Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian.
Goodnight Mister Tom (1981) is set in rural England during World War Two. It tells the story of William Beech, a timid, abused London boy evacuated to the village of Little Weirwold, and his extraordinary relationship with the gruff old man Tom Oakley.
Willie arrives from London, pale, frightened and clearly bearing the marks of abuse — bruises beneath his clothes, chronic bedwetting from fear. He is billeted with Tom Oakley, a widower who has lived alone since his wife and son died many years ago. Tom initially takes Willie in out of duty but quickly becomes attached to him.
Willie blossoms in Weirwold. He makes friends, discovers a talent for art and is introduced to books. Tom teaches him to swim, buys him paints, and begins to re-engage with life himself. Willie's confidence grows steadily. Then his mother writes to say he must return to London immediately.
In London, Willie discovers the full horror of his mother's mental illness and extreme religious mania. He is imprisoned in a dark flat, half-starved and tied up. His mother has had a baby, which dies. When Tom — who has not heard from Willie — arrives in London to find him, the scenes he witnesses are deeply distressing. Willie is removed from his mother and taken to hospital; he is near death.
Willie slowly recovers. Tom decides to be his legal guardian. Willie returns to Weirwold, where his friends and his new life are waiting. The novel ends with Willie whole, loved and safe at last.
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