Tasha is only sixteen years old and is finally tasting freedom. She was taken from her mother’s arms as soon as she was born. She was taken by an SS guard, just a few days before the gates of Auschwitz were opened forever. She desperately searches for her mother, but she is not the only one trying to find lost family members. She longs to be reunited with her mother but it is much harder than she expected. She finally is faced with the hardest decision of her life, does she stay in war torn Europe and continue to search for her mother or does she leave to build a future of hope for herself in England?

The War Orphan written by author Anna Stuart was a phenomenal continuation to the Women of War series. This heartbreaking and wonderful story was unputdownable. The twist and turns of this story were heart wrenching. I loved the character of Alice, her love and compassion for the orphans was so lovely to read and touched my heart. Though the unexpected happenings in the book were heartbreaking it also made me reach for the tissues. I loved this installment to the series and look forward to the next book. I highly recommend this book.

It was 1945 and sixteen year old Tasha had been with her mother, Lydia, in Auchwitz. Now the war was over, the Nazis had surrendered and Tasha and the other children were taken to a holding camp. The last of the adults - and that included Lydia - had been taken a couple of days earlier, forced into what was known as the "death march". Now Tasha was desperate to find her mother - the only thing she had of her was a lock of her vibrant red hair, the same colour of Tasha's own. Asking everyone she came across proved fruitless as there were thousands of people searching for a loved one. Would she ever find her?

Persuaded to join the orphans who were selected to fly to England, where they'd be cared for until family were found, Tasha was in turmoil. Her mother was left behind in Europe - their home in Warsaw was destroyed; her father and little sister dead. She only had her mother and was desperate to locate her. Lake Windermere (Wondermere the children christened it) was beautiful, and the carers kind. But Tasha flew to anger often, as did a lot of the confused and scared children. Alice was one of the carers, also Jewish; originally from Germany, she'd escaped when her brother Max told her to go, that he and his family would join her. But Alice couldn't locate Max either. What would be the outcome for these displaced and traumatised people?

The War Orphan is the 3rd in the Women of War series by Anna Stuart and it was outstanding. Heartbreaking but heartwarming, learning to live your life again after what they went through took a huge amount of courage. I'm enjoying this author's work, and this one was no exception. Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

Anna Stuart excels at extensively researching for her books and compiling this knowledge into personal, heart wrenching stories. The War Orphan is the third book in the Women at War Series.

There is a prologue where we start Tasha’s story in Auschwitz, at the end of WWII. Tasha is torn away from her Mum, Lydia, trapped in the camp and left to rot with the other children, while Lydia is forced on the Death March. Never knowing if they will see eachother again.

The story then follows Tasha’s journey to England, where she is placed in a home with other orphans from Germany, in the beautiful setting of the Lake District. Alice is in charge there and becomes a mother figure, although that’s not always easy to accept with the trauma the children have gone through.

The story shows the harrowing loss, guilt and struggle with not knowing if their families have survived. It also depicts the way the children have come to normalise the devastating brutality that they faced and this is heartbreaking.

Anna raises lots of awareness of different aspects of the war in her books, and it’s effect on women during and after, I have increased my knowledge from reading her books, whilst being completely engrossed in the story. The writing is very clever and engaging.

The book is incredibly emotional and also shows strength, friendship and love in the face of such torment. I absolutely could not put it down and would strongly recommend to all.

Thank you to Netgalley, Bookouture and Anna Stuart for a copy of the book in return for an honest and open review.

The War Orphan
By Anna Stuart
Publisher: Bookouture
Series: Women of War, Book 3
Rated: 5
Obtain: Borrow or buy
Back of the Book: “1945, Auschwitz: I stumble out of the gates, tightly grasping the hands of two smaller children. Hunger swirls in my stomach and the barren landscape swims before my eyes. I can barely believe it. We’re free. We survived. But what happens now…
Sixteen-year-old Tasha Ancel turns to take one last look at the imposing place that stole her freedom and her childhood. She has no idea how she continued to live when so many others did not. For the first time in months, her heart beats with hope for her future and that of the smaller children who cling to her now.
Tasha was torn from her mother’s arms by an SS guard days before the gates of Auschwitz opened. Now she only has a lock of her mother’s fiery hair. Desperate to be reunited, Tasha asks everyone she meets if they’ve seen a woman with flame-red hair. But with so many people trying to locate their loved ones in the chaotic aftermath of war, finding her feels like an impossible task. Officially an orphan, Tasha is given the chance to start a new life in the Lake District in England. She knows her mother would want her to take the opportunity, but she can’t bear the thought of leaving Poland without her. Tasha must make a heartbreaking decision: will she stay in war-ravaged Europe and cling on to the hope that the person she loves most in the world is alive, or take a long journey across the sea towards an uncertain future?”

