Digging For Victory

Faulkner, who has worked as a teacher and examiner, first got the idea for her novel during a Year 5 class focused on life on the Home Front during WW2. The story of Bonnie is told in verse novel format which lends itself to experimentation and offers the reader a different experience. Poet Simon Lamb commented in a recent interview on the importance of typography in representing ideas. Faulkner makes effective use of concrete poetry reflecting the underlying themes of the novel. Clues are planted for the reader like seeds. The white space, italics, shifting words, precipitous text and changing fonts also convey the body language and emotions of her protagonist who is adapting to significant changes in her life.

Bonnie sees war as an awfully big adventure and envies her brother Ralf who is a fighter pilot. Her school friends shun her because of the mysterious and quiet Mr Fisher who has been billeted with her family. They insist that he must be a shirker and decry her for her association with him. Meanwhile her mother has set her to digging trenches for vegetable gardening as her class starts collecting rags for the war effort. Feeling confused, frustrated and resentful she longs to be celebrated as a hero and earn a medal. Above all she resolves to investigate why Mr Fisher leaves the house at night. This is the catalyst to a journey on which she discovers talents she didn’t know she possessed. Her tenacity and resourcefulness prepare her for what is to come as she learns that you should not judge people on first appearances.

This book will appeal to primary school teachers and students studying this period who want to know more about Conscientious Objectors, Land girls, the skills required to dig Victory gardens and war work. Faulkner explores the nature of prejudice and suspicion born out of fear and encourages readers to think about what being a hero actually means. While her secondary cast of characters could be more rounded and some plot points stretch belief, overall, she produces an engaging story which will resonate with readers interested in History and STEM.