Book Review: The Runaway Children by Sandy Taylor

The Runaway Children by Sandy Taylor

The Runaway children is a beautiful tale about humanity, unconditional love and friendship.

The story is set in world war II time period. Two sisters, Nell and Olive are sent away from London to country side as evacuees. Their mother and two brothers decide to stay in London in case their father returned from war. At Welsh county, they were taken in by a Vicar and his wife. Vicar and his wife are very kind people. Olive and Nell settle very happily and find it as their second home. Everything seems to be going well until the Vicar is called in for war duty and the girls were placed in another home. Then, when little Olive’s safety is threatened by a man in the new home,Nell has to make a decision that will change their lives forever. They decide to runaway and find their way home. The rest of the story is their journey back home.

Sandy Taylor does a great job in bringing back the terrors of the world war II. It shows people suffering through the bomb raids, evacuations, the pain of losing our loved ones but we see humanity shining even in the darkest of times. It reminded me of 2015 floods that happened near my home town ( Chennai) where when the government closed their eyes, people opened up their homes and hearts. As the story progresses, We could see Nell transform from an innocent girl into a strong woman who is responsible for her sister’s safety. And Olive, What a darling ! She is sweet, innocent, curious and funny. She would make you laugh when you least expect it. The conversations between Olive and Nell crack me up all the time. The bond that they share is amazing. Throughout the journey, we (the sisters) meet different kinds of people, some nicer than the others but everyone makes an impact. This book has amazing characters and its full of emotions.It is not the kind of book I typically read and It took me a while to get out of my comfort zone. I found it really slow in the beginning but as I read through, I was never able to put it down.

The Runaway Children about how a disastrous event such as a war brings out the best in people. It is a book packed with emotions, great characters and lot of beautiful moments that would stay in your mind for a very long time.

Thanks to Bookoture and Netgalley for the review copy.

4/5 Stars.