Impressions: I just watched a documentary on Windermere making this story intriguing. I’ve read many WW2 fiction and this one was unique giving a glimpse of life post-war. The pain that many people faced during the war was horrific but the war ending brought a different set of struggles. Those who had been locked up in camps or displaced from fleeing their homes were left with fragments of their past. Rather than feeling resolved when the war ended, the author highlighted the genuine struggles of these survivors. It was interesting to journey with these characters' unique perspectives and the growth they went through to heal. I appreciated the raw moments of emotion that Tasha and Alice experienced. The ending brought mixed emotions as I was happy for the characters but sad because the story was over.

I received an ARC of this book via the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review shared here.

The War Orphan is the third book in the Women of War series by Anna Stuart. It’s not at all necessary to have read the previous two books as there is only one line towards the start of this one which mentions characters that have already featured. The book opens with a brief prologue set in Auschwitz in January 1945 as the inmates are experiencing the last throws of Nazi violence. The Allies and the Russians are fast approaching, and the Nazi’s are abandoning ship as fast as they can, forcing the remaining adults that are fit to do so, on a march through the cold frozen landscape whilst the children are left behind. Tasha Ancel has been in the camp for several months and has lost her sister but herself and her mother Lydia have remained together and are determined they will see things through to the bitter end where freedom is hopefully within reach. ’They cannot put us down. Every knock, we get up again, every cut we heal, every bit of their hate, we fight with our love for one another.' That’s what shines through from this book, the depth and strength of the love that Lydia and Tasha have for each other and it never wavers no matter how difficult and stressful the situation becomes. Lydia is amongst those sent on the march. The mother daughter bond is torn in two but Lydia promises to meet Tasha but as to the place the words are lost amidst the wind as she is dragged away. So this sets the scene for the book the vast majority of which is set in the months following the conclusion of war.

The plot is told from three perspectives all of which are female. Tasha, Lydia and Alice all have distinct voices although Lydia to a lesser extent than the other two women. After liberation from Auschwitz, Tasha along with a young man named Georg find themselves in the Theresienstadt ghetto which has now been turned into a refugee camp. Tasha has no house or family and has no idea where her mother could be. That’s if she survived the march in such appalling and brutal conditions. Tasha has survived the most hideous oppression in modern history but at what cost? I felt that if Georg hadn’t been by her side and without his guts and his cheeky manner of getting things that others couldn’t than Tasha perhaps would have floundered and have wandered aimlessly throughout Europe looking for her mother. Georg was the push she needed to embrace the opportunity to take the journey to England as a war orphan as funded by the Central British Fund for World Jewish Relief. Yes, in her mind the miles between herself and her mother were expanding even further but Georg knew they needed safety and security and once that was established Tasha could search for her mother through the relevant organisations.

Georg promised Tasha everything she could possibly want and yes sometimes he went way off track with his airy fairy ideas but he was certainly a trier and never rested on his laurels. You could see the love that developed between the pair but half the time I thought Tasha didn’t value Georg or what he was trying to achieve for them in the long term. She was so shrouded in misery, which I could understand too, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t treat people with the respect they deserve. As they arrive in England with a plane full of other orphans which include a children a mixture of all ages they are met by Alice Goldberger who works for Anna Freud. The Calgarth Estate on Lake Windemere is to be their home until they can be reunited with their parents or definitive news can be found out about relatives etc. I had known nothing about these orphans who came to Lake Windermere but the very detailed historical notes at the end of the book made me realise just what a significant event this was post war. The notes at the end of the book read like a book themselves and were fascinating and really added to my understanding of the entire plot and the themes being explored and the message the author was trying to convey.

