I never knew that England had areas that were occupied by the German's during WWII. This book taught me a history lesson in an enjoyable way. Although the set up as letters seemed odd at first, later I hardly could wait for the next one. The author was great at character development. And the descriptions of the islands and the people were so good and enjoyable that you felt you were part of the book. This was a very sweet, likable book!

Slow at the beginning until I got used to her writing. Then it began to flow and I loved it.

This is a tough read. But I could not put it down. The fact that the children come out so strong and at the end is a testament to their strength. It is a hard read, but I would recommend it.

The book was very vivid in descriptions but a bit hard to follow in places. I was glad to have read it, but it was confusing in some of its stories.

This is a hard book to read, but a page turner. If I hadn\\\'t known he lived through the ordeals in WWII, I might have stopped reading. But I had to see what happened. And I found that I learned so much about the Pacific campaigns that I did not know, too.

Our book club liked this book. It led to some good discussion. Positive points-able to capture the reader quickly and keep you interested in both main characters. Educational as none of us had known about this practice in the early 1900's. Some down points-ended rather abruptly after a long build up. Giving up the child seemed hard to believe given Vivian's background. And would a Foster child have a laptop and cell phone?