Out Of The Dark by Julie Lawson

I just finished Out of the Dark by Julie Lawson, a follow-up to her 2017 bestselling novel, A Blinding Light. A Blinding Light was a finalist for both the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction and the City of Victoria Book Prize in the category of middle-grade novel. Both novels are published by Nimbus Publishing and can be read as stand-alone books. But, I think those who read both will enjoy them that much more. With this in mind, my double review will begin with A Blinding Light (2017), followed by Out of the Dark (2023). Both books are set in 1917 Halifax, and at the heart of Julie Lawson’s stories is a topic near and dear to me, the Halifax Explosion.

A Blinding Light (synopsis):

It’s 1917 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The First World War is raging, and despite its distance from the conflict, the Halifax Harbour is bustling with activity. Anti-German prejudice is rampant, and though 12-year-old Livy Schroeder and her 15-year-old brother Will are still mourning the loss of their father, who died in a mysterious boating accident just six months before, his German heritage doesn’t merit them much sympathy. The rumours he’d been a German spy are only flamed by his disappearance.

On the morning of December 6, while Livy is in Richmond begging forgiveness from the Schroeders’ former housekeeper, Will is atop Citadel Hill reporting for the school paper, when he sees two ships collide. A flash of light, then thunder from underground: the Halifax Explosion hits. Instantly, the city is unrecognizable. Lost and separated in the dark, destroyed city, will the siblings find each other again? Where is their mother? And who is to blame for the catastrophe?

A Blinding Light: (Review first appeared in Goodreads, May 2021)

I found Julie Lawson’s Middle-Grade/ Young Adult novel ‘A Blinding Light’ to be very enlightening and educational historical fiction. My grandmother was a survivor of the Halifax Explosion, one who did not like to speak of the past, only giving us the bare minimum of information. I feel this story fleshed out what it was like during and in the aftermath of this horrific disaster. Lawson’s descriptions during the aftermath were so vivid that you could almost taste the smoke and debris in the air. It’s through stories like this that younger and seasoned readers alike can get a glimpse of life during this time period. I applaud Julie Lawson’s straightforward manner of describing the horror and injuries that occurred as a result of the explosion to a Middle-Grade audience. She didn’t sugarcoat the violence of the event at all. She even went into the prejudices of the time against the Canadian Germans. I would recommend ‘A Blinding Light’ for anyone who likes history young or old, particularly those who are interested in Canadian and Nova Scotian History.

Out of the Dark (synopsis): 

When Jane Mooney’s older brother Connor lies about his age and enlists in the Great War at age fifteen, she can’t imagine ever being more devastated. But on December 6, 1917, when two ships collide in Halifax Harbour, the resulting explosion proves her wrong.

An injured Jane awakes to discover that the North End of Halifax, including her home, has been destroyed; her father and three of her brothers have been killed; her mother, recovering from a head injury, has been left confused and forgetful; and her two surviving brothers are looking to her for guidance. Like so many Explosion survivors, Jane and her family are forced to start over. This means accommodation in a newly-constructed apartment block, clothing and furniture from donation centres, and a new school. Unfortunately for Jane, the school she must now attend is in the prosperous South End. How will she fit in with her uppity classmates?

The only bright light is that Jane now lives closer to her best friend, Livy Schneider. Livy’s older brother, Will, a student at the same school, gives Jane a job at the school newspaper. The start of the 1918 school year appears more hopeful until Jane hears rumblings of a new enemy at their door — and this one is contagious. The Great Influenza Pandemic has reached Halifax’s vulnerable shores. In a time of financial and emotional strain, and with this terrifying new threat, how will Jane keep her family safe? And why hasn’t Connor written to her? Will he ever return from the trenches?

Out of the Dark (Review):

The back of the book states that this is “the anticipated sequel….set during the aftermath of the Halifax Explosion and the onset of the Great Influenza Pandemic”. It actually starts right before the explosion and we get to see the return of “South End” Livy from A Blinding Light and how she and Jane meet. As an added story bonus, Livy’s brother Will even makes guest appearances throughout the story.

I enjoyed how the author included Jane’s brother, Connor who lied about his age to enlist in the Army, by incorporating his journal entries and letters from the front throughout the story.

In Out of the Dark, we see the moment right before and after the Halifax Explosion through Jane’s eyes. She, unfortunately, was injured and woke up in the Hospital with a broken kneecap and a shrapnel burn on her face. Jane then finds out that not only did she lose her 3 older brothers and father in the explosion, but the building that they had lived in, and every other building on their street, was now nothing but ashes and piles of rubble.

After a brief stay at an aunt’s place on the Northwest Arm, the family relocates to one of the new apartments being quickly built to house the displaced victims of the explosion. Jane’s mother suffered a head injury in the explosion, which causes her headaches, confusion, and memory issues forcing Jane to step up and take more of an adult role in the family. It’s up to her to pick out what the family needs from the Relief Depot for their apartment. She often has to look after her brothers, getting them ready for bed or school, as well as cooking/cleaning for the family.

During the 1918 school year, things finally started to look up for Jane. She started writing for the school paper and visited with her best friend Livy on Saturdays. Then people started to fall ill, and in a swoop, the Spanish Flu arrived.

“Easy to laugh now, she thought. But wouldn’t that be something? To survive the explosion only to die of a measly flu.”

― Julie Lawson, Out of the Dark pg 86

During the Spanish Flu Pandemic, we see Jane do many of the things we all did during COVID-19, including proper handwashing, making and wearing masks, and social distancing. Add this to the events and the rebuilding of the city as it moves forward after the devastation left by the Explosion, just a short time earlier.

What is very ironic, is that according to the author’s note at the back of the book, Julie had started writing Out of the Dark in 2018 and was well into her first draft when the Covid-19 pandemic began. The research she had done into the Halifax response to the Spanish Flu was playing out in front of her, in her own time.

Both these books should be made available to all middle graders, especially to those who are interested in history no matter their age. I would like to point out that the covers of both books are very nicely done and are a match to each other.

On a personal note, I would like to draw attention to a passage on page 135 where Julie Lawson talks about the Protestant Orphanage on Veith Street, Halifax.

“I knew the Matron well; my church St. George’s, worked closely with the orphanage. When the Matron heard the sounds in the harbour that morning, she feared the city was being attacked. She ordered her staff and the children to go to the basement where they’d be safe. Most were killed in the Explosion, and the building was demolished. Only six little souls survived.”

― Julie Lawson, Out of the Dark pg 135

I didn’t know there were six, but I knew of one little soul and if she hadn’t survived I wouldn’t be here right now. My Grandmother, Annie May Slade (Murley) was one of those six survivors.


Julie Lawson is the author of over 30 books for children and young adults. Her critically acclaimed works have received numerous award nominations, including the Children’s Book Centre Award for A Blinding Light, the Canadian Library Association Award for White Jade Tiger, and Forest of Reading Awards for GoldstoneGhosts of the Titanic, A Ribbon of Shining Steel, and many more. Her YA novels include White Jade Tiger (winner of the Sheila A. Egoff BC Children’s Fiction Prize), No Safe Harbour (winner of the Hackmattack Children’s Choice Award) and A Blinding Light (runner-up for the City Of Victoria Bolen Books Prize).

Julie writes from her home in Victoria, BC.