Title: The Fortunate Ones
Author: Phyllis Johnston
Series: The May series, book 5
Major Themes: Farm Life, Great Depression, World War II, Pioneer Life
Synopsis: A large farm family experiences life in rural New Zealand from the end of World War I through the end of World War II
A while ago, I suddenly realized that we had, or could borrow, all the books in The May series—so I decided it was time to read them all aloud. We had read the first two years ago, but I started over, and we enjoyed all of them in order. The Fortunate Ones is different from the others; each of the ten chapters focuses on May, Wally, and each of their eight children.
Publisher’s description:
The Fortunate Ones is the fifth and final book in the May series and gives a vivid picture of the life and adventures of a New Zealand farming family during the 1920s, 30s and 40s. May and her husband start married life on their bush farm in the King Country and then purchase a dairy farm in the Waikato. Times are hard, and the family has to move on to a share-milking position. The stories of this growing family going out to make their way in the world makes captivating reading. As World War Two ends and the family anticipates the mens’ return, the future is brightening. May and her family all agree they are indeed, The Fortunate Ones.
My thoughts:
The way this book is laid out makes for quite an effective way of telling the story of a farm family in New Zealand over the course of 27 years. Each chapter focuses on one family member, but tells the story of the entire family and what they were doing at a specific time. Along the way, we learned a lot about farm life, the effects of the Great Depression on the country, school life, and social life of the time. For the most part, this family stuck together, although at times it seemed as if the parents didn’t treat their children fairly—but then, they were not treated well by employers. The school teachers did not treat their students well, either; in fact, they were quite harsh at times.
We really enjoyed this glimpse into everyday life in New Zealand during the time right after World War I, during the Great Depression, and during World War II. The author of this book was one of May’s children, so she was writing, in this book, about her own and her family’s life. Anyone who likes biographies will enjoy The Fortunate Ones.
WARNING: Chapter 4: A boy smoked, thinking about being a man and smoking. Chapter 6: Young people drinking, girl told a lie. Chapter 8: Boys stole. Chapter 11: Father let young boys run wild in town alone, boy told a ghost story, boy acted disrespectfully to father and got beaten.
Age levels:
Listening Level—Ages 8 – 12, 10 – 12, 12 – 15, Family Friendly
Reading Independently—Ages 8 – 12, 10 – 12, 12 – 15
Links to buy this book:
Amazon: Kindle
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com
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