It feels wrong to say that I enjoyed a book centred around the Nazi treatment of the Jewish community in Europe and the Kindertransport, but this is a truly wonderful book that touched my heart and reduced me to tears, both sad and happy, on more than one occasion.

I knew a little about Nicholas Winton and his work with the Kindertransport prior to reading this book, but in all honesty had never given much thought to how it affected the families involved. The Child on Platform One really brought home to me how heartbreaking a decision it must have been for the parents who sent their children away, and how terrifying it must have been for the children to be torn from their families and moved to a country with strange food and a language they didn’t understand. In Eva’s desperation to save her child, and Pamela’s longing to save as many as she could, Gill Thompson creates two amazingly strong female characters who are stuck in a terrible situation, but are determined not to be beaten down by it.

As the war and the story progress, Gill includes just enough factual information to create a sense of foreboding about what is to come, without detracting from humanity of the tale she is telling. From the experiments that Josef is asked to work on, to the living conditions and musical performances at Terezin, these little snippets of fact woven into the story only serve to add more heart to the tale.

The Child on Platform One is heart-breaking and heart-warming in equal measure. It is a book that everyone should read, even if historical fiction is not normally a genre you would try. We should never forget what happened, and in this deeply soul touching book, Gill Thompson is helping to ensure that we never do.

Wow... What a fantastic book. This book is based on true events that happened during WWII. The author has written an incredible story, which is inspirational, emotional and harrowing. As a mother, this book broke my heart.
This is such a page turner and I just couldn’t stop reading it.
This book will stay with me for a very long time.

A remarkable story of two sisters from different worlds. One adopted and raised by Jewish parents. One sent to London to escape the Germans. Both with an extraordinarily brave mother who loved them both very much. They inherited her great talent for music.
This is also a story about the talents of many Jewish people. People that were worked or starved to death. These people found their souls in the arts. Whether through singing, playing musical instruments or acting out parts of a play. They were able to find the strength within themselves to help them get through another day of horrible and intolerable circumstances.

‘The child on platform one’ follows a multitude of characters, but focuses primarily on two mothers and their experiences during WW2 -Czech Jew Eva, mother to Miriam, and British Quaker Pamela, mother to Will. These women are different in almost every way, except for one: their desire to ensure their children’s wellbeing throughout a dark and dangerous time.

Over the course of the novel, the lives of these two women and those closest to them intersect, and it was amazing to see the common threats emerging in the most different of characters. I especially loved learning about Pamela’s Quaker faith, which is something I am quite unfamiliar with, which really is a bit shameful considering the huge and very important role I’ve now learnt that they played in the war.

The plot is something I won’t focus on, as there are several surprises along the way that I wouldn’t want to ruin. What I will say though is that while the book is hard at times, it is also incredibly moving. While it is at times heartbreaking, it is also heartwarming. And while is discusses one of the darkest times in modern history, it is still somehow incredibly uplifting - a truly inspirational tale of survival in the bleakest of times.

In the authors note section at the end, Thompson acknowledges that the book contains events that may seem implausible, and it is indeed shocking to think that the events of this novel took place only 80 years ago. But they did. All of the significant events of this novel are historically accurate, and that is something that I think is very powerful. The world has seemed a little darker lately, and sadly it is now more than ever, books like this are so so important. We need to look to the past, to learn from our mistakes and join together in refusing to allow them to ever be repeated. We need read books like this that remind us what a privilege it is to be alive, and to be safe. We need to remember the simple message that life is a gift, and that we should treasure each other every day that we can.

Books like this one are so important to read. It may be fiction but sadly the camps and and the horrific treatment of human beings, is very real. It’s a reminder of what people went through and how we should never let history repeat itself.

Pamela and Eva have very different lives. What they do have in common, is the love for their children. Eva, to be able to send her child to a strange country knowing no one, was incredibly brave. Pamela on the other hand, has just as much cause for concern when her son Will enlists with the RAF. My heart went out to both women.

Whilst the story is set during war time, we do get to see a certain part of camp life and the horrific treatment to Jewish people. The story though focuses more on what life is like outside it. For Miriam a young girl, living with strangers and adapting to life without her family. For Pamela, opening her home to a Jewish child and wanting to do more in the war effort.

I loved how music for Eva, helped with her time in the camps as well as for many other prisoners. In such a dire environment, it gave them comfort and hope. Parts of the story do make for some uncomfortable reading due to the nature of the story but overall it gives hope and I loved seeing people coming together and the relationships and bonds that are formed.

The Child On Platfrom One is an inspirational, harrowing and emotional read. My heart went out to the characters in this novel and I thought I had held my emotions quite well through out but the epilogue literally broke me. The impact of what the characters had been through, hit me full force at this moment whilst I refelected on all I had read. A powerful and moving novel.

Mind blown.

I am usually a sucker for historical fiction, especially World War II in the European theater, and this book was one that did not disappoint. Showing how the threads that tie us all to one another are shorter and more interwoven than one would think, Thompson weaves a narrative that spans the world from London to Prague. One girl's escape thanks to the Kindertransport saves her from the fate of her parents, and one linked to her mother's past is saved from a similar fate thanks to her mother's courage. Over the course of decades, the tales of four women and what makes a family makes for a fascinating tale of courage, survival, and resilience. This book needs to shoot to the top of best seller charts world-wide.

Note to publishers and the author: I will post a full review of this book on my personal website when it is closer to release date. to check out book reviews on there, check out ajnortham.com and click on my blog.

A beautiful novel that stays with you long past your bedtime. Incredibly brave characters. Kudos to the writer!

