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WHAT WE LEFT BEHIND
Luisa A Jones
Storm Publishing
May 30, 2025
402 pages
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This book takes place during WW2 and focuses on children who were evacuated from East End London (away from their families) and taken to Wales, for their safety.
There are many themes touched on in the book. Racism, poverty, bullying, domestic violence. Often, some of these themes go hand in hand.
Everything was not sunshine for the children in their new environment. The reader witnessed the hardships of the children, missing their homes and parents, acting out from fear and loneliness. I think this was well portrayed.
And, we also see how the town reacts to them. They were not exactly welcomed with open arms in the beginning. The local teachers were actually quite miserable and uncooperative.
There are two main adult characters. One is Dodie, a host of the children. Peter is one of the teachers who accompanied the children from London. Each one has its own sad backstory as they are drawn to each other. That creates its own little drama, apart from the children.
Part of the story was slow, a lot of narration as opposed to action. The characters of Peter and Dodie were slow to develop. I was anxious for everything and everybody to move on, and it/they did, eventually.
There are quite a few books about the evacuation of children. The prime motive was to keep them safe. But the toll it took on families and the children was palpable. It was a double-edged sword. I know that some children were even sent to Canada, never to return “home”. While this book was not the best one on this subject that I have read, it was interesting and informative.
I love it when I can learn something from a book. I learned a new phrase: “nineteen to a dozen”. Meaning: to speak rapidly and without stopping. (Source: www.merriam-webster.com) I’m surprised that, with the number of books I have read set in Britain, I have not run across this. Stored in my brain for future use!
In conclusion, it was a good read. I felt empathy for the children. I felt disgust for the school bullies. And, I felt frustrated with the relationship between Dodie and Peter.
Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.
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