Everyone Brave Is Forgiven

I read a book by Chris Cleave years ago named Little Bee and I liked it very much. So this time I read Everyone Brave is Forgiven. Set in London and Malta between 1939 and 1942, the story is about, of course, the war. Mary and Hilda are socialites. They are 18 years old, confident, and impulsive. Tom and Alistair are a few years older. Alastair signs up for the war and ends up in Malta. Tom stays home and runs schools for children who are evacuated to the countryside. He also runs one in London for the children the people in the countryside would not take in because they were disabled or non-white children. Life is hard for all four people. This historical fiction was inspired by the author's grandparents. One served in Malta while his grandmother served as an ambulance driver in London. I think Little Bee was a much better book than this one. I thought some of the conversations were contrived. I know British humor can be dark and sarcastic but this was over the top.