I wholeheartedly recommend this book – but be warned, it will probably affect you deeply and will bring tears.

As his father rises up the Nazi ranks, he suddenly finds that he is the danger his friends are trying so desperately to escape. Only gradually do the youngsters become aware of the consequences of Leo and Elsa’s Jewish faith when anti-Jewish sentiment becomes more widespread and is followed by legal restrictions, and worse. Obwohl ich bereits einige Bücher gelesen habe, die sich mit dem Holocaust befassen, ist mir dieses hier besonders nahe gegangen. We are given facts about the experiences the children have, while learning about the reality of the period.

Initially the story is told with all the joy and innocence of childhood, but slowly the voices change to ones of suspicion, confusion, and fear. At its heart this is a story about faith, love and having the courage to stay hopeful even in our darkest moments. With their lives taking them across Europe – to Germany, England, Prague and Poland – will they ever find their way back to each other?

I think it is easy to imagine that World War 2 is ancient history and that we live in a much more enlightened society. Because while people can change, a picture can't, and that picture reminded them, reminded all of them, who they truly were. How much is he a product of his upbringing, his need to fit in and be liked and his desire to please his father? Bij Leo en Elsa beleef je alles mee vanop hun schouder, terwijl er voor het verhaal van Max gekozen werd om vanaf de zijlijn toe te kijken. The author really captures the emotional and psychological toll of their experiences on the three children and the insidious nature of Nazi indoctrination.Ich hatte beim Zuhören das Gefühl, eine stille Beobachterin einiger sehr menschenverachtender, brutaler und emotionaler Szenen zu werden und bin einmal mehr erschüttert, dass sich so etwas tatsächlich vor nicht allzu langer Zeit in Deutschland abgespielt hat. But Leo and Elsa are Jewish, and as Europe falls under Hitler's sway, the three take different paths. Moa has spent his entire life on the slave plantation in horrific conditions - but a charismatic leader offers the chance to seize freedom. Zonder al teveel in detail te treden over de gruwelen in een concentratiekamp slaagt ze er toch in om de ernst van de situatie te laten doordringen. Liz Kessler never excuses the behaviour but provides a way in which the reader can explore the importance of personal conscience and individual choices.

Max’s story is told in the third person providing greater distance between the character and the reader and allowing a more objective view of his behaviour. Leo manages to flee to England with his mother, desperate for news of his father who was sent to Dachau. It was so good I bought myself a physical copy because I plan on handing this book to all of my kids to read. Once we learn that Max’s father is becoming a much respected member of the Nazi party we get an inkling of how this might go.Max’s family, on the other hand, moves into a furnished penthouse apartment in Munich that seems to have belonged to a wealthy Jewish family who were forced out.