I adored this book! It was hopeful and heartbreaking and inspiring all at the same time. I felt I was living at Weihsien camp alongside Nancy, Joan, Elspeth, Minnie, Charlie, and the others. I am so curious now to learn more about the history this book is based on. I enjoy reading about new aspects of WWII, and this book is an excellent example of how this can be done well. It was so well written and researched. I could hardly put it down!!

A boarding school in China is taken over by Japanese during WWII. They face not only having their school taken over and being cutoff from the outside world but then transfer to internment camps. It is a story of perseverance, friendship, love and hope. Beautifully written from the viewpoints of a girl and one of the teachers. Fantastic historical fiction book.


Thank you Netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

I have been a long time fan of Hazel Gaynor, I have loved all of her books and was thrilled to see this book coming up for release.

This one sounded a little different than her typical books, but still a similar time period just a different location. I couldn’t wait to see how that all translated in this story and was thrilled when I was asked to review it!

Earlier this year I read a novel set during the Japanese occupation of China in WWII which was a very new piece of history for me and I was eager to read more and this book sounded like it would offer not only Gaynor’s breathtaking story telling but also some new history for me to explore!

Summary
Their motto was to be prepared, but nothing could prepare them for war. . .

The New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Came Home sets her unforgettable new novel in China during WWII, inspired by true events surrounding the Japanese Army’s internment of teachers and children from a British-run missionary school.

China, December 1941. Having left an unhappy life in England for a teaching post at a missionary school in northern China, Elspeth Kent is now anxious to return home to help the war effort. But as she prepares to leave China, a terrible twist of fate determines a different path for Elspeth, and those in her charge.

Ten-year-old Nancy Plummer has always felt safe at Chefoo School, protected by her British status. But when Japan declares war on Britain and America, Japanese forces take control of the school and the security and comforts Nancy and her friends are used to are replaced by privation, uncertainty and fear. Now the enemy, and separated from their parents, the children look to their teachers – to Miss Kent and her new Girl Guide patrol especially – to provide a sense of unity and safety.

Faced with the relentless challenges of oppression, the school community must rely on their courage, faith and friendships as they pray for liberation – but worse is to come when they are sent to a distant internment camp where even greater uncertainty and danger await . . .

Inspired by true events, When We Were Young and Brave is an unforgettable novel about impossible choices and unimaginable hardship, and the life-changing bonds formed between a young girl and her teacher in a remote corner of a terrible war. (summary from Goodreads)

Review
Let me just tell you how wonderful this book was! Gaynor always writes so well and creates memorable, unique characters and settings and this book was no exception! I adored every minute of it! It was a story that I didn’t want to end but yet felt content and satisfied when it did. For me personally, my favorite Gaynor book was The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter, but this one came in a close second.

One of the reasons I favored this book so much was the historical time period. While the WWII time period is heavily represented in historical fiction, the perspective of the British and Americans in China during the war felt new and refreshing. There was a lot for me to enjoy historically in this novel but the characters also came alive under Gaynor’s words and I loved getting to know them as well as the historical aspects of this story.

The use of the two duel POVs was really interesting too. I thought Elspeth and Nancy telling the story through their own POVs really helped give the reader a more complete understanding of the time period as well as the feelings about the war. The commitment level of Gaynor to not only research this topic but to also tell the stories of Elspeth and Nancy was evident throughout the novel and I commend her for writing some a complete and satisfying story.

This book was a little on the longish side (about 450 pages) but I didn’t feel like it was a long drawn out story. It was full of history and heart and I savored it rather than rushing through it to get to the end. I enjoyed the characters but the history and setting were what really hooked me. There was atmosphere with a flair of the exotic that really hooked me. If you love historical fiction, this is one that you do not want to miss!

Book Info and Rating
Paperback, 448 pages

Published October 6th 2020 by William Morrow Paperbacks

ISBN006299526X (ISBN13: 9780062995261)

Free review copy provided by publisher, William Morrow, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and in no way influenced.

