This took a while as I read it aloud to my Year 7 classes. We loved it! I timed it so that we finished in their last lesson and they were hooked. Everything about it was fabulous. The historical accuracy and accompanying research has them fascinated and the characterisation was spot on. It enabled some very important conversations about friendship and what it meant to be brave. Will definitely be hunting out more by Tom Palmer.

This is a superb book. The characters, the setting and the story are all wonderfully told. A real tribute to the men of the Arctic convoys.

This is my first Tom Palmer book and I thought it was excellent. A story set within a real historical event, the 1943 Arctic Convoy, it follows the journey of three men and their dangerous sailing through freezing seas and Nazi naval vessels. Frank, Stephen and Joseph, who have grown up together in Plymouth, face perilous tasks and exhausting trials as they travel to and from Russia delivering stock. These journeys upon the seas are filled deftly by Palmer with tension from falling victim to eit...

I've read about convoys and their escorts crossing the Atlantic Ocean during WWII, but never about the ships that escorted convoys traveling parallel to Norway to a base in northern Russia through waters alive with German submarines loaded with torpedoes and Luftwaffe just waiting to take to the air and strike. But even more terrifying than U-Boat attacks and airplane strikes was Hitler's newest ship the Scharnhorst, "the most feared German vessel on the ocean" and rumor has it that she is on th...

I love Tom Palmer’s historical fiction from Barrington Stoke and not just for reluctant readers. I book talk these for everyone, Alan Gratz fans, kids waiting for the next one in a series to become available, these individual novels can be picked up and read in a relatively short time and are fast paced. This one was interesting to me because my Grandad was in the navy, and I got a real sense of the terror the men must have felt that doom was always just one torpedo away.

Wow, this was so good. It was gripping and very sad in places.This was my first Tom Palmer book.and now I'm going to get some more.

Tom Palmer has done it again. Another war story cleverly created with fictional characters giving a personal touch to real life events. The story of childhood friends Frank, Joseph and Stephen growing up in Plymouth and joining the navy, set alongside the true story of the Arctic Convoy, is both heartwarming and heartwrenching. With brilliant attention to detail and description that leaves you feeling seasick and shivering, this was another book from Palmer I couldn't put down.

Arctic Star is the latest World War Two set release from publishers Barrington Stoke, and much like their previous books set during this period the novel presents a pretty stark and honest look at the realities of the war for younger readers; refusing to sugar coat the horrors that people had to endure.Set during the winter of 1943, the story follows three young men from Plymouth, Frank, Joseph, and Stephen, who after growing up watching the Royal Navy ships come in and out of Plymouth decide th...

'Arctic Star' follows three navy soldiers as they navigate the treacherous waters of the Arctic. Set in the second world war this story focuses on the convoy that sent supplies to the Soviet Union during the war. This journey was perilous due to German warships littering the way. Will Frank, Joseph and Stephen make it back to English shores?Things I liked:- I learnt something new! I had no idea about the Navy's trips to Russia during WW2 so this was really interesting to learn about. I also love...

While I didn't enjoy this as much as After the War, it is another well researched and well written war story with great characters. Palmer manages to capture the sense of intense cold in the north Atlantic as well as the fear and danger experienced by those who took part in the Arctic convoys. One of the most powerful elements was in Russia, where one of the friends who has learned Russian and admires what he understands about their society faces the reality. Very accessible this is a really goo...

Tom Palmer is one of those authors who just GETS it. He hits the nail on the head again. This is an incredible book: a story of bravery, friendship and Naval arctic travel. This made me cry twice. The friendship between the boys, the sense of duty and the very real emotions of being a soldier. Just exceptional. I can not get enough of his WW2 fiction so if we could have more that'd be great!

Frank is a sailor in the Royal Navy. Their job is to protect the convoys of ships carrying supplies to Russia through the Arctic Ocean. The book explores the brutal conditions they endured and the constant dangers they faced from sea and air. Very few children’s books (if any) have been written about the navy’s involvement in WWII so this is a welcome change from the usual war stories.

This style of writing just was not for me. I didn’t feel as though I got to know any of the characters and I didn’t really feel all too invested in the action. Maybe the book needed to be longer or something. I wouldn’t reread.

Another gut-wrenching, heart-pulling, mind-blowing story giving kids and grown-ups alike new understanding and perspectives on war

Love Tom Palmer's books. Easy to read and make you go off and find out more about the subject.

Another terrific triumph from Tom Palmer. Devoured in one sitting and it is definitely going into our WW2 topic as a focus text.

I totally loved this book. The vivid imagery, descriptive conditions, and peril capture your interest from the start.I enjoyed that (as with other stories by Tom Palmer) the book is both educational and accurate, as well as entertaining to read. The page layout, font, and spacing that Barrington Stoke uses makes the book accessible to young people at various levels and stages of reading.Throughout the story you feel bonded with Frank, experiencing his feelings through the excellent story-telling...

I totally loved this book. The vivid imagery, descriptive conditions, and peril capture your interest from the start.I enjoyed that (as with other stories by Tom Palmer) the book is both educational and accurate, as well as entertaining to read. The page layout, font, and spacing that Barrington Stoke uses makes the book accessible to young people at various levels and stages of reading.Throughout the story you feel bonded with Frank, experiencing his feelings through the excellent story-telling...

I totally loved this book. The vivid imagery, descriptive conditions, and peril capture your interest from the start.I enjoyed that (as with other stories by Tom Palmer) the book is both educational and accurate, as well as entertaining to read. The page layout, font, and spacing that Barrington Stoke uses makes the book accessible to young people at various levels and stages of reading.Throughout the story you feel bonded with Frank, experiencing his feelings through the excellent story-telling...

I totally loved this book. The vivid imagery, descriptive conditions, and peril capture your interest from the start.I enjoyed that (as with other stories by Tom Palmer) the book is both educational and accurate, as well as entertaining to read. The page layout, font, and spacing that Barrington Stoke uses makes the book accessible to young people at various levels and stages of reading.Throughout the story you feel bonded with Frank, experiencing his feelings through the excellent story-telling...