A Child Far From Home | Lizzie Page | ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

I remember visiting a holocaust museum in Prague where they had displayed paintings by the captured Jewish children. They reeked of childhood destroyed, of the evil brutality of war, of the raw, metallic taste of blood, gunfire and hopelessness.

A Child Far From Home is a testament to the fact that those paintings are the universal flavours of war.
Even for less affected regions and demographics, the children are probably the worst affected and the sharp, cruel fangs of war gnaw into and rip apart their tender lives in a way that is utterly pathetic and permanent.

Lizzie Page brilliantly delivers this powerful, well-researched, moving and deeply evocative tale of a single mother and her daughter, separated due to evacuation during bombings in wartime London.
This essential piece of literature on the plight of evacuees beautifully explores the fierce strength of mother-daughter bonds, growing up in such tumultuous and turbulent times and also how shared trauma can form and transform relationships.

While we read a lot of stories about the atrocities of life at concentration camps, heroes of the resistance, this story tells the saga of those at the periphery of war and how the ones seemingly less exposed to the warfront bear the silent scars of destruction and devastation.

While I know this is the first in a series and cliffhangers are all the rage, I would have really appreciated a more conclusive ending to this particular book.

However, if war and war stories interest you, this indeed is a must read.

**Thanks to @bookouture for a gifted copy of the book, of which I am leaving here an honest review, voluntarily.**

This was not one of the better WWII reads; and I read a large number of them. The plot is good but the book felt more of a narrative and less of an engaging read.
It is sad. While England never surrendered to the Germans, Hitler did his best to terrorize them. The Blitz killed many and separated families. .
I received a complimentary copy of this book. My opinions are my own.

A Child Far From Home is an emotional read. My heart broke for Jean & Valerie. The miscommunication due to them both trying to be positive and do what they felt was best was like a knife through the heart each time. It showcases the ups and downs of a mother/daughter relationship, exacerbated by war and loneliness. This book will give you ALL the feels.

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A Child Far From Home is the first in a new series, Wartime Evacuees, from Lizzie Page. I had really enjoyed her previous Shillings Grange series so I was eager to see what new direction she would next venture in and I have to say this story was even better than that series. From the outset, I will say the only slight issue I had with this was that it was too long and could have done with ending a bit sooner as I found the last quarter or so just a bit stretched out. But apart from that I was completely surprised by how engrossed I became in the story. I had expected another traditional wartime family saga which I do enjoy but to be honest at times I read a bit too much of them and I can become a bit jaded with the subject matter but this was much more than that. The development of the characters from beginning to end was fantastic. Both mother and daughter Jean and Valerie go on such a journey through their separation and different experiences of war that what the author set out to do was more than achieved. As she mentioned in her end notes that she wished to explore the effect evacuation as on a mother and child relationship and boy did it have an effect.

Summer 1939 and rumours of war swirl around the country. Fear grows daily that if war is declared then the Germans will invade Britain and life will never be the same again. Jean Hardman lives in the basement flat of a house with her ten year old daughter Valerie. The Salt family live on the top floor with their four children and the Froud family inhabit the ground floor and have two children. Theirs is a little community where they work hard but their peaceful existence is about to be shattered. Jean is widowed and Valerie never knew her father but there is more to this story than meets the eye. Jean works as a cleaner in several homes across London and does her best to provide a good childhood for Valerie. As Germany invade Poland and soon after war is declared, Operation Pied Piper comes into effect. Children are evacuated from London and sent to live in the country where it was presumed to be much safer as the threat of bombs raining down upon London was quickly going to become a reality. Jean is torn in two but with her neighbours sending their children away she acquiesces and sends Valerie to Taunton in Somerset.

It’s clear from the outset that the choice Jean faced was not an easy one and she will have to deal with the repercussions for a very long time. Lizzie Page deftly weaves a story of secrets, abandonment, lies, hope, despair and longing and I found myself racing through the chapters and before I knew it I was at the last quarter of the book. My opinion of both Jean and Valerie changed several times over and it was thanks to the well plotted story and expertly developed characters that this was the case. Valerie arrives in Somerset as an innocent ten year old thinking it will be like a holiday and she will stay there for a few weeks but a few weeks turns into a few years. The innocence is quickly stripped away from her as Mrs. Woods who takes her in is not what Jean would have expected for her daughter. She is cruel, mean, horrid, nasty and foul expecting Valerie to sleep on the landing and spend every spare minute working in her hardware shop. Not to mention scant food is provided for a growing girl. The only solace that Valerie has is listening to the wireless and this will go on to play a pivotal role in her development and it’s the only hope she clings to in her darkest hours of loneliness and desperation. She misses Jean terribly but can’t tell her what she is going through which is in such stark contrast to her neighbour Lydia who seems to have fallen on her feet with Mrs. Howard and her son Paul who is often away at boarding school.

