Shirley DicksonRezensionen

After WW1 until the end of WWII. Two sisters survive the orphanage and life after

This book is set during the time of World II, from 1929 up to 1945 (VE Day). It is about two sisters who are dropped off at an orphanage outside of London called Blakely Hall at the age of eight (Dorothy) and four (Esther) by their mother. Their mother gave them no explanation at all, and left the building. Both girls never see their mother again. Life is difficult at the orphanage for these two little girls and living there forever changes their lives as well as their outlook on life. When the girls reach 15 years of age, they are released from the orphanage. When Etty leaves four years after Dorothy, the girls find each other and promise to never be separated again. The betrayal of their mother never is forgotten or forgiven. When the war hits, Dorothy says goodbye to her young husband as he goes off to sea, and Etty becomes involved with a man that she can never have. The book takes us through all of the Blitz and the devastation that that caused. Through marriage, childbirth and through widowhood, the two girls stay close until the War hits close to home. All this time they don't know what became of their mother, until after the war ends and the secrets come out. I enjoyed the story, and liked Etty and Dorothy, but I did think that the book was not that well-written. Hence the three stars. I must also note that there is nothing of historical significance about World War II or the Blitz. It is mostly a story about two young girls who are abandoned at a young age, and how it affected their lives, personalities and their futures.

Shirley Dickson is a new author for me. I am eager to check out more books by her. I love learning from historical fiction, the whole idea of "land girls" in the U.K. farmlands was a brand new area of interest for me.

Two girls with very different backgrounds meet as land girls. Sandra had a very sad childhood. Her mother died when she was very young and her father was an invalid. She stayed home from school to look after her brother while her mother was busy washing clothes for people. Unable to take care of Sandra and her younger brother Alf, he took them to an orphanage. The orphanage separated the boy and girl, causing terrible sadness. Later, Sandra was sent to work as a housemaid. Her employer was a true meanie!

The other girl was a German Jew who was shipped out of Germany with her younger brother. Frieda was often bullied at school because of being Jewish and her brother refused to complete the journey to the U.K.

Both girls were worried about their missing brothers, they both had to adjust to farm work, and they slowly bonded as they began to share more of their past. Hard work, bombing raids, disappointments in love, illiteracy, and bulimia were a few of their problems. Not all bad times, there were some times for laughter and deeper friendships.

The Lost Children is a story that is simple, yet stirring. The war rages on, shrouding this heartbreaking narrative in bleakness, showing yet another side to this monstrous war. With multiple narratives, both young and old, these voices lend a sincere depth to an otherwise simplistic tale.

Molly Moffat finds herself in a tough situation. After a night spent with the bosses son Molly finds herself in the family way, and on the day she is going to tell the man she loves about the baby growing inside her, she is fired by her boss, when he sees that she is pregnant. Having no other options she is sent away to give birth, and it is during her time away that she realizes she is having twins, and her heart knows there is no way she can give them up.

From their conception, Jacob and Molly have a hard life, but they have each other, and that’s all that matters. The Lost Children is the story of these two sweet cherubs and their harrowing journey to find where they belong. They both have such bravery, but Jacob is clearly wise beyond his years, having seen so much in his short life that many won’t see in an entire lifetime, and feeling the burden of not only caring for his own well-being but his sisters as well, as she has a handicap.

There is so much loss in this novel that it’s almost unreal, but such is how things were during the second world war. I hate how so many lost so much during this time, the war affecting every single person in one way or another, and for what? My blood boils when I think about the injustices from this time, and this story is just another example how far reaching this war went.

The heartache compounds as the story rolls on, one event after another that suppresses your psyche with sadness, wondering how much more loss can these children take. There is a sweet love story that is a nice breeze through an otherwise heavy story, a vital breath of fresh air.

My heart belonged to Jacob and Molly throughout and I craved to see these two get their happily ever after. The ending was predictable but appreciated, a contented sigh leaving my lips as I closed this novel. Shirley Dickson did a masterful job of putting you there into these characters minds, feeling what they feel, and seeing what they see. It was truly an immersive experience that I will not soon forget.

*I have voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book which I received from the publisher through NetGalley. All views and opinions expressed are completely honest, and my own.

What a compelling page turner, the author pulled me in and didn’t let go.
You’ll find yourself living in WWII England, rationing, bomb shelters, bombs dropping. At first we walk with Lilly, we see her finding love and then her husband is sent off to fight, and how she does her part. Not an easy time, but she is a light to so many people, and yes, she makes some lifelong friends.
How Lilly handles the loss and found of her baby, follows wishes, and the return of her husband. Such heartwarming and I think I would have done exactly as she does!
Life is not smooth, but keep reading right to the end, and keep the tissues handy.
Such a great read!
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Bookouture, and was not required to give a positive review.

May decides to pursue nursing, something she has always wanted to do but never believed she could. After her mother dies, she makes a promise to make a go of it and try to be something and nursing will also do good for the war. She can help others, while finding herself. Hardly believing she passes the entrance exams May heads off to nursing school in the midst of war. It is quick learning, and trying times but she feels good about all she is accomplishing.

However, the secret she has kept still harbors in the back of her mind and the burden of another secret she recently found out has May questioning life in general. She doesn’t have much family left, yet she is realizing that is all that matters as she gets herself into a situation she never thought she’d be in again.

This was another great WWII novel, and this one had a focus on the nursing side as well as how those who refused to go off to fight were looked at. It was a very interesting read, as I had not thought of those who had refused to fight and had to try and find elsewhere that would take them and not look at them as a coward, while every other male that was able bodied was gone.