I so enjoyed this story. The author combined several WWII historical events and meshed them together wonderfully. I fell in love with Eva, Pamela, William, Miriam and Hana. I have read several books on the Kindertransport but this one gave a completely different aspect from the view of a volunteer helping and assisting with the delivery and finding foster families. I had also read on the camps allowing music and entertainment, but again, this one gave a more in-depth version. This story covers so much ground and it held my interest all the way from start to finish with so many touching moments in between.
I do have to say this was the first time I had read anything on the RAF pilots and how they had to escape before the borders were closed, I found that segment very enlightening. I loved so many things about this book, I liked the way we switched between Pamela’s good deeds and her many kindnesses, and Eva’s trials and tribulations. I thought the twists and turns and the way the events all played out was also done very well. I have The Oceans Between Us in my library and will certainly look forward to reading it soon. Well done Ms. Thompson, well done. I highly recommend.
I was given the opportunity to receive this book from Headline through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. This one gets 5 stars.

Wow, where to start? I have to admit, I really enjoy a history/ww2 story and having read so many I have become quite fussy with the books I read now. This story did not disappoint - In fact, honestly, this is up there with one the best books I have read this year. The author did incredibly well to touch on such heartbreaking things out removing the seriousness of it. She told an incredible story that I will recommend to anyone I see!

Omg what a incredible read it was so emotional about a Jewish girl I was engrossed from start to finish and would highly recommend this book .

This book was in incredible. The author took events she researched that actually happened in real life and wove a fantastic story around them. The Kinder transports that smuggled out Jewish children , the prison camp Terezin allowed the prisoners to play music, and the hijack of planes from Russian occupied territory to save RAF piloted and their families. She has also pulled from the experiences of others for the time spent in the concentration camps.

This is a book that tells the story of so many intertwined with each other in a way that is easily read.

Pam, the diplomat's wife in London whose work on the Kinder transports was helpful in placing many Jewish children in English homes. Her son Will later joins the RAF and spends time in a POW camp in Germany. Pam takes one of the girls Miriam in from the kinder transport. Pam, Will, and Miriam are prominent characters in the story.

Eva a Jewish girl in Prague Czechoslovakia studying music. She is attacked one night coming home from music lessons by a German soldier in Hitler youth. She is later married to Josef and they have a daughter named Miriam which she later sends to England on the Kinder transport. Later in the story Joseph and Eva are sent to the concentration camp Terezin. They are further deported to Auschwitz. Eva and Joseph are prominent characters in the story.

The story of a Jewish girl Hana who also plays a prominent part in the story, I won't say more about Hana except she was also at Terezin. Her story will be told in the book.

The characters and events are sad, but they are realistically portrayed. The story is realistic and believable. Can you imagine the anguish of sending a young child on a journey to another country not knowing when or if you would ever see her again? Can you feel the fears of the mother when she sees her only son off to war, or the feeling she has when she gets the news he is missing in action. How would you feel I'd you were the young child, miles and miles on a train with strangers, then boarding a huge boat an d finally arriving in a country where no one spoke your language. Such are the horrible faces of war.

This book is a must read. I highly recommend you plan on reading for a while, because once you star you will not want to stop until the last page is read.

My thanks to Gill Thompson, Headline Publishing, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of the book.

This book is one I would have picked as it's set in a time I enjoy reading about. It's not your normal evacuee story as its intertwined with other stories which I really enjoyed. It kept my attention the whole and I was unable to put it down as it had me gripped.
I will be looking out for more books by this author as I loved the style.

I’ll admit I’ve been on WWII era kick this year. I found this book interesting as it focused on the impact of Nazis in a country other than France, Germany or the UK. Also the Quaker religion perspective provides an interesting look at war.

Eva and her family are Jews. The war is going on and she gets her 5 year old daughter off to safety. Eva is very afraid of Germans because when she was a teen when walking home late one night a group attacked her and 1 raped her resulting in a baby girl she gave away. This her husband does not know as her parents thought it best to hide truth. While held captive Eva finds her long lost daughter and her rapist .
FF Eva talks Otto into saving Hana from death chambers. Hana ends up meeting her half sister and the family. She tells them about Eve and who she is. Mariam finally accept her sister. This is a very good book . I recommend you read.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. What a harrowing, emotional read this was. I was completely over whelmed by the whole story.

This is an Emotional,haunting book filled with secrets through-out,this is a really emotional story with characters that mix together so well.EXCELLENT 5*

This is such a gorgeous book. It's haunting and beautiful throughout. I loved and believed in all the characters, and thoroughly enjoyed their stories throughout the course of world war two. Incredibly researched, it felt authentic. And the ending moved me to tears.

“The Child on Platform One” by Gill Thompson is a story based on actual events. The story begins in Prague, Czechoslovakia, in 1930. Based on true events that actually happened, Ms. Thompson has woven a truly incredible story. She has taken characters and woven their lives in and around tragic and true events that occurred during W.W.II.

I was intrigued as I read about the families of Pamela and Hugh, from Hampstead, London, England, Eva and Josef from Prague. These two families became intertwined as the story of some Jewish children who were able to escape the Holocaust unfolded.

Tragic events brought these two families together and inevitably their stories together made up the fascinating and lovely novel. I was riveted to the development of historical events and the various ways the ordinary citizens had to deal with them.

I loved the book and the way it was written. I will be reading more novels by Gill Thompson in the future as her interweaving of events with fictional characters is remarkable.

I downloaded a Kindle copy of this book from NetGalley.com in return for my personal review.

I don't usually enjoy historical books, but the cover of this one called to me. This was a great book! I can count on one hand the number of WWII books I actually liked. There are secrets in this book you will not see coming, but it makes it more heart warming. Any book about WWII makes you feel disgusted to a point, so there was enough info in the book to make you feel anger. The author did a great job of making you feel different emotions and tying different families together.