This book is about World War 2 but in the eyes of a young boy, Joseph, whose Mum has left and his father has gone to war. He is moved to live with a woman named Mrs F who owns a zoo which has been passed down her family. The two don’t get along with Joseph’s arrogant, rude careless attitude pushing her away. In the said zoo lives a silverback ape who has lost a family of his own. Joseph hates the animal but begins to warm up to Adonis (the ape).
During the book Joseph is sent to a school where if you misbehave or fail the head teacher’s monthly test or try to cheat it, you get caned by ‘Clarence’. On his first day, Joseph is angered by Bert and Jimmy and because of his reaction, he is caned. Joseph proves to be brilliant at maths but at reading Joseph explains the words ‘dance around’ however nothing is done and his plan to cheat Mr. Gryee’s test in reading fails as well but Mrs F saves Joseph only to give him bad news about his father. Joseph and Mrs F have a talk about Mrs F’s life and family. Everything is fine with them until the siren rings, Mrs F is drunk, grieving because its her daughter’s death anniversary so Joseph takes it upon himself to go to Adonis. Adonis helps Joseph but once a warden or two and a man arrive, a tragedy is created.
I really loved this book, not because it surprised me but because the emotion created in the book pours out and affects you like a virus. When I say I cried because of this book, I mean it. twice I held back tears, once I didn’t. The anxiety of going to a new school, being insulted by someone and finding it difficult to read like the others, it’s overwhelming and it’s written just so. I really like how at first Mrs. F and Joseph don’t like each other at all but gradually they become friends. I just can’t describe how accurate, mentally wise, this is. I’m confident you will either cry or be on the edge of crying when you read this book.
This book captures amazingly how a child becomes ‘hardened’ because of war and how it’s affected how they think, speak and feel and this book rather got to me because it made me think about what it would be like to lose a parent. It really showed me what people dealt with in war. The only thing I would say though is that if you don’t like the thought of war, violence and the despair of a child then I wouldn’t recommend this book as the author brings such emotion and reality into his writing that it may affect your mentality.
– Milie, Year 7, All Saints RC School

The main character is Joseph, he can’t read and words float off the page when he tries to read. He has terrible anger management issues and has lost his mum. It is WW2 in 1941 and he has been sent to live with Mrs F, who is a horrible person at the start but as you get closer to the end she is actually really guarded. Mrs F owns a zoo and her favourite animal in the zoo is a silver back Gorilla called Adonis who is really dangerous. The only other animals in the zoo are the wolves, horses and camels. Mrs F makes Joseph work round the zoo every day and every time there is an air raid they need to go to the zoo with a rifle to stop the gorilla from escaping. At the start Joseph absolutely hates Adonis but in the end he loves him. When Joseph starts going to school we learn he is amazing at maths but some of the other kids pick on him. His only other friend is Syd and she knows Mrs F and works at the closed down zoo. At one point the two kids that bully him trespass inside the zoo and pick on Joseph but Adonis defends him.
– Lottie, Year 7, Fulford School

There are many things I love about this book but at the forefront is the interactions between Mrs F and Joseph. It isn’t soppy, it is realistic and it’s clear to see the author hasn’t gone for the easy move of making her a mother figure. 
You’ll find in many books characters are classed as bad to the protagonist or good to the protagonist. But in this book it’s Mrs F’s love for Joseph that makes her so strict, she wants to keep him safe. This is shown through simple symbolism like the porridge (Joseph is always given more even though there are limited resources). 
The second thing I love is how the reader knows what will happen yet it is still a shock when you find it laying on the next page. The saddest example is when Joseph finds out about his father. This predictability is normally a negative for books but for this one it is a positive. 
The final thing I love is how Adonis being in a cage, imprisoned, could be seen as a metaphor for Joseph feeling trapped in his situation. 
Overall this is a very sad but amazing book and it is possibly the best book I have read. 
– Clara, Year 7, All Saints RC School 

I think this is one of the best books that I have ever read. When I started reading it, it’s like I couldn’t stop. It is heart breaking but that’s the thing that keeps you reading and characters like Joseph who at the beginning was always sad and angry, that is what kept me reading, so I could find out what happened next.  
It’s sad what happened to Joseph at school but the book also shows you that you can always become a better, kinder and a more loving person no matter what has happened in the past. 
– Christopher, Year 7, All Saints RC School 

