Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

Absolutely gut-wrenching with beautiful characters. Liz’s writing is incredible and she truly was able to create fleshed out characters who felt completely real.

The story follows three children’s lives (Max, Elsa, Leo) while World War 2 and the holocaust are taking place and how it infects each of their lives.

Liz spoke of the holocaust in a delicate way for the ago group the book is designed for, while also being mindful of sharing the raw truth of what happened in history. As a teacher, I believe this book is appropriate for pre-teenagers and can spark some impactful dialogue about the holocaust both education wise and within the home.

Yet another beautifully-done historical fiction novel for middle grade readers. This is a multiple narrative story from three young friends–Elsa, Max, and Leo. It is set in Vienna in 1936 where the trio have the perfect day together. They even document the day with a photograph and each character has a photo as a special keepsake. Soon that keepsake is all they will have to remember each other as they quickly separate for various reasons but all revolving around one unforgettable historic tragedy…the Holocaust. It was fascinating to learn that this story was inspired by a true story and I just was enthralled by each character. Their life story and tragic journey across Europe going their own ways was hard to read. Two of the kids are Jewish and one of the kids follow the path of Hitler. I don’t want to share too much, but just know that it is a heartbreaking story. So prepare yourself and your readers with a box of tissues.

The book begins focused on 9 year old friends and follows them as they are separated and living through world war 2. I would recommend for high school age students, but not below. The writing in the beginning doesn’t seem like it’s aimed to hold interest of high school aged readers though, more aimed at an elementary level, however, the content is not elementary level.

Gosh. This book was just so good. It's up there in my top World War 2/Holocaust books.

In When the World Was Ours, we follow three children, Leo, Elsa, and Max, throughout the course of the war. The story opens when they are 9 years old, celebrating one of their birthdays with a magical day on the town. The three are best friends, inseparable. But Leo and Elsa are Jewish, and as Europe falls under Hitler's sway, the three take different paths.

This book completely broke my heart. I expected sadness, knowing that it was a book about the Holocaust and Nazi Germany, but it still was a gut punch. I appreciate that the author based one of the storylines on her own family's history.

These kinds of books are so important. I think it is easy to imagine that World War 2 is ancient history and that we live in a much more enlightened society. But, particularly Max's storyline shows that under the right (or rather, wrong) conditions, any one of us could turn our backs on a group of people who have been othered the way Jews, Roma, LGBTQ, and anyone different was during the 1930s and 40s. Never again means never again for anyone.

This is definitely making it into my top reads of 2021.

Thank you to Netgalley for a free e-arc in exchange for a review. It was so good I bought myself a physical copy because I plan on handing this book to all of my kids to read.

This is a nice introductory book to World War 2 in Europe topics. It includes two Jewish voices, one boy and one girl. The girl and her family are sent to a camp, the boy and his mother escape to England. The third voice is a boy who's father is high ranking Nazi officer. THAT voice is probably the most interesting, but also the most controversial because the boy follows his dad, even though he feels that what he's doing is wrong. It would be interesting to talk with the kids about how many people would feel that dichotomy what they think they might choose.

I think this book would be enjoyed by YA readers who want to learn about other cultures and use reading as a tool to travel. Reading this book, I felt like I was there with the characters.

This is first and foremost, a story about the Holocaust. The characters are on the younger side for a young adult book (nine years old at the start and around fifteen at the end), but the themes and events are mature, as is the case for any story about the Holocaust.

The author handled each of the three characters with the utmost care and attention. Leo’s story was inspired by her father’s own story. He left Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia in 1939 with his parents when he was eight years old, saved by a thank you letter from a British couple they had met five years earlier by chance. I have read several different young adult books about World War II and the Holocaust, but had never read a story like Leo’s.

Elsa and Max’s stories are about the Jews who did not escape Nazi occupation and the children who were raised to be part of a brutal regime. All three stories are both heartbreaking and authentic. The element that anchors them is the characters’ innocent childhood friendship. As the years pass, Leo, Elsa, and Max are forced to grow up far too fast as the world changes for the worse all around them.

There are some books that stay with you. For me, this is one of those.

honestly, i'm not the biggest world war book fan or history book fan, so i didn't really think that i was going to like this one, since i just don't have a good track record with them. but, damn i honestly loved this book so much.

the characters had their flaws, and i really liked how Klesser showed that in here. and how all the characters are all friends, but they all have different things happen to them, and they aren't perfect people and they all are different, in away. and i really liked that we got to have Max's pov, even though it was 3rd person, to kind of get this look on the inside. but, then have Elsa and Leo be Jewish and have them talk about their struggles and what happens to them.

but, the ending of this book was truly heartbreaking. like, i heard that the ending was bad, and was going to rip your heart out, and it honestly did, it was just so sad and depressing and it was just so sad, i truly didn't expect that ending.

the writing of this book was also so good. like, i really liked how each character had their own voice, well also having writing that flowed and wasn't so choppy or anything. and also just having the story of these characters be intertwined with the non fiction part, it was just so amazing,

Oof, this book hurt. In fairness, I knew it would. And the author's note, which was beautiful, definitely warns you that you're about to feel some next-level pain. Via the author in an uncorrected proof:
This story contains mature themes and depictions of violence and cruelty related to the Holocaust and we advise readers to be aware of difficult content that may cause distress. A list of resources with more information on the Holocaust and this period in history can be found at the end of this book.