Tasha was a character who I felt we were meant to have great sympathy for as we journey with her. I did to some extent but god at other times she was very frustrating and her abrupt and rude manner lead to her alienating people and I couldn’t fully warm to her. She was grumpy and quite negative and was very much stuck in the past. I believed she could have tried to move forward a bit whilst searching/waiting for news of her mother rather than remaining stagnant and having a dark and gloomy cloud around her. As she is so obsessed with her past she can’t see any way to make a future. She is battered, bruised, hurt and riddled with anxiety and Alice has to try and find a way to break her barriers. I make it seem like Tasha is all bad she’s not but just at times I wanted to give her a shake. She can be fierce and bold when she wants to be and she does wear her heart on her sleeve but yet she is not without her faults and needs to learn to let those people in who are trying desperately to help her.

Alice without doubt is the mother figure throughout the book. She is perceptive and intuitive and was ideal for the job she found herself in post war caring for the newly arrived orphans. She is Jewish but escaped from Germany when the Nazis rose to power but her brother, his wife and young daughter failed to do so and now with the conclusion of war their whereabouts are unknown. But Alice soldiers bravely on and devotes her time and energy into the children in her care. She is always fully conscious of the children’s welfare whereas I felt Oskar, the psychoanalyst, was more interested into the scientific aspects of everything. Yes, it would be interesting to study the affects of trauma on the children and how they can adapt to a new life but not without having some human and personal touches which Alice certainly had but Oscar was lacking in. This quote perfectly summed up Alice, ‘The kids were opening their own gates, all they did now was ensure they had the strength to wind the handles’.

It soon became evident that the children had such a callous acceptance of the things they had experienced and witnessed but Alice can see through every individual child and does her best to help them navigate these new and uncertain times. But at the same time, she is harbouring her own hurt and anxiety as to what could have happened to her family members. Alice was without doubt my favourite character as there was such a calm, caring and nurturing aura around her. She does her best to connect with Tasha and I think she viewed her as an extra special case initially but then she wanted to establish a deep and lasting connection with her as perhaps she saw similarities with her in some small way. I admired how Alice went that extra mile to try and find out about Lydia. As for Lydia, the chapters that were included from her viewpoint provided the reader with a well-rounded viewpoint and enabled me to understand more about the deep connection they shared with one another. They were heart breaking and emotional and as I read I just wanted a positive outcome for everyone involved.

The War Orphan proved to be a fascinating insight into life after the war for those who were displaced. Alice and Tasha were very much driven by guilt but for varying reasons. Overall, I enjoyed the book, it wasn’t my favourite in the series but I appreciated all the research that went into the telling of the story and I am glad to have discovered another aspect to the war that I had not previously heard of as so much attention is given to the war years and we tend to forget what life would have been like for those who made it through the horrors that war brought. Hope and love are two of the dominant emotions throughout the story and they are what made this a very good read.

This was a moving story about the aftermath of WWII. Though fiction, it was based on the real-life experiences of a program supported by Leonard Montefiore, in which a group of orphans, mostly from the concentration camps, were flown to the lake country of England to recover from their experiences. There they had a team of volunteers who fed, clothed, educated, and nurtured the children as they recovered from their experiences. Along with the volunteers were several child psychologists, including Oskar Friedmann and Anna Freud (Sigmund Freud’s daughter) who helped oversee them as they recovered and eventually were able to find a future for themselves.


This story brings together the stories of Alice, who is taking care of the children there at Windermere, she nurtures them, helps educate them, and takes care of them as they recover. Tasha is one of the children, who hasn’t given up on finding her mom, with whom she was separated at the end of the war. Alice is also Jewish and escaped to England from Germany, hoping to bring her brother and his family along once she set up residency, but the borders closed before she was able to bring them over.


