Lifeboat 12 by Susan Hood is a kid’s historical fiction novel about the sinking of the SS City of Benares by a German U-Boat. Among the passengers were children being sent from London to Canada to keep them safe from the bombings. We see the story through the eyes of a survivor, 13yr old Ken Sparks. An accident of fate found Ken separated from his friend Terry, on Lifeboat 12, instead of Lifeboat 8 like he should have been. For 8 days, the survivors of Lifeboat 12 floated alone and lost, with dwindling water supplies. By the time rescue arrived one man had died, and several were critical. All were malnourished and suffering from ‘trench foot’. But they survived when many didn’t. This is their story.

I loved this book! First, this is about a subject I know little about, and I found it fascinating. Hood wrote in Ken’s voice, and from his perspective. What we know of the events are only what this boy knows. The tale is written via a series of free-verse poems that got very creative at times, with font changes and zig-zaggy words, that mirrored the emotions Ken was going through. Each poem pulled me to the next. I HAD to know if they got rescued. Every day they got weaker and weaker. Who might be gone the next day? I see more and more books like this, of late, where the stories are told through snapshot poems. Such poignant stories can be told this way, and I find that I quite enjoy the style. The end of the book has sections with the stats of the Benares, and a more concise rendering of the facts of the case. This is perfect for the middle-grade reader who loves history, and for classroom reading.

***Many thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Children’s for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.