As life for German Jews becomes increasingly perilous, Anna’s parents put her on one of the last trains leaving for England. But the war follows her to Kent, and soon Anna finds herself caught up in web of betrayal and secrecy. How can she prove whose side she’s on when she can’t tell anyone the truth? But actions speak louder than words, and Anna has a dangerous plan…
A brilliant and moving war time adventure from the author of Evie‘s Ghost.
Anna at War is the story of a young girl who arrives in the UK as a refugee on the Kinder transport fleeing Nazi Germany on her on. The story follows her trip to the UK and her story as she settles in with her foster family and life in the UK.
I obviously loved the historical elements of this book. I have always enjoyed learning about 20th European history with the Blitz and the Holocaust being two topics I continue to be fascinated about. This book is special for several reasons. Firstly it gives a voice to those children who arrived here looking for a home and celebrates those families that opened their doors and embraced them allowing them to become part of their family. I don't think I've ever read another book that covers this topic.
The book also does real justice to the history of the holocaust making it accessible to a younger audience and getting across the horror faced by those who found themselves under Nazi rule in the 1930s and the appalling treatment they faced without making their experience too gory for the sake of it or too trivial. It doesn't hold back in being really clear about the impact Nazi rule had on the Jewish population of Europe and the ending of the book in particular really got to me which is no mean feat considering just how many books I have read on the topic.
I also thought the book was good in how it could be used today to drawn parallels between the treatment of the refugees from the Kindertransport and the treatment modern day refugees faced by some people within society usually encouraged by fear mongering and hatred spewed out by the press and horrible individuals on twitter.
This book is so very good. I thoroughly enjoyed every page and it left me with a lump in my throat. It's definitely one that will stick with me for a long time to come.
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