In the early fifties, a young Billy went out playing with his friends, on his way back home he finds an old pocket watch. His best friend Tommy dies in a freak accident, Billy blames himself, and one day at school he realises the watch holds a magical power, not fully understanding the power the watch holds. He uses it to his advantage helping his dad bet on the horses and to find his first job. After playing with the watch he ends up fifty years ahead of his time when he is hit by a drunk driver, he wakes up scared in hospital but without his pocket watch, not sure what to do. The nurse mistakes him for a homeless person she takes pity on him.
In the early fifties, a young Billy went out playing with his friends, on his way back home he finds an old pocket watch. His best friend Tommy dies in a freak accident, Billy blames himself, and one day at school he realises the watch holds a magical power, not fully understanding the power the watch holds. He uses it to his advantage helping his dad bet on the horses and to find his first job. After playing with the watch he ends up fifty years ahead of his time when he is hit by a drunk driver, he wakes up scared in hospital but without his pocket watch, not sure what to do. The nurse mistakes him for a homeless person she takes pity on him.
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It was a Wednesday morning when a fourteen-year-old Billy woke up, and he was excited. There was no school today and the summer holidays had arrived at long last. He shared his bedroom with his younger sister Elizabeth. Most people called her Beth, but Billy sometimes liked to call her Liz just to wind her up. The room they shared would have been big if it wasnât for the makeshift wooden wall that halved the room from the window. The partition was put there by Billyâs dad to make two bedrooms, as they were getting to the age where they both needed their own privacy. Also, money was tight which meant they struggled to pay the rent on the house they had never mind getting a threeâbedroom house.
He was close to his younger sister Beth, who was two years younger than him. He used to look after her a lot during the war. It was just under five years since the war had ended but much of the cleaning up was still ongoing and due to the lack of money, this meant Billyâs clothes were always hand downs. His meagre wardrobe consisted of at-short that was far too big for him, which meant he had to tuck it into his shorts, which were also too big for him and looked like pants. There was no belt, so his trousers were tied with old shoelaces. As he put paper into his shoes (because they were also too big) and then put on his socks (the ones with holes in them) he looked in the cracked mirror at himself and rubbed his hands through his black tangled hair. His blue eyes stared back at him as he smiled at himself, showing a crooked row of teeth. Billy stood up straight â all five foot three inches of him. He still had a bit of growing to do yet, he thought.
Billy looked out of his half of the window and the sun was still rising; it looked like it was going to be a beautiful, hot day. He smiled thinking of that. He decided to treat his mum and dad by making some breakfast for them as they both worked, albeit part-time. His dad worked as a bank clerk and was short and bald with a podgy belly, and due to his bad hip he couldnât stand for long periods and it meant he also walked with a limp, which made him a bit of a grump, and because of this, he could not fight in the war. His mum, who had long, black hair and was slim built, with long legs, was caring and happier than their dad, and she worked as a secretary in a factory to help pay the bills. It was unusual for women to work but she enjoyed it; it gave her something to do, which meant Billy and Beth had to help with a lot of the chores in the house. Being just a child was not easy â you had to give up your play time for grown up responsibilities.
As he headed downstairs, Billy checked on Beth; a habit he had begun during the war years, as she was scared of the dark and still had the odd nightmare from the war. After firing up the oven, Billy cut up some bread his mum had only made yesterday. He cracked open a few eggs and put a pan of water on the hot stove to make tea. Beth had woken up from the noise coming from the kitchen and come to help Billy. Beth was wearing a summer dress with socks pulled up to her knees and she had long, brown hair that just went past her shoulders. She had sparkling, green eyes and was a little shorter than Billy, at only four foot eight inches tall. âItâs going to be a lovely day,â she said. Billy couldnât help feeling a bit jealous of Bethâs lovely teeth. Compared to his teeth they were white and straight.
Billy then looked out the dust filled window saying, âItâs going to be a hot one!â
âDo you really think so? I love hot days,â Beth said, smiling as she continued, âI cannot wait to see Tommy and Vic today.â
Thomas and Victoria Morris were their real names. Victoria just got called Vic for short, but no one knew why Tommy did not get Thomas. Tommyâs name had always been the same. They were very much like Billy and Beth. Tommy was a few months older than Billy, but Vic shared her birthday with Beth and much like Billy, Tommy had also looked after his sister during the war. In fact, it would be safe to say the four of them looked after each other in their darkest times. Tommy and Vic lived a few streets away but unlike Billy and Beth, they only lived with their mum as their dad had fought in the war and was K.I.A. It was only a few years ago that Tommy had fully understood what that meant, but Vic was not too sure; all she knew was her dad was not coming home. Their mum worked long hours in the council where she was trying to get promoted. That meant that Tommy was the man of the house and looked after Vic most of the time, so they both really enjoyed the summer days and meeting up with their best friends Billy and Beth, was always fun.