I loved the characters of Alice and Tasha. Alice was so sweet and nurturing and loved the kids as they went through their highs and lows on their road to recovery. The kids went from starvation and seeing death and destruction around them daily and ended up in a place where food was plentiful, the beds were comfortable and they were warm and safe. The author showed how the children coped in various ways. They acted out, fought, stole food, cried, and all the emotions. As a teacher, I could relate to Alice, who was so nurturing and supportive of the kids and she always wondered if she was doing enough for the children. I also loved Tasha, who was trying to survive in her new life while desperately holding on to the hope that she’d find her mother again. Along with the other volunteers were Oscar Friedmann and Anna Freud, Sigmund Freud’s daughter, psychologists who helped work with the kids and support them on their road to recovery.
I’ve learned so much about WWII and the holocaust, but I never really thought much about how much it would take for the kids to recover from all of that trauma. This was an eye-opening book. I've been doing my own research, learning more about these stories.

Thanks to Netgalley, Bookouture, and the author for this ARC

The War Orphan by Anna Stuart is a wonderfully written book. It is book 3 in the Women Of War series, but could easily be read alone. I read the first two books in the series and they are all great stories, based on real events. Anna Stuart is fast becoming one of my favourite authors.

This story is heartbreaking but also shows the strength, resilience and hope of the characters. I enjoyed the different perspective between Alice, Tasha and Lydia. The book is inspired by real life accounts of children displaced by war to England. I never really thought much about what life was like for survivors after the war but this story brought it to life for me.

This story is a must read, especially for people who enjoy historical fiction. Great read! Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for an advanced copy of this book.

Oh My Goodness!!! So many tears. I honored this story by not putting it down until the very last page. Many of the characters have burrowed into my heart. They are welcome to stay forever.

They are survivors in search of family and a future. The war is ending but for survivors it won't be easy. The Nazis are trying to erase the evidence by clearing out the camps, leaving others to die and orphans lost in a world of destruction and relocation camps.

Different charities are bringing children to England in hopes of giving them futures. The War Orphan tells the story of what some war orphans may have went through. I never thought about how they might have struggled with the decision to get on the plane to England.

Many of the orphans in the story don't know what has happened to their parents, their families. Many don't speak English. They have different issues, but all struggle.

The War Orphan was very enlightening. I never thought about who helped the children that were brought over. I never thought about the numerous struggles they experienced. I never thought about the orphans not speaking the same language or ate the same foods. I never thought about what happened as the got older. Now I can't stop thinking. Thinking is a good thing because as long as we think of the horrors of the past there is hope that they won't be repeated.

⭐️4
Heart wrenching.
This is the third book in the “Women of War” series, but “The War Orphan” is a stand alone book.

This story focuses on the children that were orphaned-or at least believed to be-the psychological after effects, and the impacts of this traumatic time in history.

If you loved the “Nightingale”, this is your type of book. Parts were heartbreaking, but we also get to witness the beginnings of hope and love.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the advanced copy in return for my candid review.
Pub date: March 7, 2024

What a wonderfully written book. It is so poignant and full of hope. It made me happy to realise that Alice Goldberger was a real person and continued to raise those Orphan children. I loved Georg, always aiming to the future and a better life. Lydia dealing with her grief and how to move forward from the devastation felt so real. This is a wonderful book and I'd recommend reading it.

Anna Stuart writes compelling WWI era historical fiction.
It’s a story about overcoming adversity and finding new ways to be happy as well as being grateful for what one has and also realizing family doesn’t have to be blood related.
My favorite character was Georg. He never gave up and his attitude was infectious. His determination saved Tasha whether she realized it or not.
Tasha was my least favorite. I had sympathy for all that she had endured but she was mean, nasty, and surly. Only toward the end does she have a catharsis for the better. I think she liked being miserable and shut people out on purpose.
Still, it’s a good story with a good ending..

I was so excited to see The War Orphan by Anna Stuart having previously enjoyed a few other works by this author. That being said, when I saw this one, I knew I wanted to read it as well.

The novel unfolds through the perspectives of two main characters - Tasha Ancel who is 16 years old at the start of the novel, and Alice, a middle aged German-Jewish caregiver to young orphaned children. The dual narration offers a nuanced portrayal, offering the readers with distinct viewpoints. Additionally, glimpses into Tasha's mother, Lydia's, perspective adds depth to the narrative.

