1945, Tasha is separated from her mother when Lydia is forced to go on the march from Auschwitz. Can the pair reunite against all odds…?
The War Orphan is an historical novel about the situation at the end of WW2.
Auschwitz is set to be liberated and the Nazis force the adults to march away from the site. Children are left behind, including 16 year old Tasha. In the aftermath of the war, Tasha tries to find her mum but is unsuccessful. She is offered, and accepts, the opportunity to move to England but she refuses to identify herself as an orphan.
I have read lots of book about life in the Nazi camps so it was interesting to read a fresh perspective about the situation straight after liberation. The book is written to show the viewpoints of Tasha, Lydia and Alice. Lydia and Tasha are relentless in their search for each other, defying the odds. Alice is a Jew who escaped the Nazi regime and now cares for children in the UK. She doesn’t have a family of her own so this offers her the chance to fulfil her maternal instincts by caring for orphans.
The emotion of families being torn apart and the continued suffering even after liberation was heartbreaking at times. I can’t imagine the mental strength that Lydia and Tasha need to stay hopeful after everything they have faced under the Nazi regime. It is so important that this period of history isn’t forgotten and the long term psychological effects are remembered.
The War Orphan is an emotional historical novel.
Book Description:
1945, Auschwitz: I stumble out of the gates, tightly grasping the hands of two smaller children. Hunger swirls in my stomach and the barren landscape swims before my eyes. I can barely believe it. We’re free. We survived. But what happens now…
Sixteen-year-old Tasha Ancel turns to take one last look at the imposing place that stole her freedom and her childhood. She has no idea how she continued to live when so many others did not. For the first time in months, her heart beats with hope for her future and that of the smaller children who cling to her now.
Tasha was torn from her mother’s arms by an SS guard days before the gates of Auschwitz opened. Now she only has a lock of her mother’s fiery hair. Desperate to be reunited, Tasha asks everyone she meets if they’ve seen a woman with flame-red hair. But with so many people trying to locate their loved ones in the chaotic aftermath of war finding her feels like an impossible task.
Officially an orphan, Tasha is given the chance to start a new life in the Lake District in England. She knows her mother would want her to take the opportunity but she can’t bear the thought of leaving Poland without her.
Tasha must make a heartbreaking decision: will she stay in war-ravaged Europe and cling on to the hope that the person she loves most in the world is alive, or take a long journey across the sea towards an uncertain future?
An absolutely unputdownable and heart-wrenching WW2 story of survival against all odds and learning to live and love again. Fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Orphan Train and The Nightingale will be gripped.
Author Bio:
Anna Stuart lives in Derbyshire with her campervan-mad husband, two hungry teenagers and a slightly loopy dog. She was hooked on books from the moment she first opened one in her cot so is thrilled to now have several of her own to her name. Having studied English literature at Cambridge university, she took an enjoyable temporary trip into the ‘real world’ as a factory planner, before returning to her first love and becoming an author. History has also always fascinated her. Living in an old house with a stone fireplace, she often wonders who sat around it before her and is intrigued by how actively the past is woven into the present, something she likes to explore in her novels. Anna loves the way that writing lets her ‘try on’ so many different lives, but her favourite part of the job is undoubtedly hearing from readers. You can reach her on Facebook @annastuartauthor or Twitter @annastuartbooks.
