The Children's War

By Monique Charlesworth

This is the story of two children caught in the midst of war.It is 1939 and thirteen-year-old Ilse, half-Jewish, has been sent out of Germany by her Aryan mother to a place of supposed safety. Her journey takes her from the labyrinthine bazaars of Morocco to Paris, a city made hectic at the threat of Nazi invasion. At the same time in Germany, Nicolai, a boy miserably destined for the Nazi Youth movement, finds comfort in the friendship of Ilse’s mother, the nursemaid hired to take care of his young sister. Gripping and poignant, The Children’s War is a stunning novel of wartime lives, of parents and children, of adventure and self-discovery.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Dec 18, 2007
• ISBN: 9780307428240

Reviews for The Children's War

[librarycin · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The Children's War / Monique Charlesworth 3 starsIn 1939, Ilse is just about to turn 13 when her mother sends her away from Germany to live with her uncle in Morocco. Ilse is half Jewish on her father’s side and her mother is worried for her. Unfortunately, Ilse’s visa is only good for 6 months, and her uncle is going to fight, himself. Uncle Willy’s wife is not interested in looking out for Ilse, so Ilse is sent to France to meet up with her father. The idea is that her mother will join them later. In the meantime, her mother has found good work in Hamburg as a housekeeper, where there are children living. 13 (or 14)-year old Nicolai will soon be part of the Hitler Youth. The book goes back and forth between Ilse’s and Nicolai’s perspectives. I found Ilse’s story much more interesting, but even that wasn’t as good as many other WWII books I’ve read (in my opinion). Could it be because I’ve read too many? Possibly, or maybe in-part, anyway. I did enjoy some of the secondary characters (at least in Ilse’s story), and I liked the ending (also for Ilse’s part of the story).

[deltaqueen50 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Children’s War by Monique Charlesworth is a story of two children caught up in World War II. Thirteen year old Ilse, is half-Jewish and has been sent out of Germany by her mother to a place of supposed safety. Her journey takes her from Morocco to Paris. Meanwhile, in Germany, Nicolai, a young boy who is destined for the Nazi Youth movement, is miserable and finds comfort in the friendship of Ilse’s mother, the nursemaid haired to take care of his young sister.The books explores the wartime lives of both parents and children and is an original and absorbing read.

[kslade-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Really absorbing account of two young people caught in World War II. A girl was mostly in southern France, trying to avoid being picked up by the Gestapo since she was half-Jewish and had no papers, and a young boy was mostly in Hamburg, trying to survive with family from the horrible bombings, etc. This one is worthwhile. I was hoping the two characters would meet each other at the end, however, they did not.

[smits_52 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I was slow to get into this book as characters are slow to develop. I did not "get" Ilse's father Otto at all. In time he turns into a very interesting, complicated character who does not behave as a father should.This is a second world war book that tells the story of 2 children both born in Germany. Ilse, just 13 gets sent by her mother to Morrocco to her cousins as the book starts. She later winds up in the thick of war in France with her father.Her survivor story is very engrossing and wonderfully detailed of what it is like to live through a war. Ilse lives in a brothel for a time, sews for a living, and meets and falls for a resistance fighter. She begins transporting messages herself. She is an amazing character.In Germany is Nicolai, also a child, but a privaleged German child who, unwillingly ,but does become part of the Hilter youth. his brother is an SS officer and his mother has an affair with a German officer. The connection to Ilse is through her mother Lore who winds up as the housekeeper/ nanny for the family. It is through Lore that we connect the two stories although the 2 children never meet.This was a powerful story. The detail is vivid, the story engrossing.