Different that what I normally read, but I enjoyed it a great deal. I always tell people that if a book sounds interesting to them then they should read it regardless of what other people say. I stand by that advice.

Not my favorite book but I did enjoy some parts of it. Overall I recommend it. Thank you to netgalley for the chance to read this

Set in WWII Amsterdam, it is the war seen through the eyes of a child. Its absolutely heartbreaking when her father is taken away by Nazis.

It's a very well written book. I've read many books about the holocaust and Nazi occupation. I grew up with seeing adults with tattooed numbers on their arm. It was quite common. Not anymore as survivors are dying out. So books like this are essential so we never forget.

Henny is a young girl when her father is taken away to a labor camp in Germany from her and her mother. She is afraid when she sees her father behind the barb wire fence to say goodbye before he leaves for the labor camp. She gives him her little toy dog to protect him. As she and her mother go back home, they act bravely. When it is time for Henny to go to school for the first time in her life, she doesn’t want to leave her mother. As time goes by, Henny sees how people are just picked and taken away. She doesn’t understand. Her mother joins the underground resistance to help. She and her mother live through the atrocities of World War 2 barely surviving as the last year of the war food and fuel become increasingly scarce. When her father does come home, there is still trauma to deal with. It is not an easy time.

The memoir is written through a child’s eye during World War 2. The author is an adult who remembers all too well of events that changed her world. She suffered even though she didn’t always understood what her mother told her. Her mother talked to her as an adult not a child. It struck me how she kept going in spite of fear of losing more and more especially her mother. I am so glad to see this view as it is in many ways different from Anne Frank’s life.

I love books about historic events that we learn about as facts in school, and hardly ever learn the actual human experience behind it. We learn in school about the war times but we never really learn about the after. When a toy dog became a wolf and the moon broke curfew is a gripping memoir about living in the midst of war. Henny is five when war takes her father from the family as a Prisoner of War, as the Netherlands are occupied by Nazi Germany. Coming to terms with the social situation as a child, watching her mother be strong for their family of two, with unwavering faith the he will be back, Henny faces situations where she not only rethinks the role that religion plays in their lives, but also the position of women and the bounds created in times of war.

This is a touching tale of a little girl that misses her father and learns extensively from her strong mother. This novel, through the eyes of Henny, from the age of 5 to 13 years, does an amazing job of personalizing the experience and bringing awareness to the undiscussed aspects of war. I found the narrative related to after the war the most fascinating. I had never thought about what happens when men return to their families, older and with experiences that they cannot speak about. At the same time, we have the women who have had trying experiences of their own, and become independent.

I gained new knowledge about living in and after war times, about the Silent Generation, the necessity to move countries when the war was over, and much more. In the midst of all this, was the heroism of the women who helped their families and whoever they could aid, survive. Henny's mother is a woman to be admired.

I greatly appreciate the advanced reader copy that I received from the publisher from NetGalley and I am honoured to learn about Henny's experiences. Hendrika beautifully portrays the thoughts in the mind of her younger self as the war time forces her to grow up, and internalize incidents that she is only able to give deeper meaning in later years. If you are interested in history, particularly World War II, you should read this book. I am sure you it will be a cherished story.

I can't wait to write more about this book in the coming weeks as well as going over the discussion questions. :)

A well written memoir recounting the harrowing experiences of everyday life in Amsterdam in WWII, this memoir is an important reminder of what can happen if racism, nationalism, and bigotry go unchecked.

War through the eyes of a child

This is a story of a young child during the war living in Amsterdam while it was occupied by the Nazi's.

I liked that the book was told from a child's point of view. The characters were good. The description of the country and the story settings was realistic.

Jenny was only five when her father left for war. She was seven when he returned a different person. The story in the two years he was gone, the Nazi's, the hunger, and the Jewish girl Nan that they hid in their home while he was at war is the main and the saddest part.

The problems after the return of her father, the reintroduction to the family, the birth of her sister, and their immigration to Australia concluded her story.

It was a different story as it was told through the viewpoint of a young girl. The book was a good read and I would recommend it. I think it would be a good book to recommend to young adults wishing to read about the Second World War.

