This book will pull at your heartstrings. Hell, it'll rip them right in half. But it's also hopeful, even while it's crushing your soul. There's hope that there are good people, that good can sometimes win, even if it doesn't always. And please, do yourselves a favor, and read the author's note. It's gorgeous, just like the book.

Doch diese Zeiten sind vorbei, als Hitler in Deutschland die Macht erlangt und sich dadurch der Nationalsozialismus im ganzen Land ausbreitet. Betroffen davon sind alle drei der Protagonist:innen, wenn auch aus unterschiedlichen Gründen. Während Leo und Elsa beide jüdischer Abstammung sind und den zunehmenden Hass gegen Juden in ihrem eigenen Land zu spüren bekommen, bleibt Max davon verschont, gerät jedoch durch seinen Vater, einem ranghohen Offizier der deutschen Armee, ebenfalls in die Fänge des Nationalsozialmus. A pivotal event takes place at the beginning of the story when, for Leo’s ninth birthday, his father treats the three friends to an outing. The day’s highlight is a Ferris wheel ride featuring large enclosed cars in which the riders can move about. We follow Max, Elsa, and Leo, from their favorite memory together, straight through their teen years/WWII. Elsa and Leo are Jewish, and as such, obviously in great peril during the war. Max, on the other hand, has a father who is not only unsympathetic toward his friends, he's a straight up Nazi. The book does an unbelievably great job of illustrating how frighteningly fast and unfortunately, easy, it is for some people to end up on the wrong side. Inspired by true events in Liz Kessler's family history, this is a heartbreaking and honest portrayal of the Holocaust for younger readers, but handled with such compassion and tenderness.

Inspired by the true story of author Liz Kessler`s father’s escape from Nazi-occupied Europe, When The World Was Ours is an extraordinary novel which shows how the bonds of love, family and friendship allow glimmers of hope to flourish, even in the most hopeless of times. Some scenes were extremely painful to read, and the last few chapters had me weeping. Enjoyable is probably the incorrect word to use to describe this book, but this was so powerful. Wichtig zu erwähnen ist zu Beginn, dass die Handlung zu Zeiten des Zweiten Weltkriegs spielt und damit auch der Holocaust thematisiert wird. Das ist für mich etwas, das sich aus dem kurzen, offiziellen Klappentext nicht direkt herauslesen lässt. Die Szene mit dem Riesenrad spielt dabei insofern eine wichtige Rolle, dass es ein Erlebnis unserer drei Protagonist:innen ist, das sich noch vor Kriegsbeginn abgespielt hat und die Jugendlichen in den nachfolgenden Jahren immer wieder als schöne Erinnerung an unbeschwerte Zeiten begleitet. President Joe Biden on Friday denounced a recent increase in antisemitic incidents in a statement, calling them ‘despicable, unconscionable, un-American.’ 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.

When The World Was Ours is the most wonderful, terrible, powerful, important book I have read in years and years. It is so good, so real, so unflinching -- Cathy Cassidy

While this story will seem familiar in some ways, it offers an approach to the topic of the Second World War that will not fail to impact on readers. Cannot say enough good things about this one. Gobbled it right up in a matter of a few sittings this Saturday and Sunday afternoons. 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 De manier waarop ze de drie vrienden en hun familie neerzet is zeer goed. Hun keuzes en manier van denken voelen verstaanbaar aan voor de lezer. Je leeft echt mee met de drie. Een thema dat ook wel naar boven komt in het verhaal is dat je omgeving toch wel bepaalt wie je wordt of dat ze willen dat je wordt. Dit komt het meeste naar boven in het verhaal van Max. Die neemt de zwaarste rol op zich in dit verhaal. Kessler heeft ervoor gekozen om elke keer te veranderen van perspectief over het verhaal. Ze wisselt continue tussen Elsa, Leo en max. 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. Dit werkt enorm goed voor dit verhaal. De lijdensweg van Elsa en Leo komt door die ik-vorm extra binnen bij de lezer. Bij Max bekijk je als lezer hoe hij verandert tijdens de oorlogsjaren. Kessler schrijft het verhaal zodanig dat de emoties van het blad spatten. Een voorbeeld hiervan is: Hij hield zichzelf voor wat hij ook maar wilde horen, ook al wist hij diep in zijn hart dat het allemaal gelogen was. Ze slaagt erin met één zin de emotionele toestand van het personage te schetsen. De achtergrond waarop alles gebeurt wordt ook mooi omschreven . Bv Een bruine sjaal die zo harig is dat ik eerst dacht dat hij leefde. 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.

This book completely broke my heart. I expected sadness, knowing that it was a book about the Holocaust and Nazi Germany, but it still was a gut punch. I appreciate that the author based one of the storylines on her own family's history.This stunning book is going to make you rage, and cry, and yelp with joy, then cry and rage again. A genuine tour de force from Liz Kessler. I couldn’t put it down except to wipe away tears De insteek van dit verhaal werd gevormd door de herinneringen van haar eigen vader en andere familieleden aan de Tweede Wereldoorlog. De waargebeurde feiten werden aangevuld met eigen ideeën. Waar de scheiding ligt tussen fictie en Non-fictie verteld de auteur zelf in een kort voorwoord, alsook wat ze wil bereiken met het schrijven van dit boek.

Author Liz Kessler has written over twenty books for children and young adults. Most of these are middle-grade books featuring mermaids, fairies, time travel, and superpowers. However, When the World Was Ours hits closer to home. It’s a way for Kessler to honour her past, her ancestors, and her heritage. Leo, for example, is inspired by her father’s story, while her family’s history has influenced many other aspects of the novel. We recommend this book for readers aged 14+. When The World Was Ours is Liz's masterpiece . . . an instant classic -- Anthony McGowan, winner of the 2020 CILIP Carnegie Medal Chosen as our Guest Editor, Francesca Simon's Book of the Month | Shortlisted for the UKLA Book Awards 10-14 When The World Was Ours is Liz's masterpiece . . . an instant classic' Anthony McGowan, winner of the 2020 CILIP Carnegie Medal”Inspired by a true story, WHEN THE WORLD WAS OURS is an extraordinary novel that is as powerful as it is heartbreaking, and shows how the bonds of love, family and friendship allow glimmers of hope to flourish, even in the most hopeless of times. MAX. As his father rises up the Nazi ranks, he suddenly finds that he is the danger his friends are trying so desperately to escape. Inspired by a true story, When the World Was Ours is an extraordinary novel that is as powerful as it is heartbreaking, and shows how the bonds of love, family and friendship allow glimmers of hope to flourish, even in the most hopeless of times. Three friends. Two sides. One memory. About This Edition ISBN: 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. Inspired 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.