As soon as you read a chapter of When the Sky Falls you will be immediately hooked and won’t be able to put the book down. This novel is an astounding piece of literature, and I was moved to learn that dyslexia was not as understood then as it is today. Some of the prejudices that Joseph faced due to dyslexia made his time as an evacuee even more difficult. It was hard not to feel sympathy for this character when he was faced with the reactions of Mrs F and the teacher. The book’s strength lies in the fact it makes you understand the silent obstacles children face. 
Joseph’s character develops in parallel with his increasing affection for Adonis the gorilla. I liked how Mrs F and Joseph came over the rough patches of their relationship and bonded, in particular through their shared love for Adonis. For example, when Mrs F is about to shoot Adonis, Joseph stops her and persuades her into an agreement to not shoot the gorilla. 
The book made me understand life from the animals’ point of view. I was saddened and shocked at the portrayal of the animals enclosed in the zoo. I feel this is a neglected issue in fiction, and I admired the way the author made me think about how it is cruel to keep animals in a zoo and how they suffered further during wartime when food rationing meant there was less food. They were trapped and could not fend for themselves because they were not in their natural habitat. It was touching the way Phil Earle described Joseph’s view of the corpses of the animals who had starved to death. 
This book is highly enjoyable, and I recommend this to people who like to read about the war. 
– Alexia, Year 7, The Mount School

When the Sky Falls is about a young boy named Joseph. It is 1941 in the middle of World War 2. Joseph is sent to torn-apart London. On his arrival he sees, and smells, the destruction the war has caused. Mrs F is Joseph’s “caretaker”, a friend of his grandmother’s and overall seems grumpy. But is there more to her than meets the eye? Adonis is the “prize” of the zoo, if you can call it that, and at first Joseph is scared, offended by the gorilla, but as the story goes on bonds are made between characters and losses are taken. 
This book was emotional to name one word. The thrill of reading it lets me wonder what happens next every time I stop reading it. It was powerful and thrilling, something new happening on every page! My favourite 2 characters are Adonis because of his courage and protection for Joseph, and I also love Syd for her kindness towards everything no matter how much she lost during the war she is still kind and loving towards everyone and everything. 
– Manor CE Academy 

I really, really loved this book because of the characters. Joseph is the most notable, his struggles and anger being really compelling and the ways that he attempts to distance himself and shut himself off from others. I like how he bends the rather stereotypical idea of a protagonist by actively not accepting love or care and avoiding the help of others. This naturally sets up a character arc for Joseph to learn to love and accept people and to let the pre-judgement of others dictate how he acts. I also really liked Mrs F and Syd, both of them pushing through to Joseph and helping him.
This has quickly become one of my favourite books, it’s heart-breaking, warming and the ending hits hard! It really had me hooked until the final word!
– Eve, Year 8, All Saints RC School

When the Sky Falls is a powerful and passionate tale of the Second World War: it was so beautifully written that it made it hard to put down. To begin with, I love the themes of anger and loneliness portrayed mainly by the main character, Joseph. His development can be seen well in is treatment of Adonis. First, he hates the gorilla, going as far to say he wouldn’t hesitate to shoot it. But as he bonds with Adonis, the two become friends and Joseph overcomes his loneliness.
Another strong theme is grief, which is shared by Joseph and Mrs F. Both choose to bottle up their anguish, presuming that nobody would understand them, yet when they talk to each other about their trauma, they not only understand each other better, but also themselves. There is one emotional scene where Mrs F shows Joseph pictures of her dead daughter, Violet, which was tragic. I also liked how dyslexia is presented in the book. In 1940 nobody understood it, and I am glad that Phil Earle chose for Joseph to embrace his lack of reading skills as opposed to overcome them. The way he reacts with uncontrollable anger after he is expected to read is very realistic – this is another thing I liked: Joseph is a flawed character.
Overall, I loved this book, it’s writing, its characters, its themes. Thank you so much Phil Earle, for writing!
– Szymon, Year 8, All Saints RC School

The characters were good Joseph seemed introverted at first but showed a lot of his emotions, and Sylvie seemed quite cool until we learned more about her. Quite an easy read with simple language and a free flowing plot. The book built up the tension until the end and emotions were shown which added to the tension. I thought it was a sad story.
– Saad, Year 8, Dixons Cottingley

