“Gaynor’s story of courage and strength will make you believe in the heroic spirit in each of us.” —Lisa Wingate, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours
The New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Came Home sets her unforgettable new novel in China during WWII, inspired by true events surrounding the Japanese Army’s internment of teachers and children from a … true events surrounding the Japanese Army’s internment of teachers and children from a British-run missionary school.
Their motto was to be prepared, but nothing could prepare them for war.
China, December 1941. Having left an unhappy life in England for a teaching post at a missionary school in northern China, Elspeth Kent is now anxious to return home to help the war effort. But as she prepares to leave China, a terrible twist of fate determines a different path for Elspeth, and those in her charge.
Ten-year-old Nancy Plummer has always felt safe at Chefoo School, protected by her British status. But when Japan declares war on Britain and America, Japanese forces take control of the school and the security and comforts Nancy and her friends are used to are replaced by privation, uncertainty and fear. Now the enemy, and separated from their parents, the children look to their teachers – to Miss Kent and her new Girl Guide patrol especially – to provide a sense of unity and safety.
Faced with the relentless challenges of oppression, the school community must rely on their courage, faith and friendships as they pray for liberation – but worse is to come when they are sent to a distant internment camp where even greater uncertainty and danger await . . .
Inspired by true events, When We Were Young and Brave is an unforgettable novel about impossible choices and unimaginable hardship, and the life-changing bonds formed between a young girl and her teacher in a remote corner of a terrible war.
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This is one of the best books I’ve read all year. I think I will always be fond of it. It deals with a coed boarding school in China during WWII. Most of the children at the school are British with a few other countri
I enjoyed this book – couldn’t put it down. Reminds me of how courageous, resilient and strong children and their teachers can be in the face of adversity.
A piece of history that should be known. Good characters, a good read.
Great read
5 Stars. A leisurely and surprisingly gentle story, considering the subject matter. I loved reading about how the teachers and students banded together to survive a WWII prison camp. There were many touching moments and a cameo by Eric Liddell. The main character’s introspection slowed things down and became a bit repetitive. Still, five stars for this sentimental memoir-like historical fiction.
Another interesting view of what it was like during Europe’s tragic life during World War 2. I’ve read many historical fiction books and this book just adds to the hideous events that happened to these people who were not of German descent.
I absolutely loved this book! I am a huge fan of historical fiction and WWII in particular, but I had not read any stories about the impact of the war in China. I had not heard the stories from the school children, teachers, missionaries, and relief workers who were swept up and taken to internment camps. Their stories of trying to maintain hope and the value of small kindnesses was very powerful. I love it when a book makes me want to research further. And I also want to plant sunflowers. You will understand and thank me when you read this book. Thank you so much to #NetGalley for any advanced copy! I can’t wait to read more by Hazel Gaynor
#whenwewereyoungandbrave #historicalfiction
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I’ll admit that I know very little about China during World War II — or British students & teachers living/going to school in China during this period — but now I want to know more, always the mark of great historical fiction in my mind. This heartfelt story opened my mind up to this distant part of the world and history and gave me a whole new rabbit hole to stumble down. Yes, it made me weep, but these characters also gave me enormous hope in the resilience of the human spirit… I have sent this book out as a gift to many of my reader friends; you can’t go wrong with this one!
I really enjoyed this historical novel. The characters were well-developed and the story was intriguing.
We Grow Anywhere With Strong Roots
This was truly a wonderful book to read. It was such a different WWII story than all the other’s I have read and I have read many. If you are looking for a different WWII story than look no further, you have found it here.
This story begins in Chefoo China the China Inland Mission School for children of Missionaries in China December 1941. The main characters are two teachers Miss Elspeth Kent (Miss Els), Miss Butterworth (Minnie) and three students Nancy, Joan, and Dorothy. The three girls were best friends and nicknamed Plum, Mouse and Sprout. Two Chinese servants were also prominent in the story the gardener Wei Huan and the housekeeper Shu Lan.
