The Lost Children
German bombs fall indiscriminately amongst the populace, and single parent Martha makes the heart-wrenching decision to send her eight-year-old twins to safer territory in northern England. The bombing has terrorized the twins, and now they are to be bundled on a train to be sent off alone to live with strangers. Molly and Jacob are afraid and confused. Life takes another strange turn when Martha presses into Jacob’s hands a sealed envelope. He is instructed to keep the envelope safe and secret, only to be read when and if they are in great danger.
This is a poignant novel that captures how war can impact innocents: those children and adolescents who barely comprehend the society in which they must now survive. Molly, who has a physical disability, and Jacob are alone and now handed another catastrophe—their mother is killed in an air raid. Both children now realize that they are truly alone.
Tens of thousands of British children were uprooted and relocated during the war. Some were shipped overseas to Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, while others were moved north in England out of the range of German bombers. The fabric of society was impacted as children found themselves floating without a grounding while, at the same time, attempting to deal with the realities of war.
Writing in the voices of children and honestly expressing adolescent angst in times of stress is a difficult literary technique for adults. How can true feelings of youngsters be explained without sounding demeaning or condescending? However, Dickson captures the tenor and tone perfectly by placing the nervous children and their issues front and center. Will their fate be an orphanage and separation? On the other hand, will the secret letter offer solace? This is a powerful novel that will bring a tear to the reader’s eye!
