When The World Was Ours: A book about finding hope in the darkest of times

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This is a tour de force, a book about friendship and what happens when hate is institutionalised, but most of all it's a book about love -- Catherine Johnson The story reaches a breathtaking crescendo when we witness an interweaving of the three family stories years after the Ferris wheel ride: Elsa’s family is sent to Auschwitz on a death camp train. Leo’s now-emaciated dad is there, too, forced into slave labor in exchange for staying alive. And Max and his dad are working there.

Utterly, utterly gut-churningly brilliant. It's a superb piece of writing. It should win everything going This extract is about a list of all the things that Kessler's father Leo wasn't allowed to do, just for being a Jew. Each of the children has a very different war-time experience. Leo manages to flee to England with his mother, desperate for news of his father who was sent to Dachau. Elsa remains with her family through many of the indignities bestowed on her simply because of her faith, but she is separated from them when they are taken to Auschwitz. Max has always been desperate for his father’s approval, and his need to belong and gain admiration makes him susceptible to the indoctrination of the Nazi party. As his father rises in power, Max follows. He too ends up in Auschwitz.Given that anti-Semitism has never gone away, WHEN THE WORLD WAS OURS is an important read. With its fine writing and storytelling, this one gets my highest recommendation. In 1937 the strained friendship is severed when, fearing the cruelty of the Nazis, Elsa’s family moves to Czechoslovakia.

So yeah, we're not in for a load of laughs, is the point. But the story was beautiful, nonetheless. I think it's also the kind of story that spans many age groups. It's listed as YA, but I could see myself giving this to my daughter who reads middle grade as well. The characters start out young, when their friendship was simple, uncomplicated by the political world and expectations of adults around them. It was bittersweet to see their happiness, for we know that it won't last. Chosen as our Guest Editor, Francesca Simon's Book of the Month | Shortlisted for the UKLA Book Awards 10-14Inspired by the true story of her father’s escape from Nazi-occupied Europe, in When The World Was Ours the author takes the reader on a journey from Vienna in 1936 to the outbreak of the Second World War and beyond in the company of three childhood friends – Leo, Max and Elsa. Since Leo and Elsa are Jewish, the lives of the three children, and their families, are destined to take very different paths.

This fictionalised account of Peter (a teenage Dutch Jew, hiding from the Nazis with his family and their friends, the Franks) is a meditation on the power of written testimony and the nature of evil.This striking Holocaust story was a real passion project for Liz Kessler and it shows. Begins in Vienna in the 1930s, following the fortunes of three friends over the following years. Inevitable ugly crying at the end Liz Kessler’s writing is excellent and her depiction of the slow, steady descent in the behaviour of those in society who discriminate and ill-treat others is chilling. These changes as seen through the children’s eyes are subtle at first, their parents whispering and worried, Max’s father no longer allowing him to play with his friends, the gradual introduction of restrictions for the Jewish community, the harsh separation in school and the humiliation and horror that will eventually follow this. Throughout the entire story, we know that this is true to the facts and that we must learn from history to ensure that the worst events in our past are never repeated. The parallels and relevance in our world today make this an even more important read. The Second World War has inspired many stories, and told the stories of many people over the years. These books for teenagers take a variety of different approaches to representing the events of World War II. The most powerful book about the Holocaust I've ever read . . . it is an utterly stunning, and important, read. I'll be thinking about this one for a long time, and would urge everyone to read it Max has a strained relationship with his father, a Nazi officer on his way up. Max’s father instructs him to no longer hang out with Jewish kids. Longing to please his father, Max somehow convinces himself that joining the Hitler Youth and developing a hatred of Jews has nothing to do with his two old friends.

President Joe Biden on Friday denounced a recent increase in antisemitic incidents in a statement, calling them ‘despicable, unconscionable, un-American.’ The characters were all fantastic, and I loved the immensely powerful friendship they had. It's so depressing how their lives had to be torn apart from such a young age, and seeing them grow and mature over the years. Wow. Just wow.When The World Was Ours is a gut-wrenching story of friendship torn apart by war. I can’t recommend it highly enough Many thanks to Aladdin Books / Simon & Schuster and Goodreads for the opportunity to read this gripping book in advance of its May 18, 2021 publication.