TRIGGER WARNING: Holocaust and Nazi brutality
1938, Helga and Ruth are Jewish twins in Berlin during an increasingly fraught time. Their only hope is to escape abroad but can they save each other? 1990, Naomi goes to France for work but discovers clues about her mother Helga's secret family history...
The Forgotten Children is a dual timeline and generational novel set in Europe during the 1930s and 1990s.
Naomi's mother Helga has always been secretive about her past. Naomi's father escaped from Germany on the Kindertransport but Helga's past is unknown. The only clue is a photo of a building but even when Naomi finds the site Helga denies all knowledge. Meanwhile in the 1930s we see Helga's horror at the growing hatred of the Jews. Luckily Helga has a twin Ruth but the pair struggle to adapt to the devastating treatment that the Jews face at the hands of the Nazis.
I found myself fully absorbed by this book as Helga in the past and present struggles to accept the truth of her experience. Naomi wants to find the truth and learn about her family but her search puts her at odds wth her mother. There is plenty of emotion as Helga in the 1930s copes with increasing prejudice and violence. I also found myself sympathetic to her situation in the present as she denies the past. Ruth isn't mentioned in the present so I was waiting with dread to find out what happened to her in the past.
The Forgotten Children is a gripping and emotional historical novel.

What a heartbreaking story! I just loved the way it was written and the history that it told. I would love to hear more about this family and the other characters they connect with. I hope there is more!

Enjoyed this book, well written and such an harrowing story. 2 young girls twins left alone after their parents
were killed in world war 2, their only crime being jewish in Germany. The girls escaped and ended up in orphanage, this books follows their life and what happens to them. Gripping and emotional.




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In 1938, Jewish twins Helga and Ruth live in Berlin with their parents. Their mother was killed during the Kristallnacht. Their father was able to obtain false documents that would take the three of them by ship to Cuba. Fast forward to 1990 where widow, Helga, and her daughter, Naomi, live in London. Because of her tragic past, Helga doesn't speak about it to her daughter. Naomi accepts a 6-month job offer in Paris. While she is there, she stumbles upon a picture which is identical to a picture her mother has hanging in her bedroom. When she begins to question Helga about it, Helga withdraws because those memories of suffering were painful. As Naomi continues to research, she finds out some information and Helga eventually concedes and shares her story.

What happened to Helga's father? Where was her twin sister, Ruth? This is a story of family loss and love, sadness, healing, and courage. The author told a heartwarming survival story that will move you as you read about Helga's journey. Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a historical fiction by Ann Bennett. I could not put this down. It was heart-wrenching at times, but I needed to know what happened. I recommend the read.

The Nazis have control of Berlin in 1938 and it's not safe to be Jewish. Twin sisters, Helga & Ruth are happy girls who live with their parents. When they are forced to flee their home and comfortable lives, it takes them on a journey they will never forget. Even if they want to.

Now it's 1990 and we are introduced to Naomi, Helga’s daughter. She is suddenly transferred to Paris to work at her company law firm on a case & instantly loves the city. She is taken by surprise when she discovers a postcard at a flea market that is identical to the one her mother keeps by her window. Upon investigation, she discovers that the building was once an orphanage. Why would her mother keep this photo?

Helga wants to leave the past where it lies, but Naomi just can’t let this go. She feels there is more to her history and longs to hear the story from her mom. Will Helga tell Naomi about her past?

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the novel immensely since Historical Fiction was one of my favorite genres to read; however, most novels followed a type formula.I was pleasantly surprised with this novel and did not follow the formula. The novel takes place during a dual time between 1938 and1990, which I enjoyed in the novel.

Eleven year Jewish twins Helga and Ruth had their fair share of sadness in their short lives. The girls lost their parents due to the war and their home. What did give solace to the girls was that they were together, unfortunately this was short lived and the sisters were separated and with that, they lost their feeling of comfort. Eventually, the twins' next home was an orphanage, which was not a home.

