The Runaway Children is a simply written, heartwarming story which illustrates the strength of character that even the very young can display under harsh conditions. It is heart wrenching in parts, but at the same time renews the reader's faith in the kindness and trustworthiness of most people. I found some of the plot lines a little superficial, but overall, I enjoyed the story. This book would provide some insight for today's youngsters, into the lives of many children in wartime Britain. Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the ARC.

THE RUNAWAY CHILDREN is narrated by Nell and although she is 13 at the start the story spans 4 years and both she, and her sister have to do a lot of growing up fast. Being the eldest child Nell has a huge amount of responsibility taking care of her younger brother and sister. However, when a new baby arrives Nell realises that worrying about four children is detrimental to her mum’s health so agrees to be evacuated to the country. Her brother refuses to go and runs off just as the train is leaving so it is just Nell and her 5-year-old sister Olive who head for the country. I loved Olive – she was a plucky little girl who swore like a trooper and had a mouth that just ran away with her – she made me really laugh out loud at times.

The girls are sent to Wales and settle very happily with a minister and his wife. But fate gets in the way and the girls have to go to another placement and this one is terrible. It is from this place that the girls flee and decide to head back to London.

It is very obvious that Sandy Taylor has done a study of the plight of the evacuees and she shows the mixed fortunes of the refugee children and how some were lucky with who they moved in with, and others were not so lucky and placed into situations where they were abused. The organisers who placed the children into care were so overwhelmed by the numbers of children they had to place that they did little more than drop them off at the front door and often not follow up on how the children were going.

This was a really, good story and no matter how bad things got the majority of humans pulled together and helped each other out. The closeness of the girl’s London neighbours was a prime example – when the bombs started dropping you all got each into the shelter and then kept each other’s spirits up. In fact wherever the girls went – in that time of war – people pulled together, with a few exceptions. THE RUNAWAY CHILDREN was my first Sandy Taylor book and she has been contracted to write more books for Bookouture Publishing – so while I wait for those I have the Brighton Girls trilogy to catch up on.

There's a tremendous warmth about this story; far detached from the needless savagery of a needless war. Nell and Olive are commendably resilient children in the face of adversity. They are from Bermondsey in London and they settle down readily when they are evacuated to Wales. It's a tale of hardship, love of nature and friendship. Olive is a spirited youngster with her own unique blend of wit. This draws people to her like a magnet. But the tables turn on them and they are moved to a farm where they are badly treated and run away. It was a hard time for all concerned but it made people come together and be compassionate instead of insular like we are today. Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for letting me read it. I shall post my review on my blog.

Having read The Brighton Girls Trilogy I was very excited to see this book.

Set during WW2 this is the story of a pair of sisters who are evacuated from London to the Welsh countryside. Like her previous books, this one is well written with great attention to historical detail with characters you can't help but care about.

4****

My oh my where do I start with this book. This is the fourth of Sandy’s books that I have read and it is the one that has affected me the most but more about that in a bit. I really enjoyed the book but it really is a tearjerker.

I took to Nell and her little sister Olive from the start and I really did feel for them. They are desperate to stay at home and be with the rest of the family, but as was common during the Second World War, it was thought that it would be safer for the children to be evacuated from the cities and more industrial areas into the countryside. Nell & Olive are removed from all that is familiar to them and are moved to Wales, which is of course alien to them. To start with the children are understandly very homesick. Fortunately their first billet sounded ideal as they were with a vicar and his wife, who were unable to have children. I had to chuckle at the fact that Olive swears rather a lot but the vicar and his wife don’t pull her up on it. Olive really is a little rebel. The vicar and his wife truly took Nell & Olive into their hearts and treated them as the children they couldn’t have. Nell wanted her mother and her newborn brother to move to Wales but for one reason and another this doesn’t happen. However the placement ends and the children are shunted onto a farm with a woman, who would make Scrooge look generous. Nell seems like a little mother in that she is very maternal towards Olive. There is an instance where Olive is threatened and it is after this incident that the girls decide to set off for home as they are desperate to be reunited with their family. Will they manage to make their way home despite the obstacles in their way? Well for the answer to that question you are just going to have to read the book for yourselves. You won’t regret it.

