Notes

Philippa Werry.
288 pages.
New Zealand author. Also published as: Enemy at the gate.
Summary: It's December 1936 when the first polio cases are suspected. Soon a polio epidemic is sweeping the country. Schools are closed, swimming pools and movie theatres banned to children, and travel is restricted. Tom is the best runner in the school, but you can't outrun polio. ''Being in quarantine sounds like being in prison'', I said, shivering. Lily nodded.'' A bit like that. Except that the prison is your own home''. It might sound familiar in 2021, but this is New Zealand in 1936-37. The disease is infantile paralysis, or polio, and nobody knows where it will strike next. When even the adults are afraid, Tom finds refuge in his dream-to run in the Olympics like his hero, Olympic champion Jack Lovelock.
My New Zealand story.