Historical Fiction is one of my favorite genres; however, the style follows a formula. I was surprised with this novel and it did not follow any other novel’s formatting. I did find reviewing a bit difficult, mainly because of the complexity of the characters. The novel was well researched and written and researched an incredibly passionate novel. Ann Bennett shows passion in her writing and I appreciate that in her.

Ann Bennett, Bookouture, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book

The Forgotten Children is a dual timeline story set during WWII as well as in 1990. Helga, her twin sister Ruth and her parents were living in Berlin in 1938 when new laws are enacted against the Jewish people. When her mother dies on Kristallnacht, their father is able to get papers and passage on the St. Louis to Cuba. Their father is arrested before he is able to board the ship, so an older Jewish couple take care of Ruth and Helga on board. When their papers are revoked during the voyage, only those with US visas are allowed off the ship. No one else will accept the refugees, so the St. Louis is turned back to Germany. The captain is sympathetic to the Jewish passengers and tries to find places for them to go. He arranges for an orphan rescue to take the girls when they dock in Antwerp. Helga marries and has a daughter, Naomi, who she never tells about her past. Naomi gets a job working for a law firm in Paris and finds a postcard that has her wondering about her mother's past. She begins to ask questions and she finally learns about her mother's family and past.

The Forgotten Children is a very interesting story. I had heard about the St. Louis and it's aborted trip to save 1000s of Jewish refugees, but this story puts a face on that story, specifically the face of children. Shame on so many nations that refused to allow those passengers to disembark and provide them refuge. So many people refuse to talk about their past, when it is tragic or involves things they want to forget, so it didn't surprise me that Helga wouldn't talk. Hers is a very tragic past, but she still doesn't have all the answers she needs. Naomi is a great character. She is a wonderful daughter, smart, and caring, but she wants answers. She is extremely curious and making friends easily, is able to find information. Although a lot of this story is set during WWII, it shows people who were trying to help the Jewish people to escape and be safe. There is a lot of goodness and hope here, but it is still tragic, and is something we never should forget. If you enjoy historical fiction or want to know more about incidents during WWII that you may not know a lot about, then I recommend you pick up The Forgotten Children.

The Forgotten Children by Ann Bennett captivated me as I read it. It is a gripping and heartbreaking story. Such an excellent story! Swirled amongst the dual timeline you'll find a historical fiction story filled with sadness as you feel empathy for our young Helga in the earlier timeline. A very trying, scary and confusing time for a young person to have to experience during the war. Due to circumstances she had to move around a lot and didn't have the security of a good home environment.
In a later time frame, we meet her daughter, who would really love to know about her mother's past and her experiences. Helga, due to her tragedies will not share her story with her daughter and it's causing such a tension in their relationship. Many secrets are being kept; can this mother daughter bond be broken by omission of truths? I very much enjoyed reading Helga's backstory, it's so tragic but yet I could see why she wanted this kept secret and to not bring it to mind again. We get a harsh insight into the darker side of war and how it affected the innocent children. Will her daughter make a breakthrough with her mother? The ending was superb, the light shines through in such a beautiful way! I loved this book!

Pub Date 18 May 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

It’s been quite some time since I have read a book by Ann Bennett, so much so that I had forgotten how good her stories are. This new book, The Forgotten Children, was a quick read and that’s not because I was rushing to get through it. More so, that once I started I found it difficult to put down as I quickly became invested in Naomi’s quest to discover her mother’s history. Just what has she been keeping secret? The story is told in a dual timeline format moving seamlessly between 1939-1941 and 1990. Having the more modern day aspect of the story set in 1990 was very clever as it tied in with the falling of the Berlin Wall which was very significant for one character in particular. It really helped things come full circle especially with the way the epilogue was written which meant I felt the book got a very satisfactory ending.

