Landings

'Perhaps the best things people do are when they are afraid ... Everything becomes clear when you've got to do it.' These are important conclusions that are reached by 14-year-old Philip Eastham and his elder brother Reg, spurred on by the ghostly promptings of their dead grandfather, enshrined in his own bloodstained World War I diary. Reg is deserting from the Suez draft of 1956 and Philip faces discovery as an under-age, would-be glider pilot whose fear is of landings. Dennis Hamley has just the right amount of relevant period detail which never detracts from the lively pace and direct style of this well-plotted tale, where even the difficult ghostly encounters are not allowed to stretch credibility to far. This is a must for middle/upper secondary boys and their fathers.