Hazel Gaynor has written another wonderful historical fiction novel, that will leave you both content and in tears.

Set in China during WWII, a British-run missionary school, filled with British and American students and teachers, is taken over by the Japanese army. Different chapters are told from the perspective of different characters, but the main character is Nancy Plummer (aka “Plum”) who is 10-years-old and has been left at the school by her missionary parents along with her older brother. She especially feels the absence of her mother and sees her young teacher, Miss Kent, as a sort of replacement. The story tells the struggles of Plum, her close group of girlfriends, and her favorite teacher, and how they each struggle to survive as they wait and hope for liberation. This book is made even more sad as it is apparently inspired by actual events.

This is a book that makes you feel a lot. You obviously feel horrible for the children who are living through this without true understanding of what they are experiencing or why, and I felt a lot of empathy for the teachers who originally just had a job but not have the responsibility for trying to keep their students alive long enough to make it to the end of the war, even though they don’t know if they have to keep them going another 6 months or 6 years.

Nancy is obviously the main character, so we trace her through the war itself and we also get a glimpse of her in 1975 in a handful of chapters, so we know she makes it through. I thought the author did a great job capturing the initial innocence of Nancy and her friends through all of this.

I did think that there could have been a lot more with Miss Kent’s story, especially later in the book, or maybe I just wished there would have been more from her perspective. I think I related more closely to her as a person, so I was disappointing that she just kind of dropped off.

But overall, this was a really good book, and it was interesting to read a WWII book that didn’t focus on Europe for a change. It was nice reading a new perspective, even as disturbing as so much of this book was.

Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow, and the Book Club Girl for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. It has not influenced my opinion.

This is the story of the Japanese occupation of China during Word War II and how it affected a school for non-Chinese children and teachers. These students are the children of missionaries, sent to this school while their parents are doing their work, and are already homesick. The teachers are more than just teaching classes - they are helping the children grow up.

Elspeth is a teacher and tells her story in alternating chapters with Nancy, a young student. There are forced moves, poor living conditions, and cruelties both large and small inflicted on the members of Chefoo School. The friendships and loyalties between the teachers and students provide strength and hope.

Japanese occupation of China during WW II is a part of world history I had not really thought about until this book. I knew they invaded and have heard of the atrocities in Nanjing, but that is where my knowledge ended. Knowing that this book is based on real events made it even more compelling.

My thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for the advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

When We were Young and Brave tells the story of a missionary school in China during World War 2. The story tells through two perspectives: Nancy Plummer a 10 year old student and Elspeth Kent a teacher at the school.

I really enjoyed hearing how the girls saw what was happening vs what the teachers were doing behind the scenes to make the girls feel like things were "normal". I especially loved that the piece of them being Girl Guides and how the skills they learned helped them survive throughout this horrible time. Being a Girl Scout leader, I thought this was a great angle for the author to use.

I had never read a book that took place in China during World War 2. I loved this perspective. Highly recommend.

This story grabbed me from the first page. I couldn’t put it down. The horrific events the teachers and children endured were unimaginable. Don’t miss this book.

Inspired by actual events, this is a WWII novel unlike any I’ve read. Set in China, it’s the saga of students at a missionary school and the British teachers who shepherded them through years of challenging living conditions during Japanese Army occupation. Told in alternating chapters, the narrators are 10-year-old Nancy Plummer and Elspeth Kent, the instructor who becomes the heart and soul of the Chefoo School group.

Woven throughout the plot are many references to Girl Guides (British equivalent of Girl Scouts). I appreciated how these rules provided inspiration and structure for the girls and their leaders.

I have several Gaynor novels on my TBR shelves and will be moving them up my list after this powerful reading experience. Thank you William Morris for the gifted ARC.

The day before receiving an ARC of Hazel Gaynor’s When We Were Young & Brave, I had complained to my husband that nearly all the historical novels focusing on WWII are set in Europe rather than Asia or the Pacific. When We Were Young & Brave is a refreshing change that broadens readers’ choices. It transports them to a boarding school with its international student body—children of missionaries and diplomats—and its teachers.