The book opens in Paris in 1941 as a young girl is driven through the streets of Paris which are filled with tanks, armoured cars and soldiers with swastikas adorning every building. There is a great sense of urgency that this girl must be brought to safety as the Nazi’s have taken over the city and time is of the essence.How has this girl reached this point and why is it necessary that she flee? To discover the answers to these questions and much more I delved into the story and barely came up for air until I had reached the last page. What I really loved about The Forgotten Children is that it provided the reader with a different viewpoint to the war as told through the eyes of young children. Also, the fact that the majority of the events in the book occur before war had even been declared really showed the reader that there was much suffering and needless persecution long before September 1939 and the laws enacted and the brutalisation that occurred was just a foreshadowing of what was to come.

1990 and Naomi is about to spend six months working at the Paris branch of her law firm. She is excited at what lays ahead and it’s obvious from the beginning that she is not overly upset at leaving her partner Liam behind in London. It was clear what was going to happen with this angle of the story and in some ways I think it was there just as a means of providing some other romance in the story for Naomi. Whether it needed to be there or not I still wonder as all the other strands of the story were strong enough to sustain the entire plot. I admit to not giving this element of the book much thought as I was far more caught up in Helga and her fascinating yet traumatising experiences.

As Naomi settles into her new role she explores Paris and becomes friends with her co-worker Martine whilst also enjoying working alongside her boss Oliver on an interesting case. Whilst rambling through a Parisian market Naomi stumbles across a postcard in a frame. What made it catch her eye is the fact that the same picture stands on her mother’s bedroom windowsill. The picture shows Villa Helvita which is located some distance outside Paris. What really intrigues Naomi is the fact that her mother has never been to France or so she claims. So why does she have the picture in her possession and on such prominent display and what is the significance of the property?

Naomi’s interest is instantly piqued. She is aware that her mother, Helga, was born in Germany but she refuses to talk about anything to do with the war or her time spent there. Therefore, she summarises that her experiences must have been horrific and that she suffered greatly. She knows that her mother was always a stickler for the truth and about being open and clear with people so why the need for secrecy? She is determined to get to the bottom of things as this is very much her heritage too. She needs to know about the past in order to move on with her own future and so she sets about digging up the past which Helga wants firmly buried. Helga is standoffish when confronted over the picture and to be honest I couldn’t blame her. If something which created such fear happened to you and has left such long and impactful memories that you want kept firmly to the back of your mind then that is where they should stay. I think she was horrified that Naomi was edging further to the truth through her investigations and that she would more than likely would have to confront what she had kept hidden for so long.Even though she would want the opposite to happen.

For me, there was just the right balance between Naomi finding out things in the modern setting and the reader learning about Helga’s experiences in the war. One didn’t dominate the other and everything that we learned from Helga fed well into what Naomi was going through on an emotional level. I loved that Naomi wasn’t afraid to push her mother when needed but that she also knew when to step back a little when things were becoming too much when she could see that Helga was becoming upset and starting to isolate herself even from her good friend Kitty. Naomi was astute in that she knew when to give her mother space to breathe and to contemplate. It was as if she sensed that with time the truth would come to the fore and when it does it will bring a tear to your eye especially seen as if one thing had not occurred than the overall result could have been so very different. There just seemed to be such a sense of injustice about the whole thing.

1939 and Helga lives in Berlin with her twin sister Ruth and her parents. Her father is a tailor who has his own shop and the family are fairly comfortable. But times are changing and new laws have come into force curtailing the freedom of Jews. They are made to wear a yellow star on their clothing which identifies them as being Jewish. The twins are forced to stop attending their school and are moved to a school which only Jews can attend. Soon even the right to an education is taken from them and they must remain at home. Their father’s shop is attacked on Kristallnacht and his livelihood is taken from him with him being reduced to take in some small amounts of tailoring work at home. Evil sweeps through the city and infects the hearts of their neighbours and friends and the twins lives are altered forever. None more so when their beloved mother leaves one night to get medicine and never returns. Their father is distraught and doesn’t know how to carry on with the situation for Jews gradually deteriorating around them. But he must find a way to get his remaining family members to safety before the worst could possibly befall them.