As I alluded to at the beginning this book affected me in so many ways. I am a bit (well okay a total) history nerd and my particular area of interest is the Second World War. I never knew my grandparents and learning about the Second World War somehow helps me to feel closer to them. So you can see why this book grabbed my attention from the start. The writing style is such that I couldn’t fail to be drawn into the book. By the end of the first sentence, I was hooked. It was almost as if the book had cast a spell over me. I was hooked and I found ‘The Runaway Children’ to be a real ‘CPID’ (can’t put it down). It was almost as if my Kindle was glued to my hand. I was so into and living the story that I didn’t notice how quickly the pages were turning. Before I knew it I had finished the book which I had mixed feelings about. Don’t get me wrong, I was pleased to finish because at least I knew how the story ended but I was enjoying the writing style and story so much that I just wanted the book to continue. This author has clearly done a lot of research into the evacuees and she shows that not all evacuee billets were a success. Some of the children were fortunate and placed into a nice household, but there were also children who were placed into nasty placements and were abused one way or another. You can probably understand why I felt as though I had been through an emotional wringer by the time I had finished the book.

In short I simply loved reading this heart wrenching book and I would definitely recommend it to others. I can’t wait to read what Sandy writes next. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a well deserved 5* out of 5*.

EXCERPT: I wished for the millionth time that I hadn't killed him. I still couldn't believe that I had actually ended the life of another human being. Did I have to kill him? I could have just threatened to tell his mother, but when I saw what he was about to do to innocent little Olive, I saw red. I was angry, angrier than I had ever been in my whole life and, yes, in that moment, in that barn, I wanted him dead. I wanted him splattered on the ground. I wanted to bash his brains out, that's what I'd wanted to do. We think we know ourselves, don't we? But we don't. We judge the murderers and thieves and the beggars without knowing their stories. We judge them because we think we're better than they are, that we're the goodies in the white hats and they're the baddies in the black ones. But now I knew that underneath my hat I was as capable of killing and thieving as the worst thugs in Rannly Court. So much had happened since we left Bermondsey, it felt like another life. I was just an ordinary kid when I 'd said goodbye to Mum in the flat but now I was a murderer and I was on the run from the law. How the bloody hell had that happened?

THE BLURB: London, 1942: Thirteen-year-old Nell and five-year-old Olive are being sent away from the devastation of the East End. They are leaving the terror of the Blitz and nights spent shivering in air raid shelters behind them, but will the strangers they are billeted with be kind and loving, or are there different hardships ahead?

As the sisters struggle to adjust to life as evacuees, they soon discover that living in the countryside isn’t always idyllic. Nell misses her mother and brothers more than anything but she has to stay strong for Olive. Then, when little Olive’s safety is threatened by a boy on a farm, Nell has to make a decision that will change their lives forever…

They must run from danger and try to find their way home.

Together the two girls hold each other’s hands as they begin their perilous journey across bombed-out Britain. But when Nell falls ill, can she still protect her little sister from the war raging around them? And will they ever be reunited from the family they’ve been torn from?

An unputdownable novel of unconditional love, friendship and the fight for survival during a time of unimaginable change. The Runaway Children is guaranteed to find a place in your heart.

MY THOUGHTS: I didn't find The Runaway Children by Sandy Taylor unputdownable, but it was a book that I greatly enjoyed, and one that didn't always take me where I thought it was headed.

I think that Sandy Taylor has written a slightly sanitized portrayal of life as a refugee in WWII Britain. And I don't mean that as a criticism because, after all, the story is basically a 'feel good' experience. There is no great emotional depth, but that really doesn't seem to matter.

The story is told from the perspective of thirteen year old Nell. Not only is she responsible for her much younger sister Olive, she is in that difficult phase of her life where she is becoming aware of the opposite sex, her own effect on them and attraction to them.

Thank you to Bookouture via Netgalley for providing a digital copy of The Runaway Children by Sandy Taylor for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions. Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the 'about' page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system.

When I saw the cover of this book I was instantly intrigued so said yes please to being involved based on that.

I'm glad I did as I really enjoyed it.

