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A Novel
by Hazel Gaynor
The New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Came Home sets her unforgettable new novel in China during WWII, inspired by true events surrounding the Japanese Army's internment of teachers and children from a British-run missionary school. Their motto was to be prepared, but nothing could prepare them for war.
China, December 1941. Having left an unhappy life in England for a teaching post at a missionary school in northern China, Elspeth Kent is now anxious to return home to help the war effort. But as she prepares to leave China, a terrible twist of fate determines a different path for Elspeth, and those in her charge.
Ten-year-old Nancy Plummer has always felt safe at Chefoo School, protected by her British status. But when Japan declares war on Britain and America, Japanese forces take control of the school and the security and comforts Nancy and her friends are used to are replaced by privation, uncertainty and fear. Now the enemy, and separated from their parents, the children look to their teachers – to Miss Kent and her new Girl Guide patrol especially – to provide a sense of unity and safety.
Faced with the relentless challenges of oppression, the school community must rely on their courage, faith and friendships as they pray for liberation – but worse is to come when they are sent to a distant internment camp where even greater uncertainty and danger await ...
Inspired by true events, When We Were Young and Brave is an unforgettable novel about impossible choices and unimaginable hardship, and the life-changing bonds formed between a young girl and her teacher in a remote corner of a terrible war.
Before Dorothy imagines Emily Gale as a young woman embarking on a new life on the Kansas prairies. How did you respond to her, and what surprised you the most about the challenges she and Henry face as they establish their new life in Kansas?
I thought she was a very brave woman. She put her faith in the man she loved and did everything she could to make their new life a successful one.
-Terrie_J
"The latest novel from bestselling English author Hazel Gaynor is reminiscent of J.G. Ballard's powerful classic Empire of the Sun…" ―BookPage
"A compelling story of innocents caught up in the machine of global conflict, so wonderfully written and soul-stirring. Gaynor beautifully explores the heart's brave struggle to make sense of the upside-down world that is war. Well done!" ―Susan Meissner, bestselling author of The Last Year of the War
"When We Were Young & Brave is a stunning novel of resilience and hope as a Girl Scout troop must brave the hardships of life in a Japanese internment camp during WWII. Set amidst the captivating, colorful backdrop of China, Gaynor enchants with her masterful storytelling...not to be missed!" ―Heather Webb, USA Today bestselling author
This information about When We Were Young & Brave was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Hazel Gaynor is an award-winning New York Times and USA Today bestselling author known for her deeply moving historical novels which explore the defining events of the 20th century. A recipient of the 2015 RNA Historical Novel of the Year award, her work has since been shortlisted for multiple awards in the UK and Ireland. Her latest novel, The Last Lifeboat, was a Times of London historical novel of the month, shortlisted for the 2023 Irish Book Awards and recipient of the 2024 Audie Award for Best Fiction Narrator. Hazel's work has been translated into twenty languages and is published in twenty-seven territories to date. She lives in Ireland with her family.
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