When The World Was Ours

A powerful, heart-breaking, ultimately redemptive novel about three childhood friends in 1930s Vienna whose fates are closely intertwined, even when their lives take very different courses.

ONE MOMENT CAN CHANGE A LIFE FOREVER. ‘An exceptional read’ The Sunday Times ‘Vital glimmers of hope enlighten this profoundly poignant book’ Guardian A powerful and heart-breaking novel about three childhood friends living during the Second World War whose fates are closely intertwined, even when their lives take very different courses. Inspired by a true story, this is the perfect read for fans of The Book Thief and Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl. Vienna, 1936. Elsa, Leo and Max have always been best friends, a special team of three. Then the Nazis come. As a growing darkness descends around them, Leo and Elsa run for their lives, taking two very different paths across Europe. And Max, once their closest friend, now becomes the enemy as he is drawn into the Hitler Youth. Will the friends ever find their way back to each other? Will they want to? Inspired by a true story, WHEN THE WORLD WAS OURS is an extraordinary novel that is as powerful as it is heartbreaking, and shows how the bonds of love, family and friendship allow glimmers of hope to flourish, even in the most hopeless of times. Three friends. Two sides. One memory.

I read it in one sitting. It is heartbreakingly wonderful; a compelling book threaded through with hope that readers can grasp and take forward with them.

Auteur
Liz Kessler has written over twenty books for children and young adults. Most of these are middle grade books featuring mermaids, fairies, time travel, and superpowers. She lives in the UK.