Official Book Description:
Thirteen-year-old Lisa escapes from Nazi Germany on the Kindertransport and arrives in England in August 1939. She can’t speak a word of English and her only belongings are crammed into a small suitcase. Among them is one precious photograph of the family she has left behind in Germany.
Lonely and homesick, not knowing if she will ever see her family again, Lisa is adopted by a childless couple and then bullied at school for being German. But worse is to come when the Blitz blows her new home apart and she wakes up in hospital with no memory of who she is, or where she came from. The authorities give her a new name and despatch her to a children’s home. With the war in full swing, what will become of Lisa now?
Review:
*Hands up* if you are a newbie to books written by Diney Costelo? I was!
I was lent the above book (and another) by my father and I admit I didn’t think it would be my cup of tea. I love anything history related, but for some reason I felt this book would be a little underwhelming. From a quick glance online, Diney seems to write a lot of books around similar wartime social circumstances. I can wholeheartedly say the two books I’ve read had meaningful stories with well-written characters and twists that I did not always see coming.
This particular book ‘The Girl with No Name’ tells the story of a 13-year-old Jewish German girl who is deported to England during the Second World War. We’re given brief insight into her life in Germany with her family before swiftly moving onto her new life in London, England. In her first foster home, Lisa has to begin to learn English, adapt to a new way of life and start school. Everything is strange, new, and on reflection, the one thing the book seemed to be missing were cultural differences. Yes, there was evidently a large language barrier, which she did gradually overcome, however surely there be more i.e adapting to new foods, new ways of life, customs, etc. I did not consider this whilst reading the book; it was a mere afterthought. Nether the less, she adapts well in her new home with the help of her foster family and new friends. She also forms a friendship with a German Boy (also a refugee) who originated from the same town in Germany who takes her under his wing and protects her from the bullying inflicted by classmates.
Unfortunately, following an air raid, she loses her memory and ends up in a hospital alone. I will not detail the second part of the book other than to say that we follow Lisa’s journey in a new foster placement, wondering will she ever remember the foster family who kindly took her in. Will she remember her true identity and family from Germany?
The book has many twists and turns, I loved it! So much so I am looking forward to reading the sequel ‘The Married Girls’. The details of both wartime London and the countryside appear to be accurate and it provided a greater insight into the different roles civilians played during the war –it’s nice to get a feel for what the average person did and had to face. I also loved how the story took you from one circumstance to another, highlighting how the rug was literally swept from under everyone’s feet on a daily basis.
To be critical – I felt the characters lacked a little depth in parts; I would have liked to have seen a more heartfelt remorse for the tragedies which occurred, parts of the story seemed to wash over events quite quickly. This may have been a deliberate notion from the author as there is an element of becoming ‘hardened’ to misfortune in times of tragedy, but it didn’t work for me. There seemed to be restricted/unnatural emotion from the characters at times of personal tragedy. I also felt that some characters were overdeveloped and then quashed, leaving you wanting to know more. Lisa’s character was very likable, but I would have liked to have seen a little more realism when it came down to her grief, her reactions at times seemed minimal and short lasting…she appeared to move on quite quickly. I felt parts of the story development were out of kilter – some parts were nicely wrapped up and others were dragged out. A couple of the characters felt unconcluded.
Despite a few misgivings, I really enjoyed this. After I reached half way I just kept on reading, desperate to know what would happen next. If you like historical-fiction than please give this a try as if you enjoy it as much as I did there are plenty more books of a similar genre to read.
Rating: 4 / 5
Where to Buy:
You can order this book online via Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com or World of Books
If you enjoyed my review or influenced you to try the book, please leave me a comment & like!
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