When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor is when Things started changing for the school occupants. The Japanese soldiers moved them from Chefoo school to an abandoned missionary camp called Temple Hill, they just got established there when they were moved to the Internment camp Weihsien.
In all these years the children and the teachers did their best to keep life going as normal as possible. They still had their brownie and girl guard meetings, assemblies, sports and schooling as much as possible even in the internment camp where they fought dysentery, cholera and Typhoid in the summer and Pneumonia, tuberculosis, chilblains and cold related illnesses in the winter. They fought hunger continually throughout their entire occupation under the Japanese Army.
There were other notable characters, the bad guard they called trouble, the good guard they called home run. The lady with the bird in a cage they called Mrs. T.
The courage and fortitude of both the teachers and the children is admirable. Those that made it until they were liberated by the American’s and those that did not and were left in China. The Epilogue should be read as it is important to what happened after liberation.
This story is one of the one that I will remember for a long time. I would recommend this book, once you read it you will not forget it.
Thanks to Hazel Gaynor, Harper Collins Publishers, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
I couldn’t put When We Were Young & Brave down. This wonderful story about the Chefoo’s School’s courageous educators and tenacious students can teach us all something about the power of hope and perseverance in the face of crisis and uncertainty.
In When We Were Young and Brave, Hazel Gaynor gifts readers with an extraordinary and unique story of war — one unlike any we have read before… With skill, warmth, and delicate grace, Gaynor peels back the layers of research and fact to reveal the tender heart behind this fascinating piece of history.
In her newest novel, Hazel Gaynor brings the reader all the way to Japanese-occupied China… A story of courage, friendship, and humanity in the bleakest of circumstances, Gaynor takes a slice of true history and brings it to vivid life. I loved these characters and rooted for them all the way.
Hazel Gaynor’s novels are so well researched and so rich in detail that one cannot help but be swept away to a time and place far removed from our own and live the drama through characters so beautifully realized that one walks amongst them. An absolute treat for any reader…
Inspired by actual events, this is a WWII novel unlike any I’ve read. Set in China, it’s the saga of students at a missionary school and the British teachers who shepherded them through years of challenging living conditions during Japanese Army occupation. Told in alternating chapters, the narrators are 10-year-old Nancy Plummer and Elspeth Kent, the instructor who becomes the heart and soul of the Chefoo School group.
Woven throughout the plot are many references to Girl Guides (British equivalent of Girl Scouts). I appreciated how these rules provided inspiration and structure for the girls and their leaders.
I have several Gaynor novels on my TBR shelves and will be moving them up my list after this powerful reading experience. Thank you William Morrow for the gifted ARC.
“I actually think life is meant to have its share of difficulty and struggle. That’s when we find out who we really are, what we’re really made of, not when everything’s going all all jolly and straightforward and terribly nice. We come alive in the dramatic bits, don’t we; in the moments that make us gasp and cry.”
When We Were Young & Brave is the story of the students and teachers of the Chefoo School, a prep school in China for the mostly British and American children of diplomats and missionaries, including 10-year-old Nancy Plummer. When Japan declares war on Britain and America in December 1941, the Japanese military takes control of the school, declaring everyone in it foreign enemies, a four-year journey of imprisonment that eventually lands them in an internment camp. Through it all, Nancy and her friends find comfort and strength in their Girl Guide group, led by their teacher Elspeth Kent, and come to realize that its tenets of friendship, loyalty and faith can get them through even the darkest times.
I haven’t read much about life in China during WWII, especially for foreign children and teachers like those at Chefoo, but the story is based on actual events. I love the characters Hazel Gaynor created in this book and the way they and their relationships to each other evolve the longer they spend Japanese prisoners. They endure horrible things and have to make unimaginable choices but the way the teachers create a sense of normalcy and safety for their charges despite their own despair is truly remarkable. If you enjoy historical fiction with wonderful female protagonists, pick up When We Were Young & Brave.
Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow and the author for an advanced copy of this book to review.
