled with excitement and danger. Fireweed is about a boy named Bill and a girl named Julie. When they met in the camp Bill introduced him to her and she ran away from him. He chased after her and when she finally talked to him she realized he wasn't trying to cause trouble they started to hang out. Both of them had previously run away from foster homes they were sent to because of the war. Bill was sent because his dad left for the war and his aunt made him go. But his dad said he did not have to but when he left so did bill. When bill first ran away he went home and a bomb had dropped but it did not go off. Know he sees how much everybody has changed. Well why Julie ran away is because when she was on a ship to Canada it got hit by a torpedo. All the children got sent back to the port on a different ship. She ran away because all the other kids' parents picked them up and sent them out a different time but her parents did not because they did not want to go through it again. Know them to be living together in one of the shelters. Bill and Julie are in bill old house getting some stuff from bills room. There was a bomb in his house that they thought was a dud but after they left it went off and wrecked the house. Well know bill is doing jobs for money to support them. Know both of them live in a have wrecked house in the basement. Bill is having hard time finding any jobs to buy food. The two kids are starting to get settled in there new home. When they were shopping they see this kid. They take the kid in until he gets better. For a job bill built his own cart to sell food. Then suddenly .......

It is an excellent book! Nothing makes me cry and this did.

Great book about two 15 year olds running around London in the middle of WW2. Living on their own and beating the odds.

This book is a wonderful writing

I loved the characters. The writing was exellant.

Two teen adrift in wartorn London

Superb story of two teens, a boy and a girl, adrift in London during the blitz. Both have slipped away from their evacuation destinations and want to remain free of adult plans for their futures. Simple, eloquent, elegant prose describes the purpose and pattern of their days as they build their immensely satisfying private world during a time of national chaos and daily danger. Themes of friendship, responsibility, work, and comraderie prevail. Very very special.