This was a brilliant read. As soon as I started reading this book I just knew I was going to love it. Highly recommended

Loved this book so easy to read good plot characters become my friends read on a day great plot and book

This is a curl up by the fire and immerse yourself in family kindness, the innocence of children, their immature prejudices and life lessons. A lovely story, highly recommended.

This was a lovely story about a group of children evacuated from London to Harrogate at the beginning of WW2. Beautifully written story that brings all the trials and tribulations that the children endure, to life.. With Christmas as the climax , the story comes to a rewarding conclusion.

Short and sweet. A story about preparing for evacuating the young during the war. It was well written and I like it.

A easy read which would suit anyone from around 13 years old. Some insight into life for evacuees during WW2 but not too graphic or distressing. Probably the first of a series? Makes you want to read more.

Starts well and interesting location but overall this is aimed at someone very young who needs explanations about about everything in the past, It is also a bit twee and if I rad about hte "kiddies" once more I was about to get violent!

The start was okay and description of Harrogate is good as is that of ht two lovely cats featured but overall it felt like an early 1960s romantic novel. I really struggled with a 1940s doctor, in wartime, allowing a crowd of kids to visit a coma patient whom they believed was aware of conversations. This was pushing it for 1970. The same kids then tell dinosaur jokes of the type, again, more popular in the 1970s.
It's a good plot initially but it really dragged and grew more and more unbelievable for me.

I must say I expected more Christmas from a book with Christmas in the title. I expected a lot of war time spirit, scraping together a fun and joyous celebration with whatever they can because they don't have much. There was a bit of war time spirit, but there wasn't really that much Christmas. There were preparations for Christmas but Christmas day was a paragraph on the last page and the preparations only started in the last fifteen percent of the book. It left me a bit disappointed, because I was hoping for a cosy holiday read.

I also didn't get on much with the writing style. The author explained a lot of the character's thoughts in very great detail, often stopping in the middle of a conversation to think things through and work out the best way to respond for paragraph after paragraph. It gave the feeling that the characters were just standing awkwardly staring at each other until they were ready to continue. There was just too much exposition and the characters always seemed to be doing what was best for the situation, when real people aren't like that, because in real life, people don't think things through like that, they just act.

I liked the characters well enough, but that's really all I can say for this book. I wanted to like it more, but I just didn't get along with it.

I chose this book because I enjoy reading novels set during the Second World War. I have to admit feeling a little let down and am not really sure why. I did not particularly enjoy the way in which the book was written and living in Yorkshire, knowing Harrogate really well, could not help but pick out the errors in describing the area. The story was heartwarming but unfortunately I can not recommend it to others.

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A heartwarming story of two very different classes. Quite thought provoking. I loved it!

This is the perfect read for a snowy afternoon. A lovely tale about two children who have to be evacuated to the countryside during the Second World War. London has become too dangerous as the bombing campaign escalates and, against their will, the Ross twins are packed up and sent away. Luckily their pregnant aunt, Peggy, gets to accompany them.

I had no idea that the government forced people to take in evacuees and that folks got to pick and choose the ones they wanted, like cattle at a market. Many people saw these children as cheap labour to work their farms and they were often badly treated. I was quite horrified to learn that these vulnerable children had very little support.

The story has so much lovely detail about life in and around Bermondsey and surrounds and the close family ties that held the locals together. The thought of having to send their precious children away to strangers is very difficult for them to deal with but the threat from the bombs leaves them little choice.

The government had even requested that pet owners have their pets put down, another fact I did not know. The story gives a glimpse into the reality of war from the view of a typical London working family and I loved the anecdotes and different characters.

Once the evacuees finally arrive at Harrogate, after a gruelling journey, they are then subjected to being lined up and picked off. Most of them have no suitable clothing for the cold North of England and they are scared and uncertain as to what awaits them.

The story has a happy ending but it certainly does not hide the hardships faced by the children and the adults put in charge of them.

It gave me a totally different perspective on the war years and what the average folk had to deal with on a daily basis.

A thoroughly enjoyable read.

