My Family for the War (Paperback)
kids Kids Indie Next List
“Franziska Mangold is on the last kindertransport out of Nazi Germany and escapes to England. Even with a name change, it is hard to be German in England, and she struggles to stay connected to her family and to her identity. This is a great addition to the pantheon of WWII books, an interesting and empathic exploration of what must have been a tremendous struggle for those children who were lucky enough to find their way to freedom.”
— Margaret Brennan Neville, The King's English, Salt Lake City, UT
Winner of the Mildred L. Batchelder Award
Won the Buxtehulde Bulle Prize for Youth Literature
Nominated for the Evangelischer Buchpreis
An ALSC Notable Children's Book
Kids' Indie Next List
Gripping WWII fiction for fans of Code Name Verity and Between Shades of Gray
At the start of World War II, ten-year-old Franziska Mangold is torn from her family when she boards the kindertransport in Berlin, the train that secretly took nearly 10,000 children out of Nazi territory to safety in England. Taken in by strangers, Frances (as she is now called) courageously pieces together a new life for herself. But what will happen to her when she is finally reunited with her family, now that she’s a stranger herself after seven years of war?
Originally published in Germany, Anne Voorhoeve’s award-winning novel is filled with humor, danger, and romance.
* "With the personal Kindertransport history, the intense drama about family, faith, guilt, love, and loyalty in wartime makes this an important addition to the Holocaust curriculum."
—Booklist, starred review
* "Events and facts are expertly woven into the girl's emotional growth, and changing relationships . . . provide a rich exploration of identity and self. With a compelling main character and taut and insightful story line, this novel is sure to find no shortage of readers, and it adds a valuable perspective to collections of World War II fiction."
Won the Buxtehulde Bulle Prize for Youth Literature
Nominated for the Evangelischer Buchpreis
An ALSC Notable Children's Book
Kids' Indie Next List
Gripping WWII fiction for fans of Code Name Verity and Between Shades of Gray
At the start of World War II, ten-year-old Franziska Mangold is torn from her family when she boards the kindertransport in Berlin, the train that secretly took nearly 10,000 children out of Nazi territory to safety in England. Taken in by strangers, Frances (as she is now called) courageously pieces together a new life for herself. But what will happen to her when she is finally reunited with her family, now that she’s a stranger herself after seven years of war?
Originally published in Germany, Anne Voorhoeve’s award-winning novel is filled with humor, danger, and romance.
* "With the personal Kindertransport history, the intense drama about family, faith, guilt, love, and loyalty in wartime makes this an important addition to the Holocaust curriculum."
—Booklist, starred review
* "Events and facts are expertly woven into the girl's emotional growth, and changing relationships . . . provide a rich exploration of identity and self. With a compelling main character and taut and insightful story line, this novel is sure to find no shortage of readers, and it adds a valuable perspective to collections of World War II fiction."
Anne C. Voorhoeve is an award-winning German novelist and screenwriter. She lives in Berlin, Germany.
Tammi Reichel is an instructor of German at the University of Richmond and lives with her family in Virginia.
Tammi Reichel is an instructor of German at the University of Richmond and lives with her family in Virginia.
Winner of the Mildred L. Batchelder Award
Won the Buxtehulde Bulle Prize for Youth Literature
Nominated for the Evangelischer Buchpreis (The Protestant Book Award)
An ALSC Notable Children's Book
Kids' Indie Next List
* "With the personal Kindertransport history, the intense drama about family, faith, guilt, love, and loyalty in wartime makes this an important addition to the Holocaust curriculum."
—Booklist, starred review
* "Events and facts are expertly woven into the girl's emotional growth, and changing relationships . . . provide a rich exploration of identity and self. With a compelling main character and taut and insightful story line, this novel is sure to find no shortage of readers, and it adds a valuable perspective to collections of World War II fiction."
—School Library Journal, starred review
"An engaging and often moving coming-of-age story. A poignant, thoughtful work."
—Kirkus Reviews
"This multilayered story [which] cogently explores themes of motherhood and adoptive families is gracefully portrayed."
—Publishers Weekly
"My Family for the War is a must-have for young adults. The novel is simultaneously beautiful, touching, and heart wrenching."
—VOYA
"This is a solid addition to Holocaust collections, life on the home front during the war, and for discussions of what is a family."
—LMC
Won the Buxtehulde Bulle Prize for Youth Literature
Nominated for the Evangelischer Buchpreis (The Protestant Book Award)
An ALSC Notable Children's Book
Kids' Indie Next List
* "With the personal Kindertransport history, the intense drama about family, faith, guilt, love, and loyalty in wartime makes this an important addition to the Holocaust curriculum."
—Booklist, starred review
* "Events and facts are expertly woven into the girl's emotional growth, and changing relationships . . . provide a rich exploration of identity and self. With a compelling main character and taut and insightful story line, this novel is sure to find no shortage of readers, and it adds a valuable perspective to collections of World War II fiction."
—School Library Journal, starred review
"An engaging and often moving coming-of-age story. A poignant, thoughtful work."
—Kirkus Reviews
"This multilayered story [which] cogently explores themes of motherhood and adoptive families is gracefully portrayed."
—Publishers Weekly
"My Family for the War is a must-have for young adults. The novel is simultaneously beautiful, touching, and heart wrenching."
—VOYA
"This is a solid addition to Holocaust collections, life on the home front during the war, and for discussions of what is a family."
—LMC