Set against the backdrop of post World War II concentration camp liberations, the characters grapple with the profound trauma of captivity and the lingering aftermath, particularly affecting children, who witnesses such atrocities .

Despite the compelling setting and well-crafted narrative, Tasha's character proved challenging to embrace. While her damaged past and yearning for family elicit sympathy from the reader, I found a genuine connection difficult. The other characters, however, I was able to forge a deeper connection with.

I wanted to love this book, and I wanted to give this book 5 stars - I couldn't put it down, hoping that I would have liked it as much as I liked her other ones, but I found it became a little repetitive after awhile. While undeniably well written and emotionally evocative, the length of time the novel spends with the orphans navigating life in what Tasha terms a 'stop-gap family' became somewhat repetitive. In essence, though I couldn't put it down, my wish for a more variety exploration left me with a sense of wanting more, despite the book's undeniable merits.

One thing I really did like about this book was that the author did put some end notes about the real-life inspirations behind some of her characters. This feature adds a fascinating layer to Historical Fiction, where, despite the fictional narrative, the connection to actual individuals lends authenticity to the story.

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author and to Bookouture for allowing me the opportunity to read this ARC.

Wow - this book was incredibly well written. The story of a Jewish woman who escaped to England before nazis took over. She ran an orphanage after the war and was hoping and praying to find her family that she was forced to leave behind. The story also follows a young Jewish girl who is separated from her mother toward the end of the war. She remained in Auschwitz while her mom went on a death march. She finds herself in an orphanage as a teenage after the war. Making the difficult choices about how and if she should move forward with her life. Where to live. And when and if she should give up hope on reuniting with her mother. The characters are incredible. The story heartbreaking but also awe inspiring. I loved the focus on the challenges survivors faced after leaving concentration camps and losing many family members and friends. A must read for fans of historical fiction.

Thank you NetGalley for my advanced reader copy.

I have so much I could say about this book, but let me start by saying: READ IT. The author does an incredible job of weaving together the stories of Tasha, Lydia, and Alice. She paints a picture of post-war Europe that makes the reader feel like they are there.

I felt a connection to all the characters. I never really thought much about what life was like for the survivors after the war, and this book really brings it to life. The struggles and even the joys.

This is the third book in a series but can be read as a standalone.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read this book before publication!

“A unputdownable and heart-wrenching WW2 story of survival against all odds and learning to live and love again”

The War Orphan is a heartbreaking story about Jewish children that survived the concentration camps. They are left with not knowing if their parents, siblings or loved ones survived. Some do not even know their name. How many children will get the answers they are looking for? Can they overcome their past?
The War Orphan is a story full of tragedy yet there is happiness too. Each and every one had to have so much resilience and perseverance in order to survive and go on in their life.
Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I loved this beautiful, poignant book. I laughed, I cried, I gasped, I cried some more. A very emotional journey that is sometimes hard to get through. I loved Tasha and Alice and their relationship. I loved that a lot of these stories were based on fact. Anna Freud, Alice Goldberger, the Italian sisters who were taught never to forget their names in the camp so their parents could find them. So beautiful and I definitely recommend.

Content warnings: no sexual content, very little cursing. As with probably any WW2 novel, the cruelty and what was endured is very graphic and devastating and emotional but it is very well done.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

"The War Orphan" by Anna Stuart, the third book in the Women of War series, can be enjoyed as a standalone read. Continuing the series' exploration of the profound impact of World War II on lives and families, the book delves into the poignant narratives of the surviving children and their hope for finding their families.

Narrated through dual perspectives, the first voice belongs to sixteen-year-old Tasha Ancel, whose harrowing experiences at Auschwitz have left her clinging to the belief in her mother's survival and the prospect of a reunion. The mother and the daughter were together through everything, even the loss of an important person for the two of them: Tasha's sister. The last time they saw each other was when the war was toward the end, and the Germans decided to bring the people from Auschwitz in the death marches, leaving the children locked behind in barracks. Left with only a talisman of her memories with her mother, a strand of hair that she managed to “steal” when they were brought in and shaved. The depth of Tasha's longing and her unwavering hope form the emotional core of the story.

