Escape From War
By: James Riordan
Summary
When war breaks out Frank cannot help being excited. Then Frank sees what the bombing raids on London are doing to his city; he learns that people he knew have been killed by the falling bombs and the war starts to seem a lot less glamorous. When his Mother decides that Frank and his sister violet need to evacuate to the country, the children are very distressed but there is nothing that they can do to change their Mother's mind and they are packed off to a farm in the south of England.
On the farm Frank and Violet meet another child, Hannah, she is very proud and not that friendly. It is only when things get really bad that Frank learns about Hannah’s dreadful, and terrifying past. He learns that Hannah’s parents were killed by the Nazi’s in Germany, and that Hannah is alone in the world. More and more Frank comes to appreciate how terrible war is for everyone, civilians and soldiers.
After you read Frank’s story you can turn the book around and read about Hannah and what happened to her. It is amazing to discover how differently Frank and Hannah see the same things, to hear their very different ‘voices,’ and to see their worlds. For Hannah finding an injured German pilot is horrific for he is one of the people who destroyed her family. For Frank it is an exciting event to tell his friends about later.