The story is set during the second world war and based around a family being split up with the children being evacuated from the East End all the way to Wales and how they react to everything happening to them.

This is the first book of Sandy's I have read so wasn't sure about the type of writing, I definitely wasn't expecting what this book Did to me.  It was one of those books that stays with you long after you have read it.

It follows two sisters who leave behind their mum and brothers when they are evacuated to Wales.  They get set up with a vicar and his wife.  Something then happens which threatens their safety so they go on the run.

The story then follows them through dangerous situations as they try and make their way back home.

This books is brilliantly bwritten and a heart breaking read, which I thoroughly enjoyed and even now, a week after reading it, my thoughts are still dragged back to it again and again.

Definitely worth reading and I give it a big 5 stars.

Oh what a wonderful book. I love historical fiction particularly set during Wartime and this is a stunner. Set during WW2 two young girls are evacuated from London. It must truly have been a horrific time for these young children sent away and the family left behind with very little opportunity to keep in touch. Both heartbreaking and uplifting the story of the girls adventures will break your heart and raise your spirits. The people they meet along their journey are a variety of wonderful and awful. The character of these young girls will endear themselves to you and the Runaway Girls will stay with me for a long time.

A heart wrenching story of Nell and Olive, two sisters evacuated during the blitz. Sent, as many children were, away from the city to avoid the horrors of the blitz. This story shows that there were all kinds of people involved in these children's lives. Reminiscent of Orphan train.

Wow. I struggled to read this book, I'm not going to lie. No, I don't mean that I struggled to read it because of how it was written, or that I struggled reading it due to any other negative reason. Not at all. I struggled reading 'The Runaway Children' because of how emotive and poignant the storyline was. We are taught at school about how things were during the war and, whilst those pieces of information are still quite difficult to digest, a lot of the time it doesn't seem to work its way to our core. We either shrug it off because 'it doesn't affect us', or we have no idea how to approach history itself. With Sandy Taylor's novel, that is where everything changed for me personally. I have always loved history, but for the duration of this book, I was able to see things from a completely different point of view. Gone were the historical dates which everyone had to learn just because. Sandy Taylor wrote a story about what happened to people. Whilst the storyline itself is fictional, a lot of it is based on history, after all, children DID have to get evacuated during the war. 'The Runaway Children' is a story which is guaranteed to grab hold of your heart and not let it go.

Set in London during the early 1940's, two sisters are being sent away from the devastation which the war has caused to their beloved city. Why? For safety of course. The opposition didn't want to throw bombs down in a middle of an empty field, they wanted to attack cities full of monuments and thousands of people. So they did. Unfortunately for Nell, Olive and thousands of other children, London was no longer a safe place to live and their only hope of staying safe would be to leave. Poor Nell has the task of being in charge of her little sister come rain or shine. Okay, for many of us, that would seem like an okay thing to do. For Nell however, the responsibility was extremely large, especially when they found themselves moving from pillar to post on more than one occasion. 

It's not that I was ignorant when it came to learning about evacuees, I just hadn't had a reason to delve into that period of history to a level which Sandy Taylor has in this story. And, because of that, the entire storyline hit home on a completely unexpected level. I'm not sure whether it was my motherly instincts or the fact that I am indeed human with my own set of emotions, but 'The Runaway Children' gave me the feels. It really was like reading a book which made you happy one moment, angry the next, and then realising your face is sodden with tears. How do I know this? Because it happened.

Sandy Taylor has taken a memorable, historical event, and laid it bare to make all of her readers sit up and listen. It certainly made me sit up and listen, that's for sure! I was absolutely blown away by the intense level of emotion, mixed with the poignancy only a story of this calibre could bring. I shouldn't sit here and say that I loved this book because of what it contained, however, I really did love this book because it reached my soul in a way I could never really describe. This story highlighted the fact that the little things in life are important, and there is no use wasting your time on stupid things when there are far more important people (and things) to concerned yourself with.

The characters in this book are inspiration beyond belief, and have taught me so much in such a short space of time. 'The Runaway Children' is one of the best historical fiction/saga novels I have ever read. You really would be a fool not to grab a copy and travel back in time with Nell and Olive. For me, Olive stole the show and her innocence made the rest of the storyline shine bright like a diamond (whilst also making me laugh out loud more than once).

