In May 1915 the huge ocean liner, the Lusitania, sank off the Cork coast near
the Old Head of Kinsale with the loss of thousands of lives. This happened
during the First World War. But it was no accident. The ship was torpedoed by a
German submarine. Rumour has it that there were spies on board. These rumours
were true and thirteen-year-old Finbar Kennedy finds himself caught in the
middle of it all.
This story mingles fact and fiction in the setting of one of the most dramatic
seafaring tragedies ever.
Review
‘Kiely’s well-plotted story, told by Finbar himself, is deftly knitted into
the true story of the [Lusitania]’ — Books Ireland ‘a tense and dramatic
story’ — Irish Examiner ‘a compelling mix of fact and fiction … gripping’ —
parentsintouch.co.uk ‘an intriguing read’ — Evening Echo ‘I just couldn’t put
it down! Brilliant … I would absolutely recommend this book to my friends’ —
seomraranga.com ‘Kevin Kiely manages to capture the essence of the early 1900s
using subtle apt language, home life and innocence’ — teachermoloneyking.com
‘Kiely uses genius foreshadowing in this plot to build suspense and hope’ —
teachermoloneyking.com ‘Kielys book would be perfect as a class novel’ —
teachermoloneyking.com ‘this fictional reworking is intriguing and fleshes out
a past event’ — teachermoloneyking.com ‘it would suit young and old in any
setting, be it at home or school’ — teachermoloneyking.com ‘a most enjoyable
book’ — teachermoloneyking.com ‘gripping’ — Armadillo ‘well researched and
contains many fascinating nuggets of historical fact’ — Inis ‘a fantastic read
… fascinating’ — Marine Times fans of Nicola Pierce’s Spirit of the Titanic
will enjoy this action-packed book — YellowBrickReads.com a deftly plotted
novel which skilfully captures the significance of the momentous tragedy, SOS
Lusitania will appeal to history fans young and old — YellowBrickReads.com I
thought the book SOS Lusitania was brilliant. I liked it so much that I am
doing a project in school on it … I wish the book was longer and I have
recommended it to all my friends — mykidstime.com an exciting story based on a
real event which is sure to appeal to boys of 10 plus — Historical Novel
Society a work of fiction to entertain the younger reader – something it will
do in aces — Our Book Reviews a great story … told extremely well — Our
Book Reviews will bring a lump to the reader’s throat more than once — Our
Book Reviews an excellent read for girls and boys alike. And I’m sure there are
bits of history adults will meet for the first time too — Our Book Reviews an
exciting seafaring adventure — Books Ireland this is Finbar’s story, and the
narrative from his young viewpoint is both fascinating and immediate — Books
Ireland an uncomplicated easy read — Books Ireland a lovely children’s novel
written in the overall brand of The Da Vinci Code — InTouch a good account of
life in Queenstown in 1915 — InTouch well suited to novel reading in senior
classes of both boys and girls, with possibly the boys enjoying the talk of
spies and war a little more — InTouch a novel that runs smoothly from start to
finish, where all that you see is not as it seems! — InTouch
About the Author
Kevin Kiely has had several collections of poetry published, had plays
broadcast on RTÉ and is engaged in literary journalism and editing. He has
received Literature Bursary Awards from the Irish Arts Council, and is Honorary
Fellow in Writing with the University of Iowa. This is his first book for young
readers.”