Gaynor effectively uses two narrators, ten-year-old Nancy “Plum” Plummer and Elspeth Kent, a young teacher, who also works with the school’s Brownie Guides and Girl Guides. Nancy’s mother sends the disappointing news that political unrest has forced the decision that Nancy and her brother spend the Christmas holidays at school rather than joining their missionary parents on the other side of China. Elspeth has written her resignation letter and plans to leave China to return to Britain.

Although living in China, both are isolated from the local population except for a small number of Chinese workers at the school, one of whom had fled the horrors of the Japanese invasion of Nanking a few years earlier. Japanese soldiers are regularly seen in the Chefoo’s streets around the school but have ignored the school, itself, because Japan was not at war with Britain, the U.S., or any of the handful of other countries making up the school’s administration, faculty, and student body.

Suddenly, the unimaginable happens. Japan bombs Pearl Harbor, the U.S. and Britain declare war on Japan, and Japanese soldiers enter the school.

Hazel Gaynor captures her readers’ attention from the start with her likeable characters, and then she quickly builds suspense as the Japanese soldiers herd everyone into the assembly room and begin labeling school items, ranging from classroom desks to bathroom mirrors, as property of the Emperor.

Do not think this is a horrifying, depressing account of war. Yes, it is a war story with three main sections: Occupation, Internment, and Liberation, but it is also the story of “the smaller, simpler moments of a young girl’s school days,” of friends Sprout and Mouse, and of a plucky bunch willing to internalize Girl Guide principles to take on the challenges that confront them.

Plan time for long reading sessions if possible. You will have trouble putting this book down.

Thanks to NetGalley, Harper Collins/William Morrow, and Hazel Gaynor for an advance reader copy of this captivating book.

Fantastic! This book was everything I love about historical fiction...an engaging story and a whole lot of educating.

This novel was told mostly in alternating chapters from the perspective of Nancy, a young girl left at a boarding school while her parents were performing missionary work in China and Elspeth, her dedicated teacher. When the Japanese declare war on the US and Great Britain, they take control of Chefoo boarding school and the long nightmare begins, the writing is beautiful and the characters were well developed and multi-faceted.

I was unaware of Japanese internment camps in China and Hong Kong that held allied civilians. I also did not know about the Girl Guides’ role in the war effort. (As a former Brownie and Girl Scout myself, I took great pride in reading what young women were able to accomplish.)

I read this in one sitting. After the tissues were tossed, I dived into the internet to research much of the historical parts of the story. I LOVE a book educates me and inspires me to learn more. This is my first experience with Hazel Gaynor and it will not be my last. I have found a new author.

Five enthusiastic stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the eARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

Imagine you are a 10-year-old girl whose missionary parents have sent you to a boarding school in China to prepare you for future school tests. Or, imagine you are a young teacher who has charge of said girl and many other students. World War II is raging. Unexpectedly Japanese soldiers invade your Christian boarding school. Will you be safe, will they be mean, what will happen? The author includes many passages of wisdom. For example, "But wishes and hopes are fragile things easily crushed by marching boots of enemy soldiers." The author takes true events and weaves a compelling story of courage amid trials. This well written narrative gave me all the feels. It is one of the best books I have read this year. Thank you #HazelGaynor , #HarperCollins, and #NetGalley for this early copy of #WhenWeWereYoung&Brave.

Well, that was well and truly lovely. Some waterworks included.

I have heard of Hazel Gaynor for quite awhile, yet this is the first I have read of hers. Thank you to HarperCollins, William Morrow, Goodreads, Book Club Girls and #netgalley for the opportunity to read the ARE of this wonderful book.

It is inspired by a WWII event of which I was completely unaware. To think a school in China full of British and American children (and a smattering of other nationalities) and their teachers was deemed enough of a national threat by the Japanese that they posted armed guards and proceeded to move the lot of them eventually to an internment camp!

The ensuing tale is deftly told through two perspectives, a teacher and one of her wards. The bond that grows between them and with others in their shared predicament is what gets them through the uncertainty and horrors that follow. I especially liked Mouse, one of the friends of Nancy, the student narrator. Her growth and arch were more than simple survival.

Thank you Hazel Gaynor for writing this novel, and thank you to the publishers for sharing it. #whenwewereyoungandbrave

Same review on Goodreads and Book Club Girls Facebook page.

If you read only one WWII novel this year, make it this one. The pages just flew by as I found myself getting more and more enthralled by this story. When We Were Young & Brave is well-plotted, with exquisite story arcs, and a picture-perfect ending that will make you reach for the tissues. Beautiful, poignant, and timely. Hazel Gaynor shines.

Thank you, Netgalley, for this ARC.

"I actually think life is meant to have its share of difficulty and struggle. That's when we find out who we really are, what we're really made of, not when everything's going all all jolly and straightforward and terribly nice. We come alive in the dramatic bits, don't we; in the moments that make us gasp and cry."

When We Were Young & Brave is the story of the students and teachers of the Chefoo School, a prep school in China for the mostly British and American children of diplomats and missionaries, including 10-year-old Nancy Plummer. When Japan declares war on Britain and America in December 1941, the Japanese military takes control of the school, declaring everyone in it foreign enemies, a four-year journey of imprisonment that eventually lands them in an internment camp. Through it all, Nancy and her friends find comfort and strength in their Girl Guide group, led by their teacher Elspeth Kent, and come to realize that its tenets of friendship, loyalty and faith can get them through even the darkest times.

I haven't read much about life in China during WWII, especially for foreign children and teachers like those at Chefoo, but the story is based on actual events. I love the characters Hazel Gaynor created in this book and the way they and their relationships to each other evolve the longer they spend Japanese prisoners. They endure horrible things and have to make unimaginable choices but the way the teachers create a sense of normalcy and safety for their charges despite their own despair is truly remarkable. If you enjoy historical fiction with wonderful female protagonists, pick up When We Were Young & Brave.

Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow and the author for an advanced copy of this book to review.

When you think about World War II, often the atrocities that occurred in China and particularly to westerners who were living in China at the time don't cross our minds. However, during this time frame many individuals who were in living in China as diplomats, business people, and missionaries were rounded up and placed into internment camps by the Japanese. Many of the people placed in these camps were the children of these individuals who were attending boarding schools. When We Were Young & Brave by Hazel Gaynor turns the spotlight on a student and a teacher at Chefoo Inland Mission School to tell this story.

In alternating chapters, Nancy, the daugher of British missionaries, and Elspeth, her teacher and Girl Guide leader, tell the story of being at the Chefoo school beginning in December, 1941. The story follows them until their liberation by American soldiers in August 1945. Their experiences as prisoners beginning at their boarding school and then in two different internment camps will bring chills to the reader. The changing narrator provides the opportunity for Gaynor to show the experiences through the eyes of a child who by the end of the book becomes a teenager as well as an adult who is tasked in loco parentis with taking care of all these children in the absence of their parents. While not a specifically Christian book, as the main characters are affiliated with a mission school and the main character's parents are missionaries, some Christian themes and practices such as prayer and worship are mentioned simply because it was part of their life. Nothing about their horrific experiences is candy coated or glossed over. Readers will also note that a very famous British missionary to China has a substantial cameo appearance as well.

When We Were Young & Brave is an excellent addition to the often over-crowded field of World War II novels and a welcome addition as it highlights an aspect of the war that many forget or is unfamiliar. I was unfamiliar with author Hazel Gaynor and look forward to reading more of her works. Highly recommended for history buffs and those who enjoy works with strong female characters.

I have a book hangover. I finished reading an early copy of When We Were Young and Brave by Hazel Gaynor. This is my first Gaynor book, and it definitely will not be my last. I read a lot of WWII historical fiction, but I really had not read much of what was happening in China during the war. I was immediately drawn into the story because of the referral to the Girl Guides (Girl Scouts), Brownies, the motto, and rules to live by. Our two narrators, a student and a teacher, meet at a boarding school. Nancy’s missionary parents sent her and her brother, Edward, to this school. Miss Kent is looking for adventure and came from England to teach. She is also in charge of the Girl Guides. I thought the author was very effective in giving structure to the young girls by starting many chapters with a Girl Guide Rule.

When the Japanese invade China, the teachers and the students find themselves under the control of the Japanese. We follow what happens through Nancy’s and Miss Kent’s eyes as they are marched to another school and later moved to an internment camp. I felt like I was right there with the characters.
There were happy times, desolate times, hunger, and love as they cope and help each other. I strongly suggest you add this beautiful book to your current reading.

3.5 stars rounded up. A WWII book set in China during the Japanese occupation. I liked reading a differently perspective of WWII. There are a lot of war novels and just take place in Europe and are about daring women in the midst of the resistance efforts.

When We Were Young and Brave by Hazel Gaynor is about a group of students at a Mission school, the story focuses on the girls, and their teachers. These girls are of different nationalities whose parents are missionaries, high level business people or diplomats. Their school in China is taken over when the Japanese declare war on the Americans and British in 1941. Ultimately, the group is interred in a prisoner camp in China where they face hardships and atrocities.

While I enjoyed the story, there isn’t a lot of action. This is a character driven story. Ms. Gaynor develops the characters and builds their relationships.

At the end, we do get to see how the girls move on after their internment, which I always love.

Overall, this was a good book. Thank you to #netgalley and #harpercollins for the advanced e-copy of #whenwewereyoungandbrave.

This book was a beautiful but heartbreaking depiction of the lives of British and American nationals at the Chefoo Missionary School in China following the Pearl Harbor attacks. Told from the perspective of a student, Nancy, and her teacher Miss. Elsbeth Kent, we are taken through the story told from their eyes. When the Japanese Imperial Army invaded their school, life as they knew it was changed. Unfortunately, that wasn't the worst of it. They were sent to another school and then worse, a camp where their lives were even more difficult. What was amazing to read was their resiliency throughout all of these trials and tribulations that came their way. Nancy and her friends Sprout and Mouse found things to be happy about and used their knowledge as Girl Guides to make the best out of the situation. Miss. Kent went through her fair share of tribulations but the way she helped her students was remarkable. The bonds they formed were written about so eloquently and I rooted for them the whole time. I particularly liked the author's note at the end which discusses the true events the book was based upon. I have read quite a few WWII books but none have been about the horrible Japanese camps that many enemy nationals were subjected to live in during the end of the war. I loved how the ending of the book was wrapped up so nicely. I'm not a fan of books that leave the endings open to interpretation so I really appreciated the perspective we were given years later. This is a must read for any one wanting to broaden their knowledge about the events of WWII in other areas of the world. This won't be my last Hazel Gaynor read, that's for sure!

Thank you @netgalley and @williammorrow for this ARC!

Thank you so much to William Morrow/Harper Collins and Netgalley for an advanced copy of When We Were Young & Brave by Hazel Gaynor.

This was a remarkable historical fiction set at the Chefoo School in China, a boarding school for missionary and diplomats. It is December 1941 and China is now under Japanese control and the 125 students who didn't leave for the holidays now find themselves and their teachers held prisioner. The story unfolds around Nancy (Plum) and one of the teachers Elspeth Kent and how they survive the almost 4 years captive at their school, a secondary location in town and then finally to the Weihsien Internment Camp.

This is inspired by true events and shows a different side of WWII with impossible choices, hardships and the bonds that form.

I loved the Girl Guides aspect and how it tied together throughout the book. This was extremely well written and I laughed and cried and fell in love with these characters.

I can't recommend this book enough!

When We Were Young and Brave is about a British-run missionary school in northern China during WWII. The students and teachers experience unfortunate circumstances while under the control of the Japanese army at the start of/during the war. From being kicked out of their school and forced to move to multiple internment camps with little supplies and resources, all while not knowing how their parents and loved ones are and with little news of the progress of the war.

It is a unique look at WWII and one that I have not read about before. You also get multiple perspectives; one from the teacher view and the other from the student's view, which is a nice touch to the story.

I think fans of Susan Meissner or historical fiction fans looking for something a little different would really enjoy this book.

Books like When We Were Young and Brave are the reason I became a reader, the ability to just get lost in a different world, to immerse yourself into a character’s life, to just feel what they’re feeling.

All of that happened for me with this one. Hazel Gaynor transported me into the world of 1940s occupied China and the residents of the Chefoo School. She made me laugh, she made me cry, and she gave me new insight into the Japanese army’s internment of these teachers and children, which is inspired every true events. Trust me, historical fiction fans, you need to read this one.

This book is absolutely marvelous and beautifully written. I fell in love with the book within the first 25 pages.

This book is told from two different perspectives: Elspeth, the teacher, and Nancy, the young student. Telling the story in this manner allows the reader to have a deeper understanding of the situation at Chefoo School.

There's a teacher running from her past to heal her broken heart. There is a young girl who is forced to leave her parents for a British missionary school. The ones they love are both spirited away from them, and they must learn how to cope without them.

The teachers at this school teach the students how to be prepared. For the girls, they learn how to do this by being a part of Brownies (i.e. Girl Scouts). So when Japanese soldiers take over the school at the beginning of World War II and the Chinese servants are dismissed, the students and teachers pull their weight and make chores a game. They make it easier for the kids to want to help out. In fact, teaching this to the kids in the very beginning helps them in the coming years as they face one internment camp after another.

Before the gardener leaves Chefoo School, he gifts Elspeth nine sunflower seeds. A Japanese soldier (nicknamed Trouble) demands to see the package. In his evil manner, a seed is tossed out and he stomps it into the ground. But like a lotus flower extending itself out of the mud, that sunflower seed grew. It gave hope to the students and the teachers that despite their circumstances, something beautiful can still come from it. Life moves forward and blooms.

Those seeds become very important. They serve as markers on their journey.

After a year, the teachers and the 100 students leave Chefoo School for Temple Hill. It is at this point that I really felt worried for them. Where are they going? What is going to happen to them? Will they be ok?

Then there's Trouble. In every war there are good soldiers and then there are the dangerous ones. Trouble is one of the dangerous soldiers.

The same group of soldiers follow them from one internment to the next. Home Run is probably one of my favorite characters in this book. The children love him and he does his best to do what is right, despite the circumstances. Why? Because he has young children of his own that he misses and these kids remind him of them.

One of the questions I had at the end of the book was what happened to Home Run after the war? What about his family? I would have liked to know more.

This book comes with content warnings. For those sensitive to rape or animal abuse, please note these warnings. Unfortunately, rape is systemic to war. If Gaynor had left this out of the story, I don't believe she could have been 100% true to what happens to prisoners of war. She touches briefly on what happened to Chinese women when Japan invaded. It is a foreshadowing of what happens later on in the book.

Mind you, this is just a tinny part of what happens in this story. It is not the main focus. It does not go into the full details of the abuse, but it is there.

There are a lot of great quotes and lessons throughout this book. The signs of an excellent piece of literature is when you can find multiple moments that resonate within you.

So many historical fiction books out there focus on Europe during World War II. I loved that this one was based in China.

I enjoyed this story. Just wonderfully done. I highly recommend reading "When We Were Young & Brave" if you enjoy historical fiction. You'll appreciate the new change in WWII scenery.

This was such an EXCELLENT read! We find a group of children and their teachers in a missionary school being taken over by the Japanese soldiers The story alternates between the perspectives of Nancy, a student, and Elspeth, their teacher. The children are later moved to Temple Hill Mission when their school is turned into a soldier training area, and last, to an awful interment camp. Book has sad moments , but it is so wonderfully written. The writer has you caring about the characters. Highly recommend!!