I felt nothing but pity for what Valerie was experiencing but I could sense there was an inner resilience within her that would see her through but that’s not to say she doesn’t put much of the blame on Jean for placing her in this situation in the first place. Jean has secrets and has kept them from Valerie and this will have a significant forbearing on their mother daughter bond as well as the enforced separation. This was all played out very well over the course of the book although as I have mentioned perhaps just stretched out too much towards the end. Struggling and enduring are two dominant themes for both Valerie and Jean and their contrasting experiences and emotions are deftly highlighted and explored. I do think Valerie was my favourite character and I wouldn’t have thought that at the beginning but she goes from a naïve young ten year old and blossoms into a remarkable young woman. Yes she is tainted in some ways but a change of fortune could very well set her off on the right path. But can the relationship she had with Jean ever return to what it was pre war or are they both undeniably changed forever?

Jean for me was a very divisive character, Yes I believed she made the right decision in sending her daughter away but overall I found her to be very fragile and vulnerable. She was tainted by decisions made in the past which will come back to haunt her and she never knows how to be strong enough and deal with them. I felt she could have done an awful lot more to be there for Valerie and keep communicating with her even though they were separated by many miles. Jean soon loses her cleaning jobs and finds a job as a clippie on the London buses where their motto is to always kept the city moving no matter what. As the bombs rain down day after day the stories that emerge from her time as a clippie were both horrifying and heart-warming in equal measure.

But yet there was an element to her story that I thought was dragging her back into the past that she had broken free from and here is where her vulnerability was highlighted. I thought she was being strung along and as she was quite frankly an emotional wreck for much of the story that she couldn’t see that what she was doing wrong. I felt she at times she purposefully left her relationship with Valerie slide as it was just too difficult for her. More of an effort could have been made but she choose to hide her head in the sand. In a way I had little sympathy for Jean because of how things developed between herself and Valerie and maybe because I don’t have children myself that I fell more on Valerie’s side. The chasm and disconnect grew even wider between them and I doubted that it could ever be breeched and repaired but perhaps as they say time is a great healer.

I really enjoyed A Child Far From Home and found the writing to be very strong. It’s an emotional read which really gets you thinking and I suppose in a way thankful that we have had not had to go through the same experiences. It serves as a reminder to never give up hope. I would definitely recommend this book and am already eagerly looking forward to book two The Wartime Nursery.

A Child Far from Home is a WWII story that is both heartbreaking and heartwarming. By Lizzie Page the reader is given an inside look at the trama experienced by parents and children when separated in England during the war. Not that the English government wasn’t trying trying to protect the children whose families lived in London but because not everyone who was suppose to help was good and kind. Ten-year-old evacuee Valerie joined many other who took the train to the English countryside leaving behind single mother Jean.

As the war and the Blitz continues life becomes more difficult with personal struggles for both mother and daughter. An emotional and gripping read that is sure to pull at your heartstrings. It certainly did mine.

Jean a single mother, makes the hardest decision of her life. She decides to send her daughter Valerie by train to Somerset. Hundreds of other evacuees are on the same train, many of them are young children. They are hoping for freedom as Europe braces for war. Jean is hopeful that she will see her daughter one day soon, but as the bombs begin to fall from the sky, she wonders if they will ever be reunited again. Jean has kept a devastating secret from Valerie and she knows that if Valerie ever found out about the secret, not only will she lose Valerie forever but it would change her life forever.

A Child Far From Home authored by Lizzie Page, was a heartbreaking and emotional read that will definitely send the tears falling. I enjoyed this story and experienced a myriad of emotions as I flipped through the pages. I felt such sorrow for Jean as she took odd jobs in order to send money for Valerie’s care and never gave up the hope of reuniting with her daughter Valerie after the war ends. This heart-wrenching story is a must read for all historical fiction fans. I highly recommend it.