This powerful, edgy story features a tidbit glimpse of the struggle of military occupation in the highly civilized Netherlands, the attempt to murder an entire segment of the population, and the individual story of a small girl whose family resists the invaders. De Vries offers her story in the form of a novel with some editorial change to the actual story but the overall truth of a horror story as seen through the perspective of a small but precocious girl. It speaks into the human experience where the invader ruthlessly combats all perceived opposition while families must make the choice of whether or not to resist. Readers familiar with earlier works of families combating the Nazis will connect with the author/story teller from the first page with the little heroin whose bravery transcends most adults.
This work fits well into the reading list most high school Language Arts teachers would select, but the readability of this page turner keeps the attention of the reader who is hard pressed to lay it down for the night but instead will just read one more page. In that many people enjoy reading World War 2 history that also enjoy the Anne Frank type memoir of opposition with great loss will not be at all disappointed with de Vries’ book. The reading public will certainly find some level of connection with the author, be emotionally moved by the story, and so will hold this story close to heart while acquiring a copy for future reference and to hand to those who missed reading it. This book needs & should be read as widely as possible by the reading public. I received an electronic copy for review by Netgalley; however, this review is my opinion of it.

This memoir describes another terrible side of war. Hendrika de Vries takes us back with her to her childhood, sharing at first the happy times and then the indescribable terror and hunger of daily life in Amsterdam especially during that final year of World War II. But it also lifts our spirits as we learn of the strength and bravery of a mother who will sacrifice everything for what is right and is able to teach her daughter the immense value of this.

A remarkable and unforgettable story, thank you for sharing it with us. I look forward to the next volume.

I cannot find the words to describe this book, other than i couldn't put it down from the first to last page. So gripping! One can only imagine what the family went through and the heartache they endured. A well written memoire that was dedicated to Corrie Ten Boom a Dutch Resistance Fighter and one in which i can highly recommend reading.

My thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for my copy.

Gripping and heartbreaking account of a Dutch girl, growing up as a 'war child'.
With her dad taken a POW, she and her mom had to endure the abhorrence of the Hungerwinter in Amsterdam. They barely survived. This is her story. A story about hardship, and how to just keep going and never giving up. After the war, she thrived, helping others dealing with personal trauma.
This memoire is dedicated to Corrie ten Boom, a wellknown Dutch Resistence fighter.
Moving read. Thank you for sharing your lifestory.

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Ik kende de verhalen van mijn ouders - bij mijn vader thuis hadden ze onderduikers, mij moeder moest voor haar eigen veiligheid bij een tante op een boerderij wonen, -. Er was honger, verdriet, en doodsangst. Te midden van al die ellende waren er slechts spaarzame momenten van liefde en saamhorigheid.

Het zijn voor mij gelukkig verhalen. Geboren in 1969, is het voor mij bijna niet voor te stellen, hoe je in de hongerwinter moest overleven op een snee tulpenbollen brood per dag. Honden, katten, vogels, straat meubilair, bomen: Amsterdam had niets meer van dat alles. Het was een kaalgeslagen dodenhuis: de huisdieren opgegeten, het straatmeubilair, als al het voor handen zijnde hout - kozijnen, deuren, bomen, kasten, bedden, trappen, werd tot brandhout, opdat de mensen niet eerst doodvroren voordat ze van de honger stierven. Het was een verschrikkelijke en mensonterende periode in een al zo’n donkere tijd.

Henny en haar moeder overleven het amper. Op zeer indringende en persoonlijke wijze beschrijft Hendrika de Vries de gruwel van het opgroeien in de oorlog, over de ontberingen, over haar onderduikzusje Nel. Zij vertelt over hoe haar moeder voor het verzet werkte, en naar radio Oranje luisterde. Over hoe haar knuffeltje haar vader door zijn krijgsgevangenschap heen hielp. Over de moeilijkheden ook na de bevrijding, over de persoonlijke trauma’s die toch op een één of andere manier verwerkt moesten worden, en over de ontluistering na mei 1945, omdat de maatschappij toch niet bracht waar velen na de bevrijding wel op hadden gehoopt.

Een zeer ontroerend en indringend memoire, opgedragen aan Corrie ten Boom, een bekend Nederlands verzetsstrijdster. Mooi! ****