The End and the Beginning is a historical fiction set in Germany and France during the last weeks of WW2 and the following liberation. This story follows multiple people from the Bernot family, a French-German family living on Germany's border with France. It is a story of courage, family, identity, and survival. Some chapters follow Max Bernot and his friend Hans as they escape a Hitler Youth Camp to find their way back home to their family. The story also follows mother and daughter Marguerite and Anna, who are forced to work in a Nazi's home. The Bernot family is separated during the war, with no idea of the whereabouts of their family members and no idea whether they still live.

This was an impactful story, based on true events. I am not generally a reader of the historical fiction genre, and so I don't think I appreciated this story to its fullest. I felt that it deserved a reader who is better versed in WW2 history as this story references places, people, and events that I am not familiar with. I believe it took more preliminary knowledge of WW2 history to appreciate this one. It may be a book better suited to more "seasoned" historical fiction readers.

Read if you like...
📚 Historical fiction
🗞 WWII history
👥️ Dual POVs
🕐 Dual timelines


🙏Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada and NetGalley for a gifted advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

⚠️ Potential Trigger Warnings (may not be an exhaustive list): rape, starvation, war, crimes of war, concentration camps, brutality, death, torture.

The Bernot family live in Saarland, a small area between the French and German divisive line; a line that has become even more unclear with the advance of the German army. In the last years of the war, thirteen year old Max has been conscripted while his mother is at home trying to keep her daughter and herself alive.

Max flees the army and walks home, writing letters to his family along the way. While his mother struggles after being trapped into working for a Nazi officer. The two stories are interwoven throughout, poignantly articulating loss of innocence and the impact of German idealism on a generation.

Thank you to Netgalley for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review! This book can be found everywhere in stores today!

The End and the Beginning is absolutely stunning historical fiction! It is so meaningful to find new accounts of the events of World War II, as a defining era that few people alive have lived through, new takes on the same time period bring altered perspective and nuance that is deeply needed. It is one of my favourite time periods, and this book is so movingly written that it is one of my favourites of the year!

A WW2 story of one family in Germany. A sad view of people getting caught in the crosshairs of being German but and having to live in the Nazi realm.

History is written by the victors, so it was refreshing to read this story about a German family torn apart by the events of the Second World War. Living next to the border between Germany and France, without love or loyalty for the Nazis, they were herded into a trap from which there was no escape. Their young son was drafted into Hitler youth and much of the story concerns his desperate attempt to escape and return to his family. His mother was also forced into working for a Nazi official whom she feared and detested. Based on a true story, this book highlights the plight of all those civilians who never wanted war, and whose lives were changed forever by the evil that resulted. I received an Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! The End and the Beginning by K. J. Holdom is a work of historical fiction which takes place in the last few months of the Second World War. Max, a young boy, dreams of being part of the military and fighting for Germany. However, his ethnicity prevents him from living his dream. Together, with Hans, his best friend, they leave the train station which will lead them to the front lines. The story takes us on a journey through Germany as the boys try valiantly to make is back home to the Saarland. Though the storyline was quite good, I found it moved too slowly for me. I would, however, recommend it to others who have an interest in events near the end of the war.