I think that this YA novel would probably be more effective on its target audience of adolescents than it was for me. Even so, French did a good job showing how Nazi propaganda had affected 10-year-old Georg and the slow process of changing his viewpoint occurred. At first I thought that the boy was too old for his naive belief that his father was still alive somewhere in Germany, when he had seen him murdered. but slowly I came to the realization that Georg (now called George) was hiding from the pain of the truth rather than stupid or naive. ( )

Some quite scary scenes for younger readers. A young German boy schooled to hate the jewish, finds his world turned upside down when his poetry teacher father is thrown from a window at a university graduation in an act of hate against jewish people. He is left questioning everything that he ever loved in Germany as he is quickly transported in a suit case out of the country and over to live with his Aunty in England. He works hard to learn to speak English and change his accent. But when the war makes it to London he once again finds himself being transported to safety. This time onboard a ship with hundreds of other english children. He is welcomed into the country home of Ma and Pa in Australia, and is befriended by "Mud" a competitive girl his age. But even in Australia the war effects people deeply. ( )

This story takes place during WWII, but it isn’t the usual tale of that period. The main character is a German boy. He has been taught in school that Hitler is correct in his way of thinking and Jewish people are bad. He doesn’t realize what is happening in his country until someone finds a Jewish ancestor on his father’s side. His life is forever changed. Much of this book takes place in Australia. I don’t remember ever reading of what was happening in Australia during WWII. Sometimes I don’t think about the fact that this was a world war and affected everyone. The message is to love not hate. I enjoyed it and recommend it for young and adult readers. ( )

This story takes place during WWII, but it isn’t the usual tale of that period. The main character is a German boy. He has been taught in school that Hitler is correct in his way of thinking and Jewish people are bad. He doesn’t realize what is happening in his country until someone finds a Jewish ancestor on his father’s side. His life is forever changed. Much of this book takes place in Australia. I don’t remember ever reading of what was happening in Australia during WWII. Sometimes I don’t think about the fact that this was a world war and affected everyone. The message is to love not hate. I enjoyed it and recommend it for young and adult readers. ( )

Germany. 1939. Georg is the son of an English father who teaches in the university and a German mother. He witnesses his father's murder at the hands of Third Reich enthusiasts at the university's graduation ceremonies. In the chaos that follows, he is shipped by suitcase to his aunt in England. He has a British passport so once he's safely in France where he can cross the channel, he is allowed to be out. It's not long until the bombings begin. Eventually his aunt's office is being relocated to the countryside so he is sent as a refugee to Australia where he lives with a family whose only son is fighting in the war. He cannot tell anyone he is German, and his aunt has carefully helped him lose the German accent. I'm not going to give away any more of the plot. This is my favorite read of the year so far, and it will likely retain that place. While the intended audience is probably YA, its appeal goes far beyond that audience to include younger readers as well as adults. I loved the characters, especially the Peaslake family with whom he resided and the next-door neighbor Maud (better known as "Mud"). I loved the poetry scattered throughout the volume, recited by Georg's father and Mr. Peaslake. I listened to the AudioSync recording of this book that was one of the free offerings this summer, but I loved this book so much that I want my own personal copy. Even the historical notes, recipes, and author's notes at the end of the recording were excellent. The narrator did a superb job, enhancing the experience. ( )