Rating: 5 stars

Genre: historical fiction

You know a book is good when it keeps you up past your bedtime and makes you cry while trying not to wake your partner. Hazel Gaynor's latest certainly packs an emotional punch. I was completely enthralled by the students and teachers at Chefoo Missionary School, the opening setting of the story. Gaynor explores the complex relationship between educators and their pupils which develop when children are separated from their parents. This bond becomes all the more important when the Japanese take over the school, imprisoning the residents. Over the course of the story, we follow Nancy and her teacher Elspeth Kent as they wait out the Second World War in a Japanese internment camp. Along the way, we meet intriguing characters, some historical figures, and suffer through the atrocities which defined that war. However, the reader also discovers the tenacity and the bonds people develop when pushed to the absolute limit. This book made me laugh, cry, and everything in between. Yet again, Hazel Gaynor has delived a truly brilliant novel.

Hazel Gaynor is one of my favorite historical fiction authors. I was a bit disappointed in this book as I felt parts of it read like a YA novel that was trying too hard and it made the book drag in too many parts. It is about a dark period in history and I honestly felt like it needed to address some of that more than it did...hence the YA feel and trying to hard. I love a dual narrator especially when one is a child and one is an adult. The perspectives can be very different. Nancy Plummer, a British woman is looking back at her childhood and experience at Chefoo School in China and her internment after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and she, along with all the other students and staff became the enemy. . Chefoo was a school for the children of British and American diplomats and missionaries. Most of the chapters featuring her narration as from her years being a student and captive at the Chefoo School and other locations. The other narrator, Elspeth Kent is a teacher at Chefoo and Girl Guide leader. We learn what made her leave England to come to Chefoo and it explains a lot in terms of her feelings and emotions. There are some really great chapters in the book so when the next chapter seemed off or just too simple in terms of the horrors that were happening it made me even more disappointed.
Mrs. Trevellyan is a minor-ish character who definitely was my favorite. I still love Hazel Gaynor and will read every book she puts out. I am chalking the one up to I needed a book to FALL INTO and this book just didn't connect with me. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

What a wonderful historical novel about the war from a whole new perspective. Set in a missionary school in China. The teachers and children know they are safe, but then things take a turn for the worse. The Japanese take over the school for themselves and send the students and staff to an internment camp. The teachers must become more than instructors for the children while the children grow stronger and more resilient through difficulties they should never have known. Great Story!

The story of the residents of a missionary school in China under the Japanese occupation during World War II. Told from the point of view of on of the teachers Elspeth Kent, and a pupil she had especially promised to watch over, 10-year-old Nancy (Plum) Plummer, as war first breaks out and the Japanese take over the school, and later move them to an internment camp in northern China. Teachers and students manage to stay together, taking responsibility for one another and strength in their precious Girl Guides mottoes and skills. I expected more depth to the narrative, it seemed to skim over the top of events. I was moved by it by the end, so I did give a 4 star, but nothing like All the Light We Cannot See which blazes in comparison. It was a good book, but not great.

I really enjoy historical fiction. I'm amazed, and saddened, that we are never short of stories surrounding World War II. Gaynor brings a unique story inspired by true events in China involving a British-run missionary school and the teachers and children who were forced to stay in Weihsien camp. I knew a little bit about the camp from Eric Liddell's story and Gaynor's details added a whole other layer.

This book took some time to get into but once I did, I absolutely love it. It’s a different perspective from the typical WWII but I found it absolutely fascinating. Great book!

Elspeth Kent is a teacher and Girl Guide leader at Chefoo School in China, a school for the children of British and American diplomats and missionaries. She is about to hand in her resignation and return to England when Pearl Harbor is attacked and Japan declares war on the United States and Britain. The Japanese military quickly takes over the school, beginning a multi-year journey for the school’s staff and students. The group is moved from their school to an abandoned complex across town, and eventually is interned at a “Civilian Assembly Center.” Narration alternates between Elspeth and Nancy Plummer, one of her young students.