Written absolutely beautiful and straight from the heart, 'The Runaway Children' will forever have a place in my heart alongside Nell, Olive, and Ms Timony. A delightful, heart-warming story from start to finish.

Thanks Bookouture.

I am currently reading a lot of historical fiction books so I was delighted when this book arrived on my Kindle!

I have really enjoyed this authors previous books and was delighted that this one was written with the same high standards and excellent attention to details.  You really do feel as though you are with them in the period as you read their story.  The characters were well rounded and I really enjoyed learning more about them and watching them develop as the story went on.  

Five stars from me, it is a heart-warming story that really touched me and left me thinking about the book long after I'd finished it.

I hadn't realised this was by the same author as 'When We Danced at the End of the Pier' but I can see a lot of what made me love that book in The Runaway Children'.

Nell is evacuated from London with her little sister Olive. They end up in a village in Wales being cared for by the local vicar and his wife. Although Nell misses her mother and brothers she soon makes friends and enjoys the rural life. That ends when the church decides that the vicar would be better utilised in Cardiff, which is scarcely the place for evacuees! Their next placement is completely different. Nell struggles to protect her sister but this results in an action she could never have imagined.

The characters in this book are so believable and you really find yourself wishing for a happy ending for Nell. I loved it! Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher letting me read & review it.

This was a good read and a heartwarming story. Quite enjoyable. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

For reasons I can't explain, the World War II era always fascinates me so when this novel popped up on my radar, I couldn't resist its lure. This story centres around children being evacuated during the war and I can't even begin to imagine what that was like. Not for the parents who felt this was the only option to keep their children safe, nor for the children who were forced to leave everything and everyone they knew and loved behind to go off and live with strangers on the other side of the country.

Thirteen year old Nell and her five year old sister Olive live near the docks in the East End. It's all they've ever known and while they're poor, even during the war they're trying to make the best of things. Then it is decided the sisters should be evacuated and they are sent away to Wales. But will they be safe there?

Prepare yourself for the characters of Nell and Olive to worm their way into your heart and stay there forever! They miss their families enormously but Nell stays strong for her sister and takes her responsibilities very seriously for a girl so young. Olive is an absolute treasure. An incredibly witty and brave child who made me chuckle more than once and gives her sister strength without even realising it.

As often happens in stories like these, it's the community spirit that tends to get to me. Something that's sorely lacking in this day and age. People who will stop everything at the drop of a hat to help someone out, even if their circumstances aren't exactly perfect either. People who open their doors to strangers, who share their meagre rations, who look out for each other.

I absolutely adored The Runaway Children from the very first moment. It's an incredibly heartwarming story about family, love, hope and survival. I loved every minute I got to spend with Nell and Olive and the various other characters they meet on their journey. Highly recommend!

This deeply touching story gives us a glimpse of the perspective of Olive and Nell as they adapt to life as evacuees during the devastation of the Second World War.

In among the hardships, ration books, bombings, plane crashes and unspeakable acts, I learn I have things in common with these sisters.

We share the love of the same books.

I also saw the beauty they saw as well as recognized their horror. Horror in what they overcame and beauty in their expression of love in a prayer over men they did not know, and a shared hope that others would return home safely to their loved ones.

It's a tale of sibling remembrances with lots of intense action written into its short chapters. It would make an excellent book club selection.

This is the fourth book I’ve read by Sandy Taylor. Having absolutely loved The Brighton Girls Trilogy, I felt rather sad when it came to an end. How on earth was I going to cope without another book in the trilogy to look forward to? So, when I found out about The Runaway Children, I was dying to read it! What can I say? Oh my goodness, she’s done it again, as I’ve fallen in love with this book and a whole new set of adorable characters within its pages.

This is a book of mixed emotions. Set during the Second World War, we are faced with the horror of war. The injury or loss of loved ones serving in the military, homes being bombed, families torn apart and evacuees running for their lives. Then there is the magic that Sandy Taylor always creates with her wonderful characters, who are impossible not to love. Even during the darkest of times, the kindness of humans shines through.