Thank you for the chance to read this ARC in return for my honest opinion.

I have read other books by this author and really enjoyed them but sadly this one wasn't for me.

I found it really hard to engage with the characters but found Jean often lacking in her maternal duties towards Valerie.
There had obviously been a lot of research into children being evacuated and that not all children got a great deal, but I found the writing very stilted. I know this authors writing style is different to some other authors but it made the book really uninteresting.

There are a 100 chapters - but many ended just as a paragraph would and the flitting between Valerie and Jean was very difficult to follow.

I struggled to finish the book - very unusual for me. I understand its part of a series but I am unsure if the rest will be for me either.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

i always look forward to a lizzie page book and i had high hopes for this one but alas it was one that i really couldnt get on with

i really felt for valerie being one of the children evacuated from london... they were hard times for all and her mother jean i really couldnt understand

well there are always going to be books that grab you and ones that you have to let go and this one was mine

A Child Far from Home is about the children in London being evacuated with the bombing starting up.
How the separation affects both parent and child is the basis of the story.
The story is very heartbreaking as we read about the struggles each endures.

Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Jean makes the heartbreaking decision to send her ten year old daughter Valerie away amidst the war, too keep her safe. This decision may have life changing consequences and secrets revealed. The author has written a book that I easily got lost in and time just wilted away. I cried tears of sadness and tears of happiness. I am a big fan of historical saga and this is one of the best. It's immersive, informative and entertaining!

England 1939, a mother puts her daughter on a train not knowing if she will ever see her again. Her daughter, Valerie, is sent into the country to live with a non-Jewish family. Her mother, Jean, finds out a secret in her life may be revealed. I was in tears reading this into the night.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

London 1939 and war has just broken out. Faced with a difficult choice but knowing it’s the right thing to do young single Mother Jean sends her only child Valerie to Somerset with other evacuee children. Jean feels so guilty about sending her child away but know deep down she will be safer in the country.

Wrenched away from her mother and everything familiar, little Valerie soon discovers that life in the countryside isn’t as idyllic as she first thought. Every night she dreams of returning home to the arms of her mother. But when she learns her old street has been devastated by the Blitz, it’s like her heart is torn in two. With no home to go to, where does this little girl belong?

Meanwhile in London, the chaos of war has unearthed a heartbreaking secret from Jean’s past she has kept hidden from Valerie for years. A secret that has the power to keep them apart forever.

With their old life in tatters, and hundreds of miles between them, will this mother and daughter ever be reunited? And if they are, will Jean’s secret change Valerie’s life forever – and will Jean lose the only person she has left in the world?

I’ve read a few of this authors books before and have always enjoyed them so was really looking forward to this one. Unfortunately however I really struggled through this one and many times felt like giving up . The book blurb sounded great and for the first probably third of the book I was enjoying it but after that I just found it boring and a chore to finish. I couldn’t warm to the characters apart from young Valerie and just found it a long and drawn out read. This will not stop me from reading other books by this author, just this one wasn’t for me.

A Child Far from Home by Lizzie Page

Really enjoyed This heartbraking story of the time many thousands of children left their parents ( mainly mother as father away with the war.)
Can easily relate to this as own mother in law had this happen to her as she came from Catford , London .
Not a happy time for her either.
The author manages to capture the story perfectly.

It was England in 1939 when the decision was made to evacuate all young children from London, to send them to the country where they'd be safe. Jean and her ten year old daughter Valerie, had been together, just the two of them, since Valerie's birth, and the thought of having to send her beloved daughter away was heartbreaking for Jean. But Valerie left on the train with the many other evacuees, heading for Somerset, where she was billeted with the cruel and vindictive Mrs Woods. Valerie was desperate for her mother to come and get her, but when she didn't even turn up for her birthday, she knew she wouldn't come.

Jean was doing her best in London, trying to earn pennies to pay the rent and ended up as a conductor on the buses. She quite enjoyed her work, chatting to the passengers but she was shocked one day, when a certain person was one of her passengers. And her life changed once again...