I have a book hangover. I finished reading an early copy of When We Were Young and Brave by Hazel Gaynor. This is my first Gaynor book, and it definitely will not be my last. I read a lot of WWII historical fiction, but I really had not read much of what was happening in China during the war. I was immediately drawn into the story because of the referral to the Girl Guides (Girl Scouts), Brownies, the motto, and rules to live by. Our two narrators, a student and a teacher, meet at a boarding school. Nancy’s missionary parents sent her and her brother, Edward, to this school. Miss Kent is looking for adventure and came from England to teach. She is also in charge of the Girl Guides. I thought the author was very effective in giving structure to the young girls by starting many chapters with a Girl Guide Rule.
When the Japanese invade China, the teachers and the students find themselves under the control of the Japanese. We follow what happens through Nancy’s and Miss Kent’s eyes as they are marched to another school and later moved to an internment camp. I felt like I was right there with the characters.
There were happy times, desolate times, hunger, and love as they cope and help each other. I strongly suggest you add this beautiful book to your current reading.
Nancy Plummer was hoping to go home for Christmas, but her mother wrote she wouldn’t be able to.
Elspeth Kent was hoping to hand in her resignation, but wasn’t able to.
What kept them from their wishes is that in 1941 the Japanese army took over their British-run school, Chefoo, after Pearl Harbor was bombed.
The students and teachers were confined to the premises for a year and then made to move to another school. The new school was in terrible condition, but they made the best of it and hoped every day that they would be rescued by their countrymen.
After being moved to the second school, they were again moved but to a camp. Life was pretty normal except for being kept inside with guards and the lack of sanitation and food.
The book is told in alternating chapters from the perspectives of Nancy a student and Elspeth a teacher.
WHEN WE WERE YOUNG AND BRAVE is based on true events which I never was aware of, but it shows the resiliency and creativity of human nature to work with what you have.
Ms. Gaynor portrayed the characters perfectly, and you could feel what they were feeling.
WHEN WE WERE YOUNG AND BRAVE was a bit slow at first, but once you get to know the characters, you will be drawn in as I was.
This book is about friendship, courage, hope, and endurance. It is a beautiful book that will have you appreciating your freedom and your family.
Miss Gaynor’s meticulous research had me looking for more information about the lives of the teachers and students and more about the Chefoo school. 4/5
This book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
When the Japanese declare war on Britain and America and they storm the territory where the Chefoo missionary school is located, teacher Elspeth Kent knows things will never be the same. Her and the children are taken captive and ushered into an interment camp, and moved far away from safety and their loved ones. These children have never known an environment like this, their is danger lurking in every corner, medical supplies and food are sparse, and the Japanese soldiers treat them very poorly. But Ms. Kent does her best to continue to teach them lessons and keep their spirits up along their journey across China. All the while praying that the American army will find a way to save them soon…
When We Were Young and Brave is a beautifully penned tale that will take you on an historical adventure you won’t soon forget. Inspired by some true events it gives you an honest and eye opening idea of what things were like during the war and after. The struggles these children and their teachers faced were heart-wrenching, but their resilience and will to not give up was quite inspiring. It didn’t take me long to fall right into the pages of this one, the words took hold and I became enraptured with story and the lives of these characters. My heart broke for them at times, and other times they had me smiling, the bond they had was remarkable and heartwarming. If you are a historical fiction fan I have no doubt that you will love what you find between the pages here, the words are well penned and engaging and the characters are unforgettable… it was perfect from beginning to end!
I requested an advanced copy of this title from the publisher, and I am voluntarily leaving my honest and unbiased opinion.
What an absolutely beautiful and heartbreaking book! I have read many World War 2 books but this brought a different perspective. In China there is a missionary school named Chefoo school. There are students from around the world and their teachers. When Japan bombs Pearl Harbor, the Japanese soldiers take over the school. This incredible book is told by the perspective of student Nancy and of teacher Elspeth. To say they students and teachers lived through a nightmare would be an understatement. I loved having both teacher and student perspectives as each told their own story of being held prisoner. This was a heartbreaking story brought to life by the most amazing characters. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.