Thank you to Forever & Grand Central Publishing for the free book. I love my WWII novels, and was excited to read this one, as I LOVED The Orphan Sisters. I highly recommend both of these books!

In England, 1943, Martha Moffatt becomes pregnant by he rich boss. When he finds out, he fires her. She decides to have the baby even though she is shamed as an unwed mother. When the twins, Molly and Jacob are born. her mother takes care of the twins and Molly gets another job. The war intensifies and the grandmother dies when their home is bombed. Martha ultimately sends the twins off to the country to be cared for there. The story tells of the twins being moved around, always afraid they will be separated. They need to adjust to living with strangers, and when news of the death of their mother arrives, they are sure they will be sent to an orphanage and separated.
The story is tragic and at the same time heartwarming. When the reader thinks of these two small children, they are only 7 when the grandmother dies, being sent away and the things they have to face, one cannot help but be worried about their fate. Although off to a bit of a slow start, I couldn't put it down.

Wonderful story set in England during WW2 - Young woman join the cause by being Land girls, the friendships that bind them and help them survive the heartbreaks of young love and the fears of war and separation from family. Featuring Frieda, a young German Jewish Girl sent to England by her parents to escape the war & Sandra an orphan trying to make it on her own. Not only do they share working long hours on the farm, but both have brother's they worry about - Sandra's brother is fighting in the war and Frieda's was separated from her during the trip to England.

The cover of the book makes you think Etty and Dorothy are still girls when the bombings come, but they're already grown and starting families. Like another reviewer I thought it would be more about their life in the orphanage, but I guess that would have gotten depressing after a while. While the book kept me interested and reading, it wasn't my favorite book on World War II. However, I think it was the first that described the bombings so vividly.½

This book starts with a young mother being fired from her job because she is pregnant, with her boss' children. She considers adoption, but takes a job in a bomb factory while her mother watches over twins Jacob and Molly. When something happens to grandma, the mother sends her kids to strangers out in the country, away from the city life and the bombings. This is their story of how they find where they belong.
I hated how everyone treated Molly having a disability, but the reality is people will always be cruel and judgemental about what they do not understand. You could say my review contains spoilers, but the cover is the spoiler as it mentions "orphans". I give this book only 4 stars as where it was quite enjoyable, it was also quite predictable.

Land Girls.
I really enjoyed this book, it was just the right balance between happy and sad, loving and losing. And reading it in the middle of the Coronavirus scare, it kind of put all our current concerns into perspective. These people were worrying for their families and young men for years on end, I have no idea how they coped.

The two main characters are young women who volunteer to help farm the land while the men are off at war. They were known as the Land Girls. They did all the work previously done by the men and they worked long hours.
Frieda was a German Jew, sent out of her country with hundreds of other children, to save them from being sent to the concentration camps. She struck lucky with Doris, a very caring step-mother, but her worries for her family haunt her. She meets Sandra, raised in an orphanage after the death of her mother, she has only her brother Alf for family and he has volunteered with a bomber squadron.
The two girls recognise the similarities in their situations and strike a firm bond.

Through hard work, love affairs, bomb attacks and food shortages, the girls get through the war and help each other to survive. I was very surprised to find that one of them had eating issues, I had thought that a modern problem.

The narration of my audiobook was excellently done by Rosie Jones, who did a fabulous job with the accents of the two girls.

Shirley Dickson was a new author to me and one I shall look out for in the future.

"Our Last Goodbye" is described on the front cover as "an absolutely gripping and emotional World War 2 historical novel." True, it was an historical novel set during WWII, but the gripping and emotional parts were definitely missing!

While I liked both May and Richard, I didn't feel any chemistry between them, making their romance unbelievable. I did enjoy following May's two year journey as she began her nurse's training, although it annoyed me how she persisted on believing the best of Billie after the way he treated her.

The fact that Richard was a conscientious objector, refusing to enlist because of his beliefs, was interesting and although I hated the way people treated him, a small part of me could understand their reactions, especially from those who had lost loved ones trying to keep their country safe from Hitler's invasion.

At the end of the novel there were questions left unanswered. The author seemed to introduce new points then forget about them. For one, I expected Alec to make a reappearance and do something sinister after the way he threatened May the lat two times they met. However, he totally disappeared from the story. Overall, this was an okay read but I have certainly read better.

This one really disappointed me. It started off so strong! I thought this was going to be an emotional and beautiful story, but it lost me after the first few chapters. It really did not follow the girls in the orphanage as much as I thought. Once they both leave, the story was too slow. The introduction to May and her story brought some interest, but not enough to push through. Sadly, I am DNFing this one.

I was quickly absorbed in this read, and it soon became a page-turner.
We journey from Germany to England, from an evil permeating Europe to living as a refugee, and being bullied. Yes, kids will be kids, but I can’t imagine what this young girl was going through, and her family was in so much danger.
Enter a young woman, girl, who has spent most of her life in an orphanage, and then in service, but she has a bright spot in the cook in the home she works. Love how God puts people in your path, and both these young women receive this blessing.
The author gives us a chance to walk in each of these survivor’s shoes, and we get to really care about each of them.
I just wished that there had been an epilogue at the end, I wanted more information about Frieda’s family, but I did enjoy this story, saw how these people worked so hard on the home front!

I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Bookoutour, and was not required to give a positive review.

The Orphan Sisters, the debut novel of author Shirley Dickson, opens in 1929. Dorothy, age 8, and Etty, age 4, are rushing down the street with their mother, suitcases swinging by their sides. Etty thinks they are going someplace special but soon realizes that this is one trip she never wanted to take. ...more½