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The Girl Who Escaped From Auschwitz by Ellie Midwood

Dec21

Symbols Of Resistance

The Girl Who Escaped From Auschwitz by Ellie Midwood is a powerful historical novel. It is a tale of courage, resistance and hope. Even in the darkest pit it is possible for light to shine.

The reader witnesses the bravery in a time of complete and utter horror. Ellie Midwood focuses in on two characters who do what they can in order to tell the world their stories. “You … will need to survive to avenge those people who perished.” Many went straight to their deaths, those who didn’t must tell the world of the evil.

Hope kept people going. Without hope the people perish. “He was the only person who gave her hope in this hell. Without him life lost all meaning.” In the depths of hell, people needed hope to believe that there were better times ahead.

There were many ways to resist. “Survival was the biggest form of resistance.” To keep going and to hold heads high when the Nazis wanted to brow beat everyone, offered hope to all who witnessed.

Auschwitz had guard towers. “Guard towers … to ensure that we won’t escape to tell our stories.” 

As the war drew to a close, the Nazis tried to destroy all the evidence in the camps. “They’ll slaughter us all … No one wants us to walk out of here and start telling our stories.” – But people did survive and told the stories of those who perished.

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An Orphan’s Christmas by Katie Flynn

Dec19

Growing Through The War Years

An Orphan’s Christmas by Katie Flynn is an historical novel that I read in just one sitting.

The action begins in 1936 as we follow the lead character through the orphanage to a wooden dwelling and through the war years.

Molly is a plucky girl. It is her personality and her strength of character that get her through some very tough circumstances from the age of eleven when we first meet her.

The orphanage is stifling. It is a place of ‘less than’ with little heating and little to eat. An older girl bullies Molly, forcing her to make choices she did not anticipate.

Bonds formed in childhood persist into adulthood until the rose-tinted spectacles are removed.

A character who is on the sidelines proves to be more loyal than one who takes centre stage.

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Silent Night by Jack Sheffield

Dec12

A Trip Down Memory Lane

Silent Night: The Alternative School Logbook by Jack Sheffield is a delightfully fun and light-hearted read that I loved and read in just one sitting. It is the eighth book in the Teacher series but can be read as a stand-alone.

The reader follows the primary school at Ragley in North Yorkshire through an eventful school year 1984-1985. At the time the novel is set, I was finishing my degree so I am old enough to remember all the cultural references. It was a most charming trip down memory lane.

The school is at the heart of the village. “Our school was a focal point of the village, a centre of the community.” As a small rural school head, Mr Sheffield knows each one of his pupils. He takes an interest in their lives, nurturing the minds of the future. “All children have talent… It is up to you to identify that talent and nurture it.” Mr Sheffield brings out the best in the children as he makes learning fun.

Young children are absolutely hilarious with their observations. “What do you call someone who keeps on talking when other people aren’t listening?” asks the teacher of a pupil. The pupil’s reply, “A teacher.”

The dead pan humor of the young and old alike causes much hilarity as the reader works through the book. “The optician pointed… ‘And can you read this line?’ she asked, ‘Yes, thank you,’ said Zoe politely.”

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The Lotus House by Ann Bennett

Dec8

Powerful& Harrowing

The Lotus House by Ann Bennett is a powerful historical novel that I just could not put down.

The story begins in 1941 at Pearl Harbor as we follow a young nurse through that devastating December day, and across the seas to the Philippines.

All too soon, the Philippines are occupied by the Imperial Japanese army. The nursing staff are in retreat once more. Eventually we see that the remainder of their war is within a prison camp. “It was hard to imagine… how a war could be raging in these idyllic… peaceful islands.”

The action alternates between the young nurse and an army captain. We see their wars are similar but different as he, too, ends up in a prisoner of war camp.

There is much bravery, grit and determination needed to survive, as well as luck. Any day your name could be written on a bullet.

We see the camaraderie and support between the nurses, the soldiers and the indigenous population of all ages.

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