Winner of the Mildred L. Batchelder medal for most oustanding children’s book in translation.Escaping Nazi Germany on the kindertransport changes one girl’s life foreverAt the start of World War II, ten-year-old Franziska Mangold is torn from her family when she boards the kindertransport in Berlin, the train that secretly took nearly 10,000 children out of Nazi territory to safety in England. … territory to safety in England. Taken in by strangers who soon become more like family than her real parents, Frances (as she is now known) courageously pieces together a new life for herself because she doesn’t know when or if she’ll see her true family again. Against the backdrop of war-torn London, Frances struggles with questions of identity, family, and love, and these experiences shape her into a dauntless, charming young woman.
Originally published in Germany, Anne Voorhoeve’s award-winning novel is filled with humor, danger, and romance.
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Spoilers and Review
Of
“My Family for the War”
Book by Anne C. Voorhoeve
Published in 2007
Spoiler- love can’t always win ALL the wars. The beloved character that you will soon encounter will soon lose his battle.( more at end)
To begin, the book is very interesting a must read if i must say. The intriguing characters and their background is a forsure crowd attacture.
The main character, Franziska, is Jewish residing in Germany during World war II. as you have probably already heard about, there were encounters with some attacks in Germany where they pull the residents straight out of their houses, most commonly men and young boys. This was one thing that had occured with Franziska, also known as Ziska. Her father was pulled straight out of their house and after refusing got brutally beaten and was forced out. Ziska being afraid due to her being only 10 years of age, ran out where her friend, Becca and her had been practicing an escape route just in case of this occasion. Eventually as you know the men were taken to a prison where their families has to bail them out. Like most Jewish families living in Germany, ziska had been bullied and hurt before this occasion. Back to the point, the jail was on complete lockdown and the prisoners families and them had planned to escape to a new place for this family it was Shai. (I know feel as if this is MY story that I am telling so from now on, less details and more events that can intrigue you and inspire you to read this story).
Scared, afraid, and alone is what they all felt. The war didn’t seem to get any better eventually word was out to the Jewish families of a Kindertransport. This is where the kids were separated from their parents out of free will, mostly of the parents if I must say, to a new foster type family. Ziska herself was put on this bus. Some of the children’s foster family hadn’t shown up same for Ziska. Instead she was put into an orphanage type of place where she would soon meet her new family all in plain accident and have the best time of her life, eventually. Part of her family was a new brother, Gary, new mom and dad amanda and matthew I believe, (if i am wrong forgive me). Gary and her exchange secrets one being of joining the army another being her secret door to door confrontations to get work for her mother and father. To be clear, the kinder transport was in fact not taken to Shai but instead to England. I fear that this may be the end of the review, I don’t want to expose too much of the book but this story is in fact in the top 5 books i’ve ever read and I enjoy reading this book as i hope you do too.
Spoiler #2-
Franziska will soon be renamed Francis by Gary after getting placed with the Shepherds.
Spoiler # 3
If i must say don’t read this one if you aren’t ready for a true spoiler.
Gary and Ziska’s true father die.
Sorry if I said anything incorrect or anything you don’t like.