This book is really good as it touches on how the world treated people with learning disabilities in World War 2, and it tells the story of a boy who comes to the countryside from the city, and learns lots of things – and some secrets. As he gets used to life in the zoo he’s gone to, he makes friends with the gorilla in residence there! This book deserves 5 stars because it’s really heartfelt and interesting.
– Emily, Year 7, Bootham School

This book was an emotional rollercoaster and one of my unexpected favourites that I read recently. At first, I didn’t know what to think of Joseph, the main character, but by the end of his character arc he was brilliant. I felt heart-warmed, yet sad while reading it, and every time the air-raid siren rang I could almost feel like I was there. My only downside was the front cover and blurb not explaining enough about the story, but even so it was a fantastic book. 
– Luke, Year 7, St Peter’s 8-13 

I liked this book as it has a lot of action. It is quite sad as Joseph has had a tough life losing his mum when he was 5 which means he has some behaviour problems. His life changes when he is sent to stay with Mrs F at a zoo during World War 2 and he meets a gorilla called Adonis. 
– Ayyan, Year 8, Dixons Cottingley 

This book was as heart-warming as it was good. I really enjoyed how realistic it was, which makes you want to keep reading it. When The Sky Falls is about a young boy called Joseph who, in the middle of war, is sent to live in the city with a gruff woman called Mrs F who has got no fondness for children and only cares about the run-down zoo she owns and its gorilla called Adonis. However, as the weeks pass, many secrets reveal and bonds deepen. But if the bombers who rule the skies, set Adonis rampaging free, will either of them be able to end the life of the one thing they truly love?  
This book is full of the harsh reality of war. My favourite character in the book was Syd as in comparison to Joseph, she is portrayed as a much more grateful character towards Mrs F than Joseph was. I also liked how although they were both suffering in the war they both reacted very differently to Mrs F’s help. In my opinion, I think that the book flowed very well and was easy to understand. Overall, the book was really enjoyable and I would definitely recommend this book to mature 8 year olds and up. 
– Suhani, Year 7, All Saints RC School 

When The Sky Falls is an amazing book. It was a great opportunity to get to read it. The story is about a boy called Joseph who has been sent to live with a grumpy old woman who he calls Mrs F. Over the course of the book the characters unfold and many of their secrets from the past get shared. Both Mrs F and Joseph changed and developed throughout the story.  
My favourite character is Syd who at the start Joseph despises but they grow closer and by the end would call each other friends. Because the book was set in the middle of WW2, it is a great book to learn about history as well as just enjoy reading it.  
The story was written in 3rd person so it was as if a hidden person was telling the story as it happened.  
After reading this book I felt more educated, amazed, and sympathetic towards people who had lived through that time period. Phil Earle wrote this book beautifully so I am sure he would write another just as well. I would therefore read another of his and recommend this book and the author to many others. 
– Manor CE Academy 

In the story a young boy who normally lived in the countryside had to move into the city even though it would be more dangerous because his grandma knew a woman who worked in a zoo. The story was about a boy who became friends with the zoo’s most prized animal, a Silverback ape. The length of the story was over a few months because quite a few incidents happened. The story was not really unusual because in the war zoos had to close to protect the animals. The opening of the story was quite exciting because Joseph, who is the boy who had to move to the city, was trying to run away from his new ‘parent’. 
The main characters were called Joseph and Margaret Farrelly but Joseph had to call her Mrs F. Mrs F was quite grumpy and gruff with Joseph but Joseph was a boy who would like to do things without other people’s help. Joseph was described in a bit of detail and Mrs F was not really described in detail but they were both described near the end of the book. I found Joseph most interesting because he could fight but then also really struggled as well. Mrs F and Joseph had some arguments but then made up and grew closer throughout the book. They did change throughout because they both grew closer and they both also opened up to each other.  
The story was written in third person, this was important for the story because you could feel how all the characters felt at the same time. The setting was described in detail because they weren’t moving from place to place and just stayed in one main area. The feelings were described in some detail because then the story would not really be kind of relatable. I don’t know why it’s a good story but it is. I don’t think there were any parts in the story I would like to change.  
I think the author had learnt a story and wanted to write a book relating to the story. I felt a bit bad for Joseph because he had to leave somewhere he knew to a place with people who he didn’t know. Compared to any other book I have read like this one I don’t think it is my favourite but also not the worst I have read. I would recommend this this book and I have not read any other books from Phil Earle. 
– Manor CE Academy