Gillian

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

This was avery readable book of it's genre. A likeable storyline and good characterisation but of its type and nothing to really raise sit above the rest

I think there is a general misconception about the evacuations during the war, and King does go into that in the book. There seems to be this overall consensus that the majority of people or people in general were happy to accommodate complete strangers for there country. A sense of community spirit throughout the entire country, when in fact the opposite was the truth. Evacuation was forced upon both those being evacuated and those taking them in, obviously there were exceptions to the rule.

The government had been planning a mass evacuation since the early 1920s and the process, or first round of evacuations was started during 1939. This period is often referred to as the Phoney War, because the expected destruction and loss of life didn’t take place till later and not to the extent they expected. The man in charge of the evacuation, Sir John Anderson, had little foresight about the potential emotional distress and trauma the upheavals would cause, especially in the case of the evacuated children.

Many of the children ended up in the wrong place with insufficient rations and no homes to go to. The children were often lined up like cattle at a market place and people were asked to select them, hence the infamous phrase ‘I’ll take that one’ which already implies a lack of organisation.

Jesse and Connie are evacuated with their fellow school mates, the evacuation of whole schools was quite common, which meant any pre-existing problems automatically went with them. In this case the school bully, who has to deal with his own difficult issues at home, ends up on the receiving end of some of his own medicine. On a more serious note, Larry’s situation was a common fault of the operation. He ends up being neglected and mistreated, and although there is an adult to oversee and rectify the situation in this fictional scenario, that wasn’t the case for the majority of children.

The Evacuee Christmas is about family and friendship, and about sticking together and supporting each other in times of difficulty. Strangers and enemies can become friends in the direst of situations. When push comes to shove we are all capable of showing each other kindness.

I feel bad giving this a 3 star rating but that means 'maybe' as opposed to more meaning 'liked it', but really that is all I can say about it - with hindsight I should have learned more about it before choosing to read as it just didn't suit me.

The story centres on sister and brother twins, Connie and Jessie, who are evacuated at the start of the Second World War from Bermondsey Docks in East London. Along with their pregnant aunt Peggy they are billeted with a Vicar and his wife in the country. I really struggled with this book as it felt like about 90% narration with little actually happening. The description of life at that time is spot on and it’s a great history of that period if that is of interest to the reader. But I found the story quite uninteresting with really very little happening at all in the first half.

An overwhelming tale of friendship and connections during wartime, and a Christmas for evacuees on a Yorkshire Moor. A perfect Christmas story.

Growing up in the backstreets of London Connie and Jessie are twins. Connie is the more outgoing one and is determined to prove to her parents that she can look after her quieter brother Jessie. With war looming though their parents decide to send them to Harrogate in Yorkshire

They are based with the vicar and his wife and their son Tommy and soon the twins find that living there is very different to living in London and Connie is sure that they will be back there for Christmas!

A good story with likeable characters and I enjoyed the historical aspect of living through the war and the differences between London and Yorkshire

Unfortunately, this book was archived before I got chance to read it.

A great book of East End children during World War II and the struggles faced when being evacuated out to the country.
A great community spirit comes through throughout the book and the heartbreaking struggles that they must have gone through.

Twins Connie and Jessie live with their parents Barbara and Ted at Number 5 Jubilee Street in Bermondsey, South East London, and are quite a close knit family. With War looming, the family face a tough decision - do they stick together during the bombing, or do they split up for safety reasons. Ten year old Connie is determined to prove to her parents that she can look after her quieter brother Jessie.

They get shipped off to Harrogate in Yorkshire with their pregnant Aunt Peggy and are billeted with the local vicar Roger, his wife Mabel and their troublesome son Tommy. Enemies and friendships are made but the city children discover that life is a little different to that back on the streets of London, and the Yorkshire children decide that they don't like the newbies taking over their town. Will life ever settle down especially in the run up to Christmas?

I really liked this book, it was heart warming, and written in such a lovely way that I really felt like I was actually part of the story. If I had one criticism it would be that Christmas isn't mentioned until you've read 90% of the book, and then the festive part is right at the end, and felt a bit squeezed in. If you're expecting a true festive read, just be prepared that it isn't a start to finish Christmas tale, but nonetheless please don't let that put you off as it's really a lovely book.