When the Sky Falls

Published on 3 December 2025 at 20:50

When the Sky Falls

🦍🖤💣💥

by Phil Earle

★★★★★(★★★★★)

Things I loved:

💥 Joseph’s powerful anger

🦍 Adonis the unforgettable silverback

📚 Phil Earle’s amazing writing

😭 Emotional Rollercoaster!

🌆 War setting full of tension

🎨 Stunning cover art design

At a glance

✍🏼 Author: Phil Earle

🎨 Cover artist: Levente Szabo

📅 Release Date: 3rd June 2021

📚 Book type: Chapter, 320 pages

🌟 Reader level: Confident (10+)

Dive Deeper

Review

This book was gifted to me after I fell in love with Until the Road Ends, and I can’t believe I’ve never read it before. When the Sky Falls is one of the most—if not the most—powerful children’s stories I have ever read, and I know it will stay a definite favourite of mine!

I love war stories, but this book takes the genre to the next level. Joseph is an incredibly complex and wounded character, a boy who finds safety in anger—lashing out and pushing people away. Phil Earle captures that rage with such precision that at times it felt as though the book itself was actually vibrating with fury!

Phil is a genius writer; he had me laughing, fist-pumping, and outright sobbing within just 300 pages. The characters are powerful, but the storyline is even more so—honest, raw, and unafraid to dig into the emotional wreckage left behind by war. I expected it to be an emotional rollercoaster, but I did not expect such a great level of impact.

Of course I also absolutely love the front cover design by Levente Szabo, which perfectly captures the heart of the story and the gorgeous Adonis himself.

An absolutely phenomenal and unforgettable read, perfect for UKS2 teachers and classes, lovers of war stories or anyone looking for a powerful story of friendship.

Blurb

1941. War is raging. And Joseph has been sent to live in the city, where bombers rule the skies. There, he will live with Mrs F, a gruff woman with no fondness for children. Her only loves are the rundown zoo she owns and its mighty silverback gorilla, Adonis. As the weeks pass, Joseph and Adonis become friends, but what will happen when the bombers set him rampaging free?