My Family The Enemy

When Jack goes to visit his Granny Jess, he is expecting the usual routine involving biscuits. However, this Saturday afternoon things are different as his grandmother seems preoccupied. When she shares the contents of a very old biscuit tin with him, Jack discovers events in his family history which he never knew happened.

Moving from London in 1998 with Jack back to 1914 with his great-grandfather Fred, ‘My Family The Enemy’ reflects the experiences of those with German ancestry who were living in England during WW1. Many countries interned ‘enemy aliens’ at this time and through the eyes of Fred, Karen McCombie shows how xenophobia and public hysteria devastated the lives of German families or those with German (or Austro-Hungarian) descent, turning their friends and neighbours against them.

Fred Muller is an ordinary London schoolboy, not the best behaved at school perhaps, but good natured and good hearted with a loving family whose bakery was at the heart of their community. As hostilities with Germany develop, the reader sees his life change as his German surname leads people to treat him and his family with suspicion and mistrust. Facing bullying at school from his teacher as well as his former friends and classmates, Fred finds himself increasingly isolated and his father is taken from the family and interred at nearby Ally Pally (Alexandra Palace). The story clearly shows the human stories behind the prejudice and injustice which Fred, and others, experience, encouraging empathy and sure to provoke discussions which are as relevant today.

The experiences of other characters in the story also reflect the prejudices of the time. Fred’s sister, Lil, longs for more than the husband and children her parents have in mind for her. She finds factory work and a place on the women’s football team, freedoms which are quickly lost once the war ends. His classmates, Prue and Gertie, are also targets for bullies as Prue’s family are Quakers and Gertie’s father is Hungarian.

The story is packed with historical detail, developing children’s understanding of life on the home front and sparking curiosity about the stories of those seen as the enemy. Additional notes at the end of the story help to clarify and add detail about events, locations and individuals mentioned. Perfect as a class read, ‘My Family The Enemy’ is a very engaging, well-written and thought-provoking story.

My Family The Enemy

Karen McCombie

Bloomsbury Education ISBN: 978-1801995931

My Soul, A Shining Tree

Based on the true story of Indian WWI gunner and recipient of the Victoria Cross, Khudadad Khan, ‘My Soul, A Shining Tree’ is told from different perspectives. Lotte is a Belgian farmgirl whose home is a small farm in the village of Gheluvet, near Ypres in Flanders. Her life shatters when first, her father enlists, and then her mother and uncle are killed when the family tries to escape the Germans. Left alone with her sister, Els, and Michael, a former classmate, the children struggle to survive. Ernst, the grandson of one of her mother’s friends, becomes a German cavalry soldier, joining up whilst underage and facing untold horrors on the battlefield. Khudadad Khan is a gunner fighting with the British Army, lured by false promises as much as a desire to do the ‘right’ thing. The three key figures come together one fateful night under the branches of the olive tree near Lotte’s house which shelters them all.

Jamila Gavin is an outstanding storyteller. ‘Coram Boy’ is a book which I will never forget and the more recent ‘Never Forget You’, which also draws on a true story, is incredibly powerful. In ‘My Soul, A Shining Tree’, she has written a deeply poignant book, focusing on the human stories of war.

The harsh realities of war are not avoided and there are some deeply upsetting passages, reflecting the futility and devastation of conflict. Lotte, Els and Michael become refuges, Ernst has no choice but to return to the battlefield despite being traumatised by his experiences whilst Khudadad Khan, after valiantly holding the ridge at Gheluvet whilst those around him fell, was declared unfit for battle and sent to a hospital in England. The olive tree- a shining tree- is there throughout, watching these three very different victims of war as they try to survive.

Throughout, Jamila Gavin’s beautiful, almost poetic, use of language shines through and the use of the tree, inspired by a line from Sassoon’s poem, ‘Tree and Sky’ offers a sense of continuity and calm through the chaos and carnage of war. The story is full of historic detail, seamlessly woven through the action, enriching knowledge and understanding of these events. Such a powerful and emotive book is a must read.

My Soul, A Shining Tree

Jamila Gavin

Farshore ISBN: 978-0008617189

You can read my review of ‘Never Forget You’ here.