Children's Train

The Children’s Train starts out as a hard read. Young Jewish children have no idea why they are being mistreated. The attacks escalate, and their elders are powerless to stop the violence. Some parents are arrested, never to be seen again; others return broken, soon to die. Peter, who never had any inclination to play rough sports, loves to play his violin. After his father dies from mistreatment, his mother manages to get him and his sister Becca on a kindertransport. The British have managed to arrange for Jewish children to come to Britain. Becca ends up in a wealthy home and a comfortable life. Peter becomes little better than a servant doing all the farm chores for a couple in Coventry. His friends Stephen and Hans are also in England, but Eva, the prettiest girl Peter has ever seen, is robbed of her seat on the train by her no-good brother. As time passes, shy Peter becomes bold and joins the crusade against Hitler. Ten thousand children escaped to England on the kindertransports. Few ever saw their parents again. The Children’s Train offers a glimpse of what life was like for those children, both in Germany and then in England. Besides Peter and Becca, we follow Charlie, whose father pulled him off the train, unable to part with his son; Noah, the orphan stowaway who is discovered and tossed off the train; Eva, who ends up in the camps; Stephen and Hans, who lose everything. It’s a heart-wrenching tale, made all the more poignant because we know it accurately portrays life for the German Jewish children in the Third Reich.

Reviewed by Trudi LoPreto for Readers' Favorite A vivid, informative story that will pull at your heartstrings is what The Children’s Train (Escape on the Kindertransport) is all about. Hitler’s reign has begun in Germany and all of the Jewish people are his targets. England has agreed to try to save the children. Parents with broken hearts put their children aboard the train headed over the border and to new homes and families, while they remain to face the horrors of being Jews. We closely follow the paths of several of the children - Peter, his sister Becca, Hans, Stephen, and Eva. It is a long and scary time of separation, not knowing if your family has made it alive or has fallen under Hitler’s punishment. Peter becomes the hero of the story as he returns to Germany and joins the Resistance in an effort to save his family, his friends, and his country. He quickly learns how to kill the enemy, set bombs off, and help to blow up a concentration camp. Becca and Eva are the two things that inspire him to keep up the fight until victory is won and Hitler’s days are ended. I really enjoyed The Children’s Train, but it was hard to read because while it was fiction, the facts were very real and very painful. I was on the edge of my seat each time a Nazi soldier appeared and was amazed at the bravery of both the children and adults dealing with each horrifying incident. Jana Zinser has certainly written a book that deserves high acclaim and honor. I believe that The Children’s Train is a must-read account of the kindertransport and of the many young lives that were saved. A great historical fictional story that should not be missed.

Unfortunately, there was a true part to this story and a reason why this book could be written with this background. A sad, tragic background. I found this book to be very interesting and actually very intense. I found myself holding my breath through quite a lot of it. It seemed as though someone was always close to danger. I think the writer did a great job with the story and while it is a tragic one, I found it to be very entertaining and I did not want to put the book down. I was definitely cheering for the these children. I was also thinking how hard it would be to just hand off my child to a stranger in order to assure they would live. That would have to be one of the hardest things to do. Letting that little baby go would have killed me. And then living with the consequences of that father who pulled his son off. And that horrible mother who let her arrogant criminal son go instead of her young innocent daughter? That was the worst tragedy. I can't believe the daughter still loved her mother and cared for her. But then one could go on and on discussing the pros and cons of why a parent should have or should not have done what they did. That parent has to live with what they did. And, it is only just a story. But I'm sure some of those things did happen. I liked seeing the children's version of what was going on around them. I've read several books regarding WWII, but this is the first one from the the children's point of view and I definitely enjoyed reading it. It was insightful, poignant and really worth reading. I highly recommend doing so. Thanks to BQB Publishing and Net Galley for the free e-galley in exchange for an honest review.