When We Were Young & Brave

When We Were Young & Brave tells the story of a little known event that took place during World War II. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Japanese took over a children's school in China that housed the children of missionaries and diplomats. After a few months, Japanese soldiers marched the children and their teachers to another location with subpar conditions before eventually transferring them to an internment camp where conditions were extremely unhygienic and very little food was provided. Told in alternating chapters between a teacher and one of the children who becomes a teenager while a prisoner, the author is adept at revealing what conditions were like. Although the characters were not based on any specific people from the actual event, Gaynor uses her meticulous research skills and her expertise in crafting relatable characters to develop a well-written novel that's difficult to put down. When We Were Young & Brave is an insightful novel from one of one of today's top historical fiction writers!