A Different Perspective of World War II:My Family for the War by Anne C. Voorhoeve

Of all the books that I have so far reviewed, I would say that this book has been my favorite.  My Family for the War by Anne C. Voorhoeve is the most recent winner of the Batchelder Award, an award given to children's books that are originally written and published in another language and country.

This particular book was written in Germany in 2007 and only recently, in 2012, translated into English by Tamni Reichel.

This book follows Franziska Mangold from when she is ten to about when she is seventeen.

She is a Protestant child with Jewish heritage living in Germany right before World War II after Adolf Hitler gained power.  Because of her Jewish ancestry, though she believes in Jesus, Ziska (her name in Germany) and her family experience the violence that Hitler instituted against the Jewish people.

The very first chapter opens where Ziska and her friend Rebekka Liebich jump out of a tree to discover escape routes in case of an attack against them as Jews.

Because the violence escalates, Ziska's parents choose to send her to England on a kindertransport where she would have a foster family and hopefully find work for her parents to join her in England.

Despite her original foster family not appearing when she first arrives in England, Ziska (or Frances in England) finds an Orthodox Jewish family as her foster family.  With them, she experiences the hardships of World War II, and with them, she grows up into a young lady.

This book is a phenomenal story of different perspectives of World War II.  Not only does the reader get to experience Germany right before the war, but also gets a glimpse into England, both the city and the country where children are eventually evacuated to for protection against an invasion.

The description of war gives a clear picture of what civilians might have experienced during this turmoil in history.  Though it is graphic at times, the more violent parts of World War II, like the mass murder of Jews in concentration camps, are more in the background heard through newspapers or rumors.

However, this book is not just about war and the history of the period: It is a story about what it means to be a family, specifically a family during the war and how sometimes the meaning of family must be redefined.

Ziska must find her place within both her adopted and her actual family.  Through the course of the book, she goes from being a child, to a teenager, to a young lady.

As she grows older and experiences the war, the prose and writing style changes to show her growth and maturity--one of the aspects that was purely brilliant and well-executed to convey a deeper meaning within the story.

For the engaging story, accurate history, and well written prose, I would highly recommend this book for anyone.

Disclaimer:  I have given this book the highest rating because I think it deserves it; it is quality literature that can speak to all ages whether young or old.  However because of the violence and vivid descriptions of some scenes, I would recommend that the reader be in at least fourth or fifth grade.

Just a warning, read this book with a box of tissues handy...I know there were several points where I myself needed them.