What follows is an incredible story of loss, bravery, courage and sacrifice and to go into much detail regarding Helga and Ruth would really spoil the story. Suffice to say they go on an incredible journey which they should never have had to undertake. Both show great maturity for their age given that they are only ten and they are experiencing untold horrors and suffering. It’s a cruel act of fate that rips their family apart and I thought it was even crueller that when they thought that they had potentially reached safety it was snatched from underneath them. The further Helga’s story is revealed you gain a deeper appreciation and understanding of why she kept things secret from Naomi. Guilt has eaten away at her and as a reader you realise that this feeling will never leave her unless she can get everything that happened off her chest and in doing so she can finally be free. The Forgotten Children reminded me how much I enjoy the writing of Ann Bennett. It’s a heart wrenching story full of love, loss and devotion and one that will stay with you long after you have read the final word.

Helga and Ruth, eleven year old Jewish twins lose both their mother and father to the War. Not only have they lost their parents but their home is gone as well. Their new home is an orphanage and they are lucky to have been placed there together. But when Ruth gets sick they are separated from each other. It’s 1990 and Naomi moves to Paris in search of finding her place in life. While touring the antique markets she comes across an old familiar photograph. The same photo sits on top of the mantle in her mother, Helga’s house in London. Naomi tells her mother about the photograph she has found and Helga wants Naomi to leave things alone but Naomi must find out the history of the photographs, while Helga hopes the secrets of her past stay in the past.

The Forgotten Children written by author Ann Bennett was a wonderful and heartbreaking time slip novel. I was inspired by the strength and courage that they had to survive. This captivating story had me in tears more than once as I flipped through the pages of this heartwarming story. This incredible story is an absolute must read and I highly recommend it.

The Forgotten Children is the second book that I’ve read by this author and it was a wonderful read, heartbreaking and emotional at times. Whilst it’s an easy read it is also one that will draw you into the story from the very beginning. Told in a dual timeline , 1938 - 1941 and 1990 both timelines completely gripped me as I read this book. This is a book that fans of Historical Fiction will absolutely love. 4⭐️

The Forgotten Children is Helga and Ruth’s story as Jewish children in Germany in WWII. They witnessed horrible things and has to do the unimaginable to survive. Years later Helga’s daughter Naomi finds a picture identical to one her mother has while working in France and wants to know why the pictures are the same. Helga has never spoken of the war and insists she was never in France.

Helga and Naomi both tell the story and Helga’s is told in the present and in past during the war. I found the book fascinating, heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. The author created characters you can relate to and want to help in any way you can.

Thank you for the chance to read this ARC in return for my honest opinion.

Another well written well researched book by Ann Bennett.
It is written as a dual timeline story which touches the heart

It didn’t particularly captivate me but that doesn’t mean that it wouldn’t for other people

The forgotten children by Ann Bennett is a heart wrenching story of twin girls who are forced out of their home with their father during the Second World War. Helga recounts the experiences she lived during the Second World War and the despair she’s been living with ever since. I really enjoyed how the author recounted the story through the eyes of the older woman. I, however, felt a little lost with the romantic drama the daughter was going through. I found it took away from the story and didn’t really add any value to it. Overall it’s a novel I would recommend to friends.

My Mother's Wartime Secret

A dual timeline story about two twin sisters during the war and the daughter of one that later in life decides to find out her mother's history during the war.

This is a bit of a sad story in parts as Helga the same as many Jewish survivors of the Holocaust do not wish to talk about the things that they suffered during the war. It is often too painful and takes them back to a time and place they do not want to revisit. It is Helga and her twin sister Ruth's story in one part of the book.

The other part of the book is the story of Naomi (Helga's daughter) trying to find out the story of her mother's time in the war years. Naomi goes to take a job in Paris, and while she is there finds a photo at an antique market which matches a photo that is always in her mother's window at home. She is curious and starts to dig out information. However, when she asks her mother about it she becomes very defensive and refuses to talk about it. Naomi wonders what secrets she is hiding and is more determined than ever to find out.