I was excited when I saw A Child Far from Home, the latest release by Lizzie Page, and was looking forward to reading it. I read the author's Shilling Grange Children's Home series and enjoyed it very much. But sadly, I was very disappointed in A Child Far from Home. The first third was great, but then it went downhill from there. I felt incredibly sorry for Valerie and couldn't believe Jean's actions, seeing as she was such a loving mother at the beginning.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

A Child Far from Home by Lizzie Page artfully captures the turmoil and heartache of war through the intimate lens of a mother-daughter relationship. Set against the backdrop of England in 1939, as the threat of war looms large, the story unfolds with a poignant farewell at a foggy train station, setting the tone for a narrative rich in emotion and historical ambiance. I love a story with a good secret, and A Child Far from Home doesn't disappoint! This novel is a must read for anyone who wants to be transported to another time and place.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
I'm a fan of Lizzie Page's previous series so I was excited to begin her new series. This 1st book sets the stage for more books. Some of the characters were not very likable, which was hard for me and I know I can't compare this series to the previous one.
There are several conflicts going on with Jean and Valerie, with secrets and lies. One of which is a hot topic in today's world that some readers may not like reading about. But considering the time and events of WWII, it shows one of many tough decisions that has to be made.
I'm looking forward to reading more in this series.

I have to say I was initially pleased to be granted this book in return for an honest review. I have previously read Lizzie Page books and enjoyed them immensely. On this occasion I was so disappointed the synopsis looked very interesting. The book was based on the relationship between mother and daughter separated during the war but I felt it was extremely long winded and very boring, apologies but I plodded through but did not really enjoy.

There is so much drama within this story. It really got me thinking about what families experienced because of operation Pied Piper. School classes just glossed over the situation. Many of the Historical Fiction books that I have read didn't spend much time on child evacuations and what happened to them after the war ended.

Jean is the single mother of Valerie. The reader follows their struggles as Jean decides to send her daughter away and Valerie's attempts to stay in London. If what happens to them is anything like even close to what happened I am simply amazed any of the relationships survived.

Jean was soon loosing cleaning jobs as the richer people fled a city at risk. She needed work. After all she had to send money to pay for Valerie's care. She missed her. She wanted her home, but could she make that happen?

Jean finally finds a job with the bus system as a clippie. Through Jean's eyes the reader learns of the damage, the loss, the continuing struggles. What she sees has her realizing that Valerie is safer in Somerset. When Valerie shows up unexpectedly, there was only one option--send her back. Jean's struggles continue to grow while her daughter's anger intensifies. The emotions became very intense. At times I found myself in tears. Pages later, I wanted to yell at someone. It was a great reminder of how I shouldn't put my values on the past. I just became so invested in many of the characters that it became a big challenge.

Life doesn't get any easier with the end of the war. Jean finds herself without a job. After all the men have returned and life should go back to the way things were. Unfortunately too much has changed. My heart was crushed over Jean and Valerie's lack of a relationship. Jean tried, but was now so different from her little Valerie that had spent her formative years in a different socioeconomic situation.

Jean and Valerie will find themselves in close proximity. Both will have to face the past. Both will learn to be accepting and forgive. The drama and emotions occurring in the ending had me reading until I finished there story.

I need to thank the author for making me think past the stories my mum has shared about the war. She lived in Ipswich and was never evacuated, so I had to no personal references. My curiosity, thanks to this story, had be doing a deep dive into the evacuations. I was left speechless by the number of children that refused to return home.

Historical drama set during and after World War Two. Valerie and her mother,Jean are close but she is sent to Somerset as an evacuees and their lives change.

This book has a great premise. During WW2, many families in England sent their children away, to live in the country, to keep them safe from the bombings expected in London. This book is about Jean, a single mother, who sends her 10 year old daughter away. She ends up being away for the duration of the war. This book is about the sometimes contentious relationship between Jean and Valerie. It is about how they each coped during the separation.

One of the reasons I chose this book is because one of the blurbs claimed that it is perfect for fans of Diney Costeloe. I am a fan of hers but I feel that this book falls short in some ways, it's not a great comparison.

I really enjoyed the storyline. But, I have problems with the writing style. It is very basic. In a few instances, important events happen “off screen”. The reader is left guessing as to how it played out. The reader gets to read about things that happen to the characters more than what they actually think and feel. It leaves us with one-dimensional characters. And, I was not prepared for the abrupt ending. I turned the page, thinking there would be a new chapter. Instead, it was over.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.