So yeah, we're not in for a load of laughs, is the point. But the story was beautiful, nonetheless. I think it's also the kind of story that spans many age groups. It's listed as YA, but I could see myself giving this to my daughter who reads middle grade as well. The characters start out young, when their friendship was simple, uncomplicated by the political world and expectations of adults around them. It was bittersweet to see their happiness, for we know that it won't last.

We follow Max, Elsa, and Leo, from their favorite memory together, straight through their teen years/WWII. Elsa and Leo are Jewish, and as such, obviously in great peril during the war. Max, on the other hand, has a father who is not only unsympathetic toward his friends, he's a straight up Nazi. The book does an unbelievably great job of illustrating how frighteningly fast and unfortunately, easy, it is for some people to end up on the wrong side.

This book will pull at your heartstrings. Hell, it'll rip them right in half. But it's also hopeful, even while it's crushing your soul. There's hope that there are good people, that good can sometimes win, even if it doesn't always. And please, do yourselves a favor, and read the author's note. It's gorgeous, just like the book.

Bottom Line: This book gutted me, from start to finish, but did so beautifully, and with a hopeful spirit.

When the World Was Ours follows the story of three childhood friends and the different paths their lives take through the events of World War 2 and the holocaust.

It took me a long time to actually get to read this book, I added it to my "currently reading" shelf many times, only to remove it, because I knew this book was going to be heavy.

This book left me with the same feeling that I always get from the holocaust, a heavy weight in the pit of my stomach. The Diary of Anne Frank, The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank, both books that made me uncomfortable, and that's good. This topic should make you uncomfortable. It's incredibly sad to me, that nearly 80 years later society still struggles with many of the things that led up to these events.

This book was beautifully written and incredibly poignant. Characters are incredibly fleshed out, I even check to make sure at one point that this wasn't a memoir. The ending made me sob.

*Thank you to the Author and Publisher for this eARC.

this book is about 3 friends who are just kids; two were jews, one wasn’t. they were separated when the war started and through the years they still thought about each other even though their lives were difficult.

i cried and cried and cried while reading this. it’s powerful and beautifully written at the same time. the pacing was perfect for my liking. i truly loved this book.

Since reading Maus and Night, I tend to avoid Holocaust books. They are always sobering and intense in a way I can only sometimes handle. But this book did a great job of presenting the sweep of it (from the rumored beginnings to the end of the war) through the eyes of children. Leo, Elsa, and Max are 9 and best friends in Vienna in 1937. Each of their lives takes a terrifying swerve away from each other, as Elsa and Leo (both Jewish) face the increasingly horrific atmosphere of Nazi Germany and Max gets sucked into the world of Hitler Youth and his SS Officer Father. It was deeply unsettling as the author had their POV voices grow up with them, going from optimistic and innocent kids to traumatized, radically transformed teenagers over the 8 years. It is certainly not a happy read, but accessible and important. Probably better aimed at slightly older kids or at least a little bit more mature kids due to the intense content of war and concentration camps (though the author never makes it too graphic on the page), probably best for 12 or 13 and up.

Wow, this book literally took my breath away! Such a powerful story, based on the author’s father’s personal experiences. You really get into each character’s head and feel all the feelings with them. One of my favorite reads of the year!

A very poignant and neccessary story of the holocaust told by teens in three points of view. Max, Leo, & Elsa will always be friends... the very best of friends. But what will happen when Hitler takes over their lives? One jewish girl, one jewish boy, and one german boy... can their love for eachother overcome the powerlessness that they each feel because of the circumstances they born into?

Beautifully written story about three young friends during the holocaust. It's inspired by Kessler's father's experience and this shows in the raw and unflinching writing. Similar to The Book Thief where it contains both painful and triumphant parts, this is definitely a book that will stay with the reader long after its over.

Wow, what a beautiful look at friendships and how they were torn apart during the Holocaust.
I liked the different views of Eva, Max and Leo and how they survived and were treated throughout the Holocaust. Max you can tell just is trying to make his father proud, but still cares about his friends and doesn't understand why being Jewish is so wrong or makes them so different.
Poor Leo, left to tell the story of his friends, but a beautiful story it is.
Such a heartbreaking tale, based on real events.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!