Keep Calm and Carry On

As we round out 2021, The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin is a beautiful, clean read with a timeless message: Make a Difference.

Grace Bennett wanted to work in the fashion industry, but with no experience, she couldn’t secure a job. Begrudgingly, Grace accepts a job in a bookshop, having equally no experience with books.  When a handsome young man recommends several reads, Grace loses herself in the stories and quickly falls in love with books. As bomb raids rage through London, Grace begins to read out loud to patrons, first in the bookshop, and later in the underground bunker. Feeling as though she must help the war effort, Grace also volunteers as an air raid protector (ARP), a dangerous nightly job that results in heartache and death. But through it all, Grace remains positive and encourages others with books and stories.

Although the Last Bookshop in London is not marketed to youth, it is a clean read that I believe has so many valuable lessons for teens and adults alike. Allow me to set the scene to put this story into context for today’s reader…

For over a month, you and your family board up your windows, wrap your pillow in a blanket, and slip into darkness with hundreds of other Americans desperate to get to safety. If you leave early enough, you may secure a spot in the underground train station. If not, you’re left above in the stairwells or perhaps even the public restrooms. You spread out your blanket and try to sleep as the ground shakes and pieces of concrete and glass fall all around you. Each night, for ten weeks straight, this scene repeats as bombs are dropped on your town, destroying homes and businesses, and killing those who were unable to leave their homes in time.

But one night, a young lady begins to read from a book, holding a small candle for light. Some gather around, others stay in place, listening to her whisper words of hope and encouragement. Before long, you look forward to the long nights as you anxiously wait for her to read to you. You find yourself lost in a story somewhere far away from the reality in which you live, traveling to a warm, tropic island, or a beautiful snowy mountainside. During these moments, you forget about the war, forget about death and destruction. You emerge in the morning’s light and see a poster near your home that reads, “Keep Calm and Carry On”, and another that says, “Freedom is in Peril; Defend it with all Your Might.” The posters and the books encourage you to keep going, despite the difficult times.

I’ve always been fascinated with World War II, but I had never read a WWII novel centered around The Blitz, when the German Army dropped bombs nightly in London for ten solid weeks, destroying homes and shops and killing hundreds of Londoners. In 1939, the Ministry of Information began printing posters with encouraging phrases to keep Londoners positive. The phrase “Keep Calm and Carry On” was coined during this time, but most of the posters were later destroyed and recycled to help with a series paper shortage. The phrase didn’t become an international sensation until 2000, when one such poster was recovered in Northumberland, England. And guess where was it found: A bookshop!

The last Bookshop in London is different from so many books today that focus on negative messages and harmful insults. Instead, Madeline Martin offers a story of community coming together during difficult times and never giving up hope. What a great lesson for all of us to remember as we enter a new year!