The Runaway Children is a remarkable story of two sisters, forced to leave the rest of their family to try and find a safe home in a little village in Wales, with mucky sheep, much to the horror of Olive, but luckily no bombs. They are faced with challenges two young girls should not have to face alone, and they meet an interesting cast of characters along the way, some nicer than others. I thoroughly enjoyed accompanying Nell and Olive on their travels, although some locations felt a little more homely than others. It was wonderful seeing Nell and Olive grow up, not just in size and age, but as young women-to-be faced with important decisions, that made them become stronger in themselves and even closer as sisters.

Olive has to be my favourite book character this year. She was such a wonderful little girl, who had me frequently giggling away to myself. She was the perfect mix of sweet, endearing, inquisitive, opinionated and funny. She was like a cross between my ever-so-chatty grandma, who was also called Olive (I do miss her), and my six year old niece, Daisy, who absorbs everything you say and is full of never-ending questions. I loved how she had such a human-like relationship with her doll, who she called Auntie Missus. It reminded me of the cuddly toy my auntie gave me for my first birthday. I called him Mr Mousy. I still have him and often have a little chatter away to him, even though I’m almost forty years old. I wanted Olive to jump out of the pages and become a real part of my life. Mind you, based on how much of an emotional impact all of Sandy Taylor’s books have had on me, I dare say there will always be a little part of Olive inside me wherever life takes me.

I love that each location within this book is so visually strong in my mind. I’m not consciously aware of this book being particularly visually descriptive, but this story came to life. Perhaps it is Sandy Taylor’s writing style. Nothing ever seems forced. Her writing is so easy to read and flows so naturally. Mind you, on the topic of descriptive writing, I do have to share one of my favourite scenes that Nell describes:

I loved watching the women coming out of the custard factory covered in yellow dust. I loved watching them take off their headscarves and shake out their hair, a tiny haze of yellow around each of their faces, and their smell of vanilla and sugar.

Damn that gluten/yeast intolerance of mine though, because this book had me craving bread and drippin’ so much, it was making my mouth water!

If you haven’t read any books by this author, you really are missing out. I can’t recommend them enough. Please give this author a go if you enjoy stories with wonderful characters you want to take home with you. I truly believe you won’t be disappointed.

I absolutely adored this book. The author is clearly a wonderful storyteller and I found myself turning the pages quickly, speeding up as I went along.

Nell and Olive were fantastic characters; Nell, an old head on young shoulders, and Olive, wise beyond her years, and the two of them as tightly bound as any sisters could be. The journey that the two of them went on, was incredible. I got completely caught up in the story and I found myself laughing, crying and sighing in various parts. My mother and her sister were evacuated as young children during the war as well, and I got a sense of what that might have been like, when I read this book.

Such a beautifully poignant book, I loved every page of it. The ending was just gorgeous as well.

A heartfelt 5 stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review this book. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

It's London 1942. Thirteen year old Nell and and five year old Olive are being sent away from the devastation of the East End. The sisters struggle to a just to life as evacuees. Nell misses her mother and brothers more than anything but has to stay strong for Olive. When Olives safety is threatened by a boy on the farm , Nell has to make a decision. They must run from danger and try and find their way home.

The story is told from the child's point of view. The characters are built up slowly and it makes us feel we really know them. The book covers a four year period. This is a beautifully written book from begining to end. It takes you on an emotional roller coaster ride. A great book to give as a Christmas present/stocking filler.

I would like to thank NetGalley. Bookouture and the author Sandy Taylor for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

OMW.... This book was simply beautiful, from the writing to the lovely characters, emotional and feel good at the same time. A real page turner.

Thirteen-year-old Nell and five-year-old Olive are evacuated to the Welsh countryside from the devastation of the East End in 1942.

This book seemed to have it all, family loyalty, friendship, love, sadness and beautiful and realistic characters, especially the adorable and funny Olive and I will miss these children.

Very highly recommended.

I absolutely loved this book about two children sent away from their family in London to the Wales countryside during World War II. I thought that it was well written, a great story, and vivid descriptions of the places. I won't do any spoilers but this was a book that I could not put down. Great narrative! Two thumbs WAY UP!