My Family for the War by Anne C. Voorhoeve Review

"Escaping Nazi Germany on the kindertransport changes one girl's life forever

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 who soon become more like family than her real parents, Frances (as she is now known) courageously pieces together a new life for herself because she doesn't know when or if she'll see her true family again. Against the backdrop of war-torn London, Frances struggles with questions of identity, family, and love, and these experiences shape her into a dauntless, charming young woman." 

My Family For the War's subject is one of my favorites. I don't know why, but I love books involving the World War II like Someone Named Eva. Someone Named Eva is an excellent book if you like My Family For the War. 

My Family For the War is beautiful and based on the kindertransport. Yes, kindertransports do exist in the second World War, for those of you who don't know/remember the history of the sad and terrible war after the Great Depression. 

The plot isn't twisty, until the mark at the middle of the book. Then the bombs drop, literally. Everything goes crazy, mostly the people in the war. The setting is mostly in devastated England of World War II. 

The ending is wonderful. It is so unexpected. I thought Franziska would end up with... but then she choose something much, much different. It's an surprising ending for a change. Something you can't guess. Something you can't imagine. 

Characters:

Franziska "Frances" Mangold is the narrator and star of My Family For the War. In My Family For the War, we see a dramatic metamorphosis of her. From a little young, lost innocent child to the sad yet understanding, amazing, and gorgeous young lady, full of so many possibilities. She becomes an intelligent, sharp-witted girl.

The Shepards are the nice family that took in Franziska. With little thought to the young girl lost in the world of chaos, they seek a boy to adopted. Lucky for Ziska, the young handsome Gary sees her and persuaded his father to adopted Ziska. It's kind of like Anne and Green Gables, except for the war. 

Walter Lightfoot: Wow, I totally didn't expect that. 

Rating: Four out of Five