I've said it in other reviews, but it merits repeating here: the Pacific Theater of World War II, aside from the horrific end to the war, was an also-ran in the lessons I learned about the war. I never had considered what happened to citizens of Allied countries near Japan, nor had I known about Japan's invasion of China in more than a tangential way. When We Were Young and Brave starts to fill in some of those gaps. There are large time jumps in the narration, with a focus on marking time by the holiday season and the anniversary of their internment. The relationships between Elspeth and her charges, and the quest to preserve some sense of normality despite their internment are the strongest elements of the story. I enjoyed Elspeth’s chapters more than Nancy’s, and sometimes the transition was a bit jarring. But both characters felt real, and overall I would recommend this to fans of World War II historical fiction.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

Gripping story of the Chefoo Missionary School and the children and teacher during the occupation by the Japanese. Well written with well described characters. I couldn’t help but like them all. It’s amazing the things people live through and still continue on and survive.

Hazel Gaynor’s When We Were Young & Brave follows the story of a group of teachers and children from a British missionary school that were interned by the Japanese army in China during World War II. The story is told in alternating chapters by teacher Elspeth Kent and student Nancy Plummer. The book is both heartbreaking and uplifting, full of unforgettable characters, and reminds us of just how precious life is. When We Were Young & Brave is a must read and a story you won’t soon forget.

I received this book as a free ARC from NetGalley

I enjoyed it quite a bit and like the two narrators: one child, one adult. It was an easy read, prose-wise, but really gave a sense of what civilians deemed enemies of war went through.
I would say my only, minor complaint, is that I wish there was more time spent with the characters after the war.

What I love about reading books is how much I learn about other cultures and experiences. This book is no exception. I have been fortunate to read WWII books about many European countries (France, Spain, people inside camps, etc), but this book takes you across the globe to China, to a school for children of missionaries and diplomats from many English speaking countries. This school is overtaken by Japanese and collectively moved a couple times, to worse and worse situations. Throughout it all, the teachers keep school going and try to maintain normalcy for their students. I got teary a couple times in this book, and I usually don’t. It’s sad to think about the Japanese mistreating people in camps as well.

I also read and re-read some of these parts thinking it reminded me so much of life now- the time of covid almost seems like a world war, where life isn’t safe or normal... I’m grateful for weeks behind us - and I think it will be a time we will remember like some of these quotes suggest.


Thank you Book Club Girls for the ARC.

3.8 - interesting characters and a new perspective on WWII, but some of it fell flat; perhaps there were too many characters at the outset that led to some confusion?

This book was amazing. I’d never given a thought to what would have happened to people like the Cheefoo school caught in enemy territory in times of war. I knew about the atrocities that America did to Japanese Americans but I had not considered the reverse. This story is full of hope and sorrow and I felt transported through time and place as I read it. I’d never heard of this author but I will be looking up her previous works now! Alternating in perspective between Elspeth, a British woman teaching in a school that becomes occupied, and Nancy a student at the school. The trials and hurdles that they had to face were extraordinary and the positive outlook and hope they kept alive was beautiful.

Thank you NetGalley, HarperCollins Pubishers and Hazel Gaynor for the advance readers copy of When We were Young & Brave.

The story starts in China just before the occupation from the Japanese. The students in the boarding school come from fine families of English and American dignitaries and missionaries. The well researched book details events in the life of these students and teachers while bing held as prisoners. The remarkable story is told through Elspeth, one of the teachers and 10 year old student Nancy. I found this book to be well written and enjoyed the story through the eyes of the children.

This book was amazing! Hazel Gaynor is one of my favorite authors, and this book did not disappoint. This story was about a part of WWII that I had never heard of, citizens of Allied countries being put in internment camps in China when it was occupied by Japan. This book was heartwarming and showed how resilient we can be in times of danger. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes historical fiction. I received a free copy of this book from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley and Book Club Girl for making this novel available on this platform. I'll admit to struggling to get into this book early on and was not sure I would finish (I'm a skimmer when needed). This book was enlightening to an event of history that I was unaware of and seeing it through the eyes of two different age groups was interesting. At times however I was just ready for things to move along, it seemed like there was LOTS of detail in certain areas (like the brownies) but then at other times, time just zipped along. I most enjoyed the friendships between Elspeth and Minnie and Nancy and Mouse. Which is why I found it so odd that afterwards they just didn't have any contact with each other. Perhaps that is a result of what they had been through and is more common than I think. Overall an interesting read but there were definite parts I "skimmed".

