Winner: Scott O'Dell Historical Fiction Award 1996
Teen readers will realise that our habitat has been at risk long before global warming and climate change became catch phrases. The Bomb tells of Sorry, a young islander on the Bikini Atoll after WWII. The Americans, who liberate the island from the Japanese, decide that it would be a good place to further test their new weapon, the atom bomb. The islanders agree to temporarily move to another island while the Americans prepare, but Sorry and his uncle aren't convinced that the move will be a temporary one. When Sorry's uncle dies, it is left to him to carry out his plan to stop the bombing. Tension builds throughout the book, with the author presenting historical facts side by side with the fictional story until the books tragic conclusion. The books also brings home the fact that the islanders were ordinary people who had their home and heritage taken away from them, a basic right that was taken away from so many during and after the war. Readers will be left with much to think about.
Written for children ages 10 and up.
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