The smell of eggs and toast must have woken up Billyâs parents as like most days, his mum was always up first. Beth and Billyâs mum sat down at the table and said, âMorning. Iâve got a list for shopping for you to get.â
Billy was busy pouring the tea from the pot and replied, âOkay mum.â Beth took a seat and asked her mum, âDo we have to do chores today? Itâs such a lovely day and itâs too hot for working.â
Her mum answered, âI know we havenât got much but what we have we try and keep clean and tidy and the quicker you get it done, the more time you will have to play.â
âOkay mum,â she said, as she picked up her book and started to read. Billy then sat down next to Beth trying to read the title of her book, which was called âLove AfterâŚâ, something as her hand covered the last word. Some romantic novel, Billy thought to himself. Beth seemed to notice this, as if she had just read his mind, and said, âLove After the War.â The book was about a young man and woman who had helped with the war effort and they arranged to meet after the war, under a big, old apple tree. Billy stuck his fingers in his mouth to pretend to be sick, which his mum noticed and shouted,
âWilliam Brown, stop teasing your sister!â Beth smirked at this and whispered,
âHa-ha you got wrong.â Billy kicked her under the table and said,
âShut up!â
âWill you kids knock that off? Your dad will be down in a few minutes,â Mum said in a commanding voice. Their dad came and sat at the table and picked up a bit of toast, while Billy made him a cup of tea.
âBilly are you going to get a job today?â his dad asked. He was always asking Billy to get a job. Billy hated this as he didnât want to get a job. He did not want to do hard lifting down the pits, nor stand all day working in a factory. As he was far too young to be a tram driver or a bus driver his mum answered for him by saying,
âGeorge Brown, no kids of mine are working down the pits, they will finish school and get good jobs. We have kids his age in our factory forced to work to put bread on the table. Always getting into mischief or hurting themselves. No place for children to be at all.â
His dad replied, âWith a few more years he can join the army then.â The thought of the army drained the colour from Billyâs face. There was no way he was going in the army.
His mum answered for him again, by saying, âMr. Jones lost his two sons in the war. One was eighteen years old and the other son was nineteen years old. What a waste of lives. Then he lost his wife in the bombing. Yeah, if it wasnât for that dog of his he would have been hit as well.â His dad added, âAye, youâre right.â His dad conceded they all knew the story; if Mr Jones hadnât been out in the field with his dog, he may just have been at home with his wife, but no one knew why Mrs Jones did not go to the shelter. People had speculated that ââshe wanted to be near her sons. Others said she was asleep and didnât hear the warningâ. The thought of what had happened to the Jones family.
Billyâs mum put the shopping list on the table and said to him, âI will give you some money. Oh, and take those bottles back and use them too and donât be spending any of it like the last time.â
âBetter not,â his dad piped up. Beth picked up the list and with a disappointed voice said,
âNo meat again!â
Billy said, âItâs still on rations, itâs hard to get and everyone knows that.â
Dad looked up and saw the disappointment on Bethâs face, as it had been almost two weeks without meat. âMight go fishing on Sunday,â he said, âHow about it Billy, fancy a spot of fishing?â
âCan Tommy come?â Billy asked his dad.
âWeâll see,â he replied. Billy took that to be a âyesâ.
Tommy loved to fish as he had no dad to take him; it was very rarely that he went. He loved the peace and quiet of it and Billy loved it when Tommy was there, as it got boring sometimes just him and his dad.
Beth smiled from ear to ear when her mum said, âIâll make you all some jam sandwiches and a flask of tea.â Dad said,
âWe must sort the rods out beforehand though.â â
âYeah, I will Dad,â Billy said. The rods were old and well used, the lines always got tangled up; it took hours to fix them. This meant it had to be done before or you would be there all day trying to untangle them and it would end up being a wasted fishing trip.
âI canât wait to tell Tommy,â Billy said, excitedly.
His dad said, âI told you I would see.â Billy just smiled and accept it as a yes that Tommy could come. As their mum gave Billy some money, she rubbed her hands through his tangled hair, shouting,
âMake sure you look after your sister,â as she was rushing out the door, to catch their dad up.
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Iâm not sure what to say about this book. On the one hand, I enjoyed it very much. It was entertaining, paced well and the main characters, Billy and, eventually, Emma were quite dynamic. For something so short, there was a lot between its pages that happened, and I appreciated that a lot.
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The thing is, I think the book was too short. Billyâs experiments with the watch, for example, should have been expanded upon and extended throughout the book. As it is, I feel like I still donât understand the rules or how it even works.
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This made for a somewhat bumpy ride as I read. I needed to get into the book, and I just couldnât do it. Every time I tried, it fell short of pulling me in, and I had to start over.
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That being said, I did actually enjoy it. Itâs a post-World War II story set in a quiet town. You wouldnât think that this setting would be perfect for a story about time travel, but it works really well, reminding me of other stories about kids of that time.
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I would also like to say that in reading this book, I found myself reminiscing about my own childhood and loss. The author managed to pull those emotions out of me quite well. It was so well done, in fact, that I think I would like to read it again at some point. The poignancy of Billyâs loss echoes across time and context in such a way that I had no problem relating to him at all.
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I do, however, wish that the author had developed his sister Beth a little more. For a character that played a central role in Billyâs life, there was so little of her that I could not quite get a feel for her. This also extends to the other characters, which is a shame considering that I think the book is well-written otherwise.
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Still, I do think people should check it out. Itâs short, sweet and well worth the read.