The second perspective is offered by Alice, a Jewish woman born in Germany who fled to England amidst the escalating turmoil. Her original plan to secure residency and reunite with her family is thwarted by the swift closure of borders. However, driven by a sense of purpose, Alice finds solace in caring for war orphans, a role that aligns with her innate compassion.

"The War Orphan" draws inspiration from the real-life accounts of children displaced by war and resettled in England. These children, provided with necessities and opportunities for education and apprenticeships, navigate the complexities of loss and identity in their new surroundings.

The narrative intertwines the journeys of Tasha and Alice, whose paths converge in the Lake District orphanage. Their evolving relationship serves as a source of mutual support and healing, demonstrating the profound impact of human connection amidst adversity. An important thing I'd like to mention is how the author shows the complexity of their characters. These children who were brought to the orphanages were not just happy to be alive. They were scared, lost, they fought and stole food even if it was enough, they cried for more than a few days, and they don’t understand how life will be now. Two scenes take a toll on me. First, the little girl who is always by Tasha’s side. The girl was so little when the war started and was taken away from her family, that she didn’t remember her own name or her family’s faces. Tasha invented a name for her, but the truth remains that because she doesn’t know anything about her, there are no chances to be reunited with her family. The second scene was when the children arrived for the first time at the orphanage and they were pushed into a tent where they would be showered. The children tried to run and screamed and the adults didn’t understand why. Later when they found out, they unknowingly recreated the scene of how Germans gassed people.

What sets "The War Orphan" apart is its incorporation of historical figures such as Oscar and the renowned Anna Freud, daughter of Sigmund Freud. These characters, grounded in reality, add depth to the narrative and underscore the significance of preserving the stories of those who endured the tumultuous events of the twentieth century.

In essence, "The War Orphan" offers a compelling portrayal of resilience, hope, and the enduring power of human compassion in the face of unimaginable adversity.

Once you start this book it’s hard to out it down. Not having lived through that period, it’s easy to see yourself in each character’s shoes and empathize with them.

This book has sections in each character’s point of view vs some other books written in one person’s point of view.

Easy to read and retains your focus!

This is the easiest five stars I’ve ever given. It is completely heart-wrenching and had me in tears more than once but Anna Stuart has done such a wonderful job at capturing the strength, resilience, confusion, loss, hope and grief that people would have felt.

I loved the multiple POV’s and that we got to experience the characters dealing with similar feelings but in their own way. I don’t want to give too much away but the ending was not what I was expecting. It was so powerful and moving, I really didn’t want this story to end.
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Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to review this book.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of The War Orphan by Anna Stewart. It is a heart wrenching story of children surviving WWll & the journey to healing/living life in the aftermath of unimaginable horrors/trauma/loss. Put it on your must read list when it is released March 7, 2024.

The story has two protagonists, Alice & Tasha each strong in their own way. Alice is an adult fleeing to England ahead of Nazi occupation with hopes of bringing her brother & family once established. She stumbles into her calling as a caregiver to children with a gift of empathy & the ability to truly see someone/situations. Tasha is a headstrong teen who survived Auschwitz death camp while separated from her beloved mom days before allied liberation. She clings to a lock of her mother’s hair that she sneaked off the floor during the Nazi guards shearing the heads of each who arrived. It’s all she has left of her mother as she desperately searches for her from afar after being resettled to England with other children.

The author made the chaos of the time after liberation palpable. Trying to find family members scattered across Europe with no centralized lists, destroyed records, and destruction of so many cities was heartbreaking. I was especially taken aback how the youngest children had normalized the horrors and abuse as all they had known. Having to unlearn it in the safety of Alice’s care took time, patience & love. Stewart expertly weaves the effects of trauma in these children’s lives showing how the most innocent situation or well meaning person can be triggering. Having the science of psychology techniques and studies used to help the children was a unique and interesting addition to the story.

The story of Alice & Tasha will forever have a place in my heart. Their love, bravery, & tenacity to live life in spite of the unspeakable loss they suffered is their personal revenge against what Hitler tried to destroy. Even though it’s fiction these type of stories about WWll need to be told so we never forget or allow it to happen again.