It is a story of love and trust and of loss and fear. A horrible time in history, a family in turmoil and a horrible loss. One woman trying to forget the past and leave it behind her and another determined to find it out. Can Helga find the courage to tell her daughter her story or will she forever keep the past closed?

It was a very good book, it deserved every one of the 5 stars I gave it. I enjoyed the love between Ruth and Helga and the love between Naomi and Helga and Helga's friend Kitty. What a wonderful story, I really enjoyed reading it.

Thanks to Ann Bennett for writing a great story, to Bookouture for publishing it and to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy to read and review.

“Life is complicated and sometimes it’s hard to find your way through. It doesn’t mean you’ve messed up.”

Perfectly described as unforgettable and heartbreaking WW2 historical fiction, this one had me in tears at the relief of closure. Storytelling gets a level upgrade when a tragic past meets its present and more so in historical fiction. Dual timelines have been used in the best possible way in this one evidenced by the curiosity to find out what happens in both as against being interested in just one.

“Why is it that everyone who is kind to us has to leave or is taken away from us?”

I hadn’t expected to be writing this at 3 am on a weekday but here I am. About 70% into the book, I just wanted to keep on reading and the next thing I knew was that I was done. No complaints whatsoever about the book or the fact that it has managed to keep me up this late. Or is it actually really early now?🤷🏻‍♀️

Thank you for my advance copy, @netgalley

Eleven year old twins Helga and Ruth were on their own after the Nazis had taken their mother, and some months later, arrested their father as they were about to board a ship to Cuba. As he called to them, begging them to continue their journey, an elderly Jewish couple came to the rescue, saying they would care for the girls on board. But when Cuba, and then other countries, refused to take the refugees from the ship, Helga and Ruth found themselves returned to an orphanage in Montmorency near Paris...

It was 1990 when Naomi, who lived in London with her mother Helga, moved to Paris for a six month placement in a lawyer's office. The Sunday before she was due to begin work, she went to the antique markets to browse, and was shocked to discover a picture identical to one her mother had in her bedroom at home. As her research into the origins of the picture, alongside her case work which she was loving, kept her busy, a rare weekend off saw her travelling to Montmorency, the place in her picture. But her mother wasn't happy at Naomi's research. Helga's life during the second world war was locked inside her, and she didn't want those memories to surface. But Naomi wanted to discover about the lost Jewish children from WWII. Would Helga relent, or would her past remain a secret?

The Forgotten Children by Ann Bennett is another excellent WWII story, but this time it told of an area I hadn't read before. The children of Jewish families plus the heartbreak of children being separated from their parents. But there were kind and compassionate people who wanted to help as well. This is my first read by this author, and I'll be happy to read more. Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

A lovely book with a story and characters that bring the book alive for the reader Ann Bennett has always written superb books 5*

Helga and Ruth, Jewish twins, are caught up in the maelstrom of Germany in the 1930s. Their journeys are separate after one sister has the opportunity to escape.
Set in 1990, Helga has hidden much of her past from her daughter Naomi, but eventually opens up and receives some long awaited surprises.
This story could be based on countless similar stories. I liked the pace of the book and that it was set in 1990, right after the wall came down, which becomes quite meaningful to Helga.
It’s a heartfelt story of relinquishing past pain and embracing a fresh future, armed with long sought answers.

What an emotional but satisfying read.
Get those tissues ready, and prepare for some restless nights as this is a real page turner.

The story flits between the devastating years of world war 2 with twin sisters Helga and Ruth and to the 1990s with Hellas daughter Naomi.

Ruth and Helga were born in East Berlin and lived with their parents Tate and Mama right up until the war began. The story tells the suffering and persecution they felt as a Jewish family growing up in Germany, and takes them on a journey half way across the world and back as they try to escape the Nazis that are closing in from all angles.

This read is a real heart wrencher, but is also filled with warm and tender moments and memories not just tears which left me smiling at times and desperate to read more.

Naomi is the daughter of Helga, and her story surrounds her moving to Paris for a new job opportunity, and accidentally discovering some important pieces of her lost family history.

This is a must read, I highly recommend it!