The Lost English Girl by Julia Kelly is a truly moving story. It tells the story of Viv, a young English woman that finds herself unwed and pregnant in 1935. Viv comes from a very strict Catholic family and her parents refuse to accept that she is pregnant by someone who is not Catholic and is Jewish. Joshua, the child’s father, tries to do right by Viv and marry her but Viv’s impossibly miserable mother interferes in a cruel way and turns their wedding day upside down. The years that follow, especially during WW2, Viv is faced with heart-wrenching situations and is forced to make painful decisions as a mother; including awful situations forced on her by her vindictive mother.

The story is told from three perspectives: Viv, Joshua and eventually their daughter Maggie. Some chapters are present in the book and others are flashbacks to the pre-war years. I like how the author toggles back and forth between both times to tie the story together. The situations Viv finds herself in and the decisions she is forced to make are impossible to imagine. But thanks to the incredible research done by the author including family history from the authors family, the situations are historically accurate and shed a light on the wretched events those in England experienced during the war (read the authors note at the end, it is amazing).

“The Lost English Girl” is a historical fiction book by Julia Kelly. In the Author’s Note, Ms. Kelly notes that some of this book (the general outline) is based upon her family’s history. That fact, along with some good historical reference, makes this book a lot more powerful than other’s I’ve read about evacuating children from London during WWII. I must admit, I found the beginning of this book rather depressing for our main heroine (the poor woman never seemed to get a break in life). The scene where her husband leaves I found utterly bewildering - I could see it happening but it was astonishing to me that he did it for that reason. This book is told from multiple points of view - Viv (our heroine), Joshua (our main hero), and Maggie (their child). My one issue was that if I didn’t read the chapter headings carefully, I’d realize a bit late that I was reading a chapter from the past (as noted by the date in the chapter) opposed to “present” time. A well done book, but not an easy one to read as I’m sure that Viv’s story wasn’t unusual - from trying to survive in general, finding strength during dark times, and also trying to do best for a child during times of uncertainty. Without giving away too much of the plot, I found the later part with Maggie to be utterly heartbreaking for all involved. A well written book and if you want a different take during this time in WWII history, I’d suggest giving this book a read.

Boy this was kind of a hard book to read. I felt so bad for the main character when her husband legit left her minutes after saying I do. It's hard to imagine a life like that, but I suppose it was all too real.