Hood, Susan. LIFEBOAT 12

Hood, Susan.
LIFEBOAT 12
New York : Simon & Schuster, 2018
IL 5-8, RL 4.8
ISBN 978-1-48146-883-1

The year is 1940 and the Germans have started bombing England. The Germans are now in France and it is just a short trip across the English Channel between Britain and invasion. To keep their children safe, parents have agreed to have them sent to Canada to escape the bombing.  Ken's parents have applied to the Children's Overseas Reception Board to get him transport to safety.  Ken doesn't know how he feels about this. At first he believes that it is just his stepmother's way to get rid of him. She doesn't seem to like him very much. But then he realizes that it could be a great adventure. Sailing across the Atlantic with the Royal Navy guarding them. Maybe he'll just stay in Canada and never come back. The ship is amazing and the food is something the kids had never experienced before.  Some children have trouble adjusting to life at sea but seem to be settling in. On day four, they are miles away from the U-boats and bombers that can hurt them so they can now begin to enjoy their life aboard a luxury liner. But then the torpedo shatters the night and the ship begins to sink. Ken gets separated from his friends and his lifeboat launches without him.  But does get on the last lifeboat before the ship sinks.  And now they are alone in the ocean with no one around, very little water, and getting sicker by the day. This story is based on a real life event that happened in World War II.