#WorldKidLit Wednesday: Under the London Sky

Posted on by katieday

Today’s post comes to you from Alice Henry

‘Under the London Sky’ by Anna Woltz (2021), translated from Dutch by Michelle Hutchinson (2025), is a coming-of-age story for four teenagers during the Blitz, a context with profound impact on our narrator, Ella, and her friends. Fourteen-year-old Ella, born and bred in the East End into a working-class family, has already faced a lifetime of ordeals—narrowly surviving polio and the trauma of being trapped in an iron lung for a year. She is now coming to terms with her disability that makes her feel like an outsider among normal teenagers.

It is in the overcrowded tunnels of Liverpool Street station during the night raids that she meets her new, adventurous friends: Jack, a fellow East Ender dreaming of America; Quinn, from privilege with a desire to help others; and her older brother Sebastian, grappling with tough choices and his sexuality. All outsiders, the four are forged together under these terrible circumstances. Woltz presents the horrors of war, the physical and psychological trauma on ordinary people whilst also weaving humour, romance and teenage rebellion throughout. 

A Teacher’s Perspective: 

The market is flooded with World War 2 fiction for young adults, and it can be difficult for them to discern what is truly worth reading! Under the London Sky is a great book for a student wanting to explore a wider range of genres, beyond realistic fiction. The in-depth account of this eight-month period (The Blitz) of World War 2 provides important background, but what hooks them are the raw teen struggles.

This rites-of-passage narrative follows the characters as they forge strong friendships, navigate first love, grieve losses, and overcome stigmas around identity, disability, and privilege. For students interested in this era, it’s powerful historical fiction packed with Blitz details, but additionally it is Woltz’s fresh untold stories with teenagers at the heart that makes this a very appealing narrative for students. 

Note: There is some end material, including eight black & white photographs of London in 1940 as well as “Ten Facts About the Blitz.”

Title: Under the London Sky

Author: Anna Woltz — see full biography on her website. Some of her other books that have been translated from Dutch into English:

  • My Especially Weird Week with Tess (2014) / Mijn bijzonder rare week met Tess (2013)
  • A Hundred Hours of Night (2016) / Honderd uur nacht (2014) — reviewed by Lynn Miller Lachmann on GLLI on December 2, 2016.
  • Talking to Alaska (2017) / Alaska (2016)

Translator: Michele Hutchison

Page Count: 224

Publisher: Rock the Boat, an imprint of Oneworld Publications Ltd, 2025. Originally published as “De Tunnel” in 2021 by Querido.

ISBN: 978-1-83643-061-2

Reviews

Awards & Honors

  • A UK Telegraph best new children’s book
  • A Daily Mail book of the year
  • Zilveren Griffel (2022)
  • Thea Beckmanprijs Nominee (2023)
  • Woutertje Pieterse Prijs Nominee (2022)

You can buy a copy of Under the London Sky here or find it in a library here. (Book purchases made via our affiliate link may earn GLLI a small commission.)

Alice Henry is an English teacher, reading coach, and dedicated book lover and is obsessed with inspiring young people to read for pleasure. Throughout her career, she’s worked in schools across a number of countries;  motivating students, sparking inspiration, and modelling the transformative power of reading.

Now based in the UK, Alice continues to coach young adults in building independent reading habits. She is always on the hunt for the undiscovered gem of a book or the just-right read for a particular student she’s working with. Luckily, with her own teenagers at home, she trials countless books firsthand and sees exactly how they land.

The Reading Coach / Email: alicethereadingcoach@gmail.com

Disclaimer: The opinions and views expressed are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of GLLI.

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