Margaret Thornton 
Wish Upon a Star 
An utterly compelling Blackpool saga of war, love and evacuees

A young woman forges an unlikely friendship with a plucky evacuee… Margaret Thornton’s Wish Upon a Star is a moving wartime saga of two lost souls finding comfort and friendship in one another under the storm clouds of war. Perfect for fans of Sheila Newberry and Lyn Andrews. ‘A delightful book; full of humour and warmth against an authentic war-time Blackpool when Pablo’s sold ice-cream and troops from abroad drilled on the promenade’ – Lancashire Mag When Sally Bamber and her mother-in-law Ellen decide to take in two evacuees at the start of the Second World War neither of them can imagine that three young children will soon be living under their roof. One of them, in particular, stands out as the grubbiest, most ill-spoken child they have ever met, but with her warmth and friendliness, Gloria Mulligan soon wins a special place in Sally’s heart. Sally hasn’t been lucky enough to have children of her own and she sees in Gloria the daughter she’s always wished for. Meanwhile Gloria, who has been starved of genuine affection from her own large family, secretly wishes that she will never have to go home again. But life seldom works out as we would wish and when the horror of war begins to take its toll, Sally, Gloria and the entire Blackpool community must face the consequences… What readers are saying about Wish Upon a Star: ‘An engaging tale – I found it hard to put the book down”Will read this book all over again”Five stars’