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The Outcast Girls

A Completely Heartbreaking and Gripping World War 2 Historical Novel

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The Outcast Girls

By: Shirley Dickson
Narrated by: Rosie Jones
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About this listen

An utterly heartbreaking tale of two young girls, worlds apart, who are thrown together when they have lost everything. Fans of Wives of War, Before We Were Yours, and Diney Costeloe will absolutely love this poignant and moving World War Two novel.

England, 1937: After a devastating childhood at Blakely Hall Orphanage, 15-year-old Sandra is released. She finds work as a housemaid, finally able to put her past behind her. But the start of World War Two throws the country into turmoil, and her brother, Alf, is sent away to fight, leaving her completely alone.

Germany, 1939: Eleven-year-old Frieda is about to board a ship bound for England with her brother, Kurt. Life at home is perilous, with synagogues set alight and innocent lives lost to the Nazis. They have no choice but to flee, with only their identity cards and a small suitcase. But at the last moment, as Frieda stands on the deck crammed with frightened children, she spots her brother jumping off, back to land.

England, 1943: Joining the Land Army, Sandra is sent to a farm in the remote countryside where she meets evacuee Frieda. The girls are grappling with their own tragedies - Sandra fretting over whether Alf, flying a bomber in the heavens, will see tomorrow, and Frieda distraught that Kurt abandoned her, uncertain whether he is alive.

Sandra and Frieda form a friendship that sees them through the darkest of days, but in times of war, heartbreak is always just around the corner. Will the girls ever be reunited with their loved ones? And will the relationships they have fostered amidst the terror of war survive?

©2020 Shirley Dