I am shocked to realize how clueless I was about the evacuees taken from Guernsey to England. I knew that most of the children were taken to safety, but I never stopped to think about how it would change lives forever. I can't get past the idea that they left the safety and care of all those children in the hands of a few teachers. Record keeping was almost nonexistent. There was no communication with the Germans soon occupying the country.

For Those Who are Lost brings the realities of the past into the present. Lily had been abused physically and mentally since marrying Ian five years earlier. In the 1940's there was no recourse. There were no shelters. Victims lived in silence. Lily saw the evacuation as a means of escape. Taking her sister's place as chaperone was her life line. Taking on her sister's charges changed many lives.

The author told the story of many of the boys evacuated through Henry's story. Lily knew she couldn't take both children and Henry was already nine. Not being invested; she could walk away from him, taking his little sister, Charlotte as her own. His situation was not easy. He was alone surrounded by those older and bigger. My heart broke as the author shared Henry's experiences. How did he survive? What happened to other little boys? If the author's goal was to get me wanting to know more, needing to know more, she has succeeded.

I want to know more about those so young that they didn't remember their parents. Were they all like Catherine, lost to the past, believing the present to be the whole truth. What happened to the Catherines of Guernsey? Did they return to the island or were they lost forever. Were there actual unique families created because of the evacuation?

Lily's lies didn't come to light for five years. The truth was told only out of necessity. Would Lily have kept everything a secret is she could have? What about others? Lily's escape brought her freedom and love but it destroyed others. Did others find that same freedom? What about those left behind.

The author did a wonderful job of telling the story of the evacuees. There were numerous points of view giving a great perspective. The birds-eye-view gave me away to learn and understand the decisions made on less that 24 hour notice. I can only hope no one is ever put in that position again.

For Those Who Are Lost gripped my heart from the first chapter. Julia Bryan Thomas' writing makes you feel the unimaginable pain and fear that each character is experiencing. My heart is left in tatters and my eyes continue to brim with tears as I look back upon the decisions these parents had to make in a split second. Decisions that no parent should be faced with.

As World War II marched toward the island of Guernsey, there was a choice that was brought to the parents of the island. You have 24 hours to decide if you would like your children to be taken to England to weather the war. They will be looked after by their teacher, and contact would be limited if at all. What would be your answer? What is the correct one? No one knows what the Germans will bring, and everyone has heard the rumors of how women and children have been treated throughout the war already. Ava and Joseph Simon's are faced with this question. They decide to put their 9-year-old son Henry, and four-year-old daughter Catherine on the boat with their teacher. What happens instead is shocking.

Their teacher's sister Lily is trying to escape an abuse marriage, and this is the perfect cover to leave the island. Lily convinces her sister to let her go in her place. She takes hold of Henry and Catherine's hands and boards the cattle barge toward England. Once they are to board the train to Manchester, Lily puts Henry on board by himself with the other teachers and children. While she and Catherine walk away together. Told from the points of view of Ava, Henry, and Lily you will be brought to tears over the love and struggles that each go through during their long five-year separation. Lives are forever changed and the bonds that are formed are forever.

Thomas has penned a magnificent book. It will break you down, at times it will make you smile, and wonder where each of these people have found the courage and the strength to go forward. Henry and Ava are astonishing, amazing characters that I will not soon forget. Thank you to Julia Bryan Thomas and Sourcebooks Landmark for sending me this remarkable read.

For Those Who Are Lost is one of those books where the jacket pretty much gives you the entire plot. As a children's evacuation is happening from Guernsey during WWII, one chaperone decides to take a child as her own, greatly diminishing that child's chances of ever seeing her family again.
For such a sad subject matter, this book is fairly light and moves along at a good pace, inserting realistic (though very brief and not enough) snippets of what life was like under German occupation.
Definitely an interesting story, but I just don't love historical fiction. It all seems to have the exact same tone, and the characters always begin their thoughts with "how" such as "how lovely!"
This was a nice change of pace for me.

If you like historical fiction and historical fiction about WW 2 I think you will enjoy this one. I did think that this book was a little slow. More than half the book was taken up by the choice to send the childern to England. While I did think it was a very important decision, I do not think most of the book should have been spent making that decision. It made me a little bored. I feel like this book could have been really good but it fell flat to me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this galley in exchange for an honest review. This WW II historical novel takes place on the eve of a German invasion of Guernsey, one of the secluded Channel Islands. England has evacuated its soldiers, leaving the natives to fend for themselves. A difficult decision has to be made by the Simon family and many others. Should they send their two precious young children Henry and Catherine to the mainland in the care of their teachers into an unknown future, or face the equally unknown future in the occupation of the Nazis? The choice is made, but an unexpected twist of fate changes their lives forever as Henry’s train takes him in one direction alone and Catherine’s in another with a stranger masquerading as her mother.. The reader will want to read on to find out how their lives develop, whether a reunion is possible, and what the price is that must be paid in order to do the right thing.. I liked this book, but at times, I felt the story unevenly developed. In the final chapter, it jumps to an adult Catherine, who has been told the family secret in her teenage years.. It seems like a lot was missing from those intervening years, and at times, her birth family’s acceptance of her life in Cornwall seemed too good to be true. All in all, I liked the book and it taught me about the consequences of this period of evacuation. It was a good read, and I recommend it to others.

I received a complimentary copy of this book "For Those Who Are Lost" and all opinions expressed are my own. This was an interesting read. I do like historical fiction and always learn something new. Everyone has to make the best choice that they are faced with at the time. I liked the characters and the story. Overall good read.

I have to say this book really pulls at the heart of a Mother, Julia Bryan Thomas, the Author, did a wonderful job at telling this story, I am a big fan of Historical Fiction, I've read many books from the 1940s WWII Era, but this book Is very good, the position that the family is put in, trying to decide what to do to keep their 2 children safe from the Nazi Invasion that is coming, the decide to send their children with the Teacher they trust, hoping they will arrive safely in a place free from trouble, and then the sister to the Teacher, who is herself trying to flee trouble, takes the children, supposing to keep them both safe, she sends one away by himself, and flee with the other to start a new life. It's a sad heartbreaking story, with many different situations. I could not put this book down once I started It, I know everyone that reads It will feel the same way. Thank you Net Galley for the chance to read and review this wonderful book.

I loved this book! I am a huge fan of historical fiction and this one did not disappoint! I love that this story told a story of a mother’s unconditional love for her child and how situations and feeling change depending on the situation presented to them.
I highly recommend this one!

Ava and Joseph Simon make the difficult decision to send their children away before the impending Nazi occupation of Guernsey. Henry, 9 and Catherine, 4 are placed in the care of their teacher, Helen. At the last moment Helen's sister Lily begs her to let her go in her stead. Helen doesn't want to leave and Lily is desperate to leave her abusive marriage for a fresh start. Helen doesn't take much persuading to give up her charges.

Lily then embarks on a selfish journey, making a rash decision to send Henry on to whatever fate awaits him while effectively stealing Catherine and running off in the opposite direction. As the book progresses, we learn how this decision affects Henry and we also see Lily and Catherine set up a new life together.

Meanwhile, back on Guernsey Ava and Joseph miss their children terribly and we learn about the occupation through various atrocities visited upon them.

As you might have gathered, I wasn't a massive fan of this book. I really enjoyed learning about the occupation and the mass evacuation, but I didn't care for any of the characters and felt the author laboured some points while brushing over others as if they were unimportant. It wasn't particularly balanced and although I did finish the book, it was mainly to see if Catherine would ever reunite with her family, which turned out to be rather a lacklustre event anyway.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for my copy of this book.

This is a heart breaking story about WWII and the evacuation of Guernsey Island as the Nazis were invading their homeland. Parents had the devastating decision as to whether or not to send their children off to England as they faced the atrocities of war. Love, loss, and forgiveness are prevalent throughout the novel. Another aspect of the war highlighted by this talented author. A great book for discussion clubs! #ForThoseWhoAre Lost #JulieBryanThomas #NetGalley

“When your heart tells you to do something, you have to listen.”

This poignant and compelling read set in Guernsey just prior to the Nazi invasion centers around two split-second decisions which result in rippling effects for years.

Ava and Joseph Simon, like all the parents on the island, have a heart-wrenching choice and only a mere 24 hours to make it. Do they keep their 9-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter at home and live with the risk or do they evacuate them to safety in England with the other children and their teachers? Reluctantly, they agree to send their children. What they agree to and what happens are two different things!

The rest of the novel hinges around a second split-second decision.

This novel shook me up, spun me around and then wrung me out. I was an emotional wreck. I don’t mean that my response was negative. I was truly captivated by this story of love, loss, and courage where the author explored the reverberations that echo long after a split second choice is made. I can’t imagine the guilt involved nor the level of forgiveness needed, let alone the cost of the sacrifice in the name of safety. I’m still shaking my head in disbelief.

I came away with the thought that I have no right to judge another’s decision without having lived their experience which culminated in making a particular choice. For this very reason, this book would make a great book club choice. Under what circumstances do we gain the right to play ‘God’?

Thomas was inspired by the evacuation in June 1940 where 5000 students and their teachers were evacuated from Guernsey in a single day. A few days later, Germany invaded and kept the families apart for five years.

I was gifted this advance copy by Julia Bryan Thomas, Sourcebooks Landmark, and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

For Those Who are Lost is a poignant story capturing yet another example of lives irrevocably changed during WWII. The story alternates between a few character each one presenting the story from their point of view. The author plays with our feelings toward Lily, a woman abused by her husband, who seizes the opportunity to escape her life. As she flees the island of Guernsey just days before the German occupation, she take charge of two young children. What happens next is retold many times through out the book. Lily decides to send the boy in to his destination and takes the girl with her to start a new life.

At the end of the story we see the outcome of the decisions that Lily made and the lives that were affected. The story is gripping. Some of the characters points of view were more captivating then other but it was important to get everyone’s perspective and feeling of the events that unfolded. If you like historical fiction set during World War II, I would recommend this story. Heartbreaking and stirring.

Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the arc.

I found this one to be well created and crafted war novel that kept you engaged. It wax overall a good read . Thanks for letting me review this book to Netgalley and the publisher

Thought provoking and inspiring read! I loved this time period and the characters were easy to connect with. Definitely recommend!

There's always going to be a book that pulls me into a historical fiction kick, and this is one of them. Set in world-war Era Europe, For Those Who Are Lost is a book following two women and a young boy as they navigate being separated from everything they know.

The POV chapters were well timed and easily distinguishable from each other, and the balance between quaint normalcy and emotional turmoil was brilliantly done.

I keep saying I won't read any more WWII historical fiction because there can't possibly be any new stories to tell, and I keep breaking that promise. This novel intrigued me because of the idea of having to make the choice to send your children away for their safety, and then how the parents and children fared after the decision. That being said, I felt like too much time was spent on the mother's angst over her missing children. And I despised Lily, the childless woman who escorted the children off the island to escape an abusive marriage and then absconded with the younger child.

“For Those Who Are Lost” is a historical fiction book by Julia Bryan Thomas. In this book, we follow the Simon family who live on the island of Guernsey. The Simons decide to evacuate their children, Henry (9) and Catherine (4) to England for their safety. However, things don’t quite go as planned - a stranger to the kids leaves Guernsey with them (she’s the sister of the person they were to leave with), the children get separated, and the war hits both Guernsey and England.

I believe that I had higher hopes for this book than were delivered. I’m glad that the author presented multiple points of view in this book, but so many things were explained in repeated information (obviously the parents are going to be missing the children and, just as obviously, the children are going to be missing their parents) but then there were a few plot zingers that were mentioned that seemed to come out of left field and just lay there - without expansion or explanation. And some things I thought would happen, just didn’t (why didn’t Lily’s husband try to find her - controlling but not possessive?).

I felt Henry’s pain throughout the book - a bewildered youngster trying to survive and keep alive his memories while craving a temporary home where he’d feel safe - and worrying about his sibling. I’m tremendously glad that he found a good home with the sisters who took him in. Catherine I felt was trying to also cope as best she could, but being four she adapted to the situation. I’m glad that at the end the reader heard Catherine’s point of view and that the adults were adult enough to realize that, well, being adult about the situation was the best for Catherine. I never really warmed up to Lily; her actions and rationalizations for them annoyed me a lot. I think that Ms. Thomas had a great outline - what would happen if - but somehow the presentation of the story just didn’t always work. On the plus side, I’m now interested in reading more about Gurnsey’s occupation during WWII and the evacuation. A 3.5 read, rounded up to 4.

I adore historical fiction, and this is such an interesting premise. I recommend because of the story itself, writing style, and its ability to transport you into a different world/time period.

I have read a number of books both novels and non-fiction about the Channel Islands occupation by German troops during WW 2. For Those Who are Lost included some aspects about those who did not flee to England, but remained for the 5 year occupation in Guernsey. Perhaps the most gut-wrenching aspect of suddenly being faced with the need to send their children to England to live with strangers became the total absence of any information for the duration of the war about how their children were surviving the separation. This story follows the Simon family who reluctantly sent their nine-year-old son and four-year-old daughter to England. The son was instructed to hold onto his little sister. Yet a woman, Lily, chose to escape her own enemy, that she happened to be married to by fleeing with the children. Lily lied her way into a life that had both joy and immense guilt for separating the Simon children from each other once they arrived in England. This was a sad story of the Simon family being unable to reconnect with their daughter when she returns to Guernsey after bonding closely with those who became her family in England. It is also the story of a brave and sacrificial mother who allowed her daughter to choose which family she would continue to grow up with after the war. In the non-fiction accounts I have read about the children who spent five years of their childhood living apart from their biological parents and the difficult choices that came after the war this story came close to reality. I liked this story, but it was not one I would choose to reread. Maybe because it was so sad, or maybe because I felt unconnected to any of the characters. For me it was a three star book and I thank Net Galley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy

A heartwarming story of love in many forms, this book was superb. My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.