My initial reaction when I finished reading this book was one of disappointment – not because the book was bad or anything like that, but rather, I had gone into this one with certain expectations and in the end, felt completely let down. This is mostly my fault, as I realize now that if I had read the premise more carefully, or had done a little research going in (which I typically do with historical fiction but didn’t with this one due to time constraints), it should’ve been pretty obvious that the expectations I had about the story would not have been warranted.
Set in China starting in 1941, the story revolves around Chefoo School, a British-run school for children of missionaries (mostly from Europe, Australia, and the United States) that functioned very similarly to a boarding school, where the children were taken care of mostly by the teachers and the staff and would only see their parents a few times a year. The story is narrated in alternating viewpoints by Elspeth Kent – one of the teachers at the school – and Nancy Plummer, who started attending Chefoo School at 8 years old. When war breaks out and Japanese forces invade China, the school comes under the rule of the Japanese Imperial Army. With guards watching their every move, the students and staff become enemy prisoners whose lives constantly hang in the balance. Later, when the army takes over the school to use as a training base, everyone is forced to relocate, first to a rundown housing complex, then to internment camps where they remain through the end of the war. In the face of numerous challenges and hardships living in the midst of war, it is the bond that forms between these students and teachers that sustain them through the most difficult of days as well as through lifetimes.

For me, the mark of good historical fiction is its ability to make the reader feel like we’ve been transported back to a particular time and place – the truly great works go a step beyond in that they make us feel like we are actually living the characters’ realities and experiencing what they go through first-hand. Unfortunately, with Hazel Gaynor’s latest book, When We Were Young and Brave, I did not experience what I usually do reading historical fiction (which is definitely an issue, since historical fiction is one of my favorite genres to read). The biggest problem I have with this book is that the portrayal of time and place in the story was not strong, which made it difficult to feel transported. The setting of the story was in China during Japanese Occupation in the 1940s, but to be honest, I felt like the story could’ve taken place anywhere during that same time period and it still would’ve been essentially the same story, as there were basically no cultural elements to speak of in the story outside of a handful of references to Chinese cities and also two Chinese servants who worked at the school. The ambiguous way in which the setting was portrayed in the story is actually one of the things that bothered me the most. But again, it goes back to my sensitivities perhaps being different from other readers due to my cultural background and familiarity with this particular period of history. To put it more clearly -- given the location and time period in which the story takes place, I was expecting there to be a certain amount of historical and cultural relevance that would’ve tied the story to the setting in a more significant, meaningful way – but that didn’t happen with this book, which is the main reason why I felt disappointed. Despite the knowledge going into this one that the story was based on true events, I still couldn’t help wondering, at numerous points while I was reading, why the author would choose to set the story in China during World War II when, technically, neither element was truly significant to the story.

The other area where I felt let down was the lack of emotional depth to the story. Perhaps because of the above-mentioned issues I had with the sense of time and place, I felt like it was difficult for me to get into the story. Each chapter was narrated from the characters’ first-person point of view, which normally would make it easier to empathize with the characters, but yet, throughout the entire story, I didn’t really feel much for the characters, despite the ordeals they endured. To me, the way the story was told, it felt emotionally detached, as though the narrators were reciting facts rather than a lived experience. Of course, that’s not to say that the story wasn’t important, as I’m a strong believer that all stories — especially personal stories — are significant and important in their own way. But I think the way the story is presented matters as well and in this instance, the story as presented didn’t really work for me.

With all that said, there were things that I did like about this one and the reading experience wasn’t all bad, which is why I ended up rating this one 3 stars despite the issues I had with it. And it definitely hasn’t put me off from reading this author’s other works, as I truly feel that this was just an instance of this particular book not being right for me. Hopefully the next one will work out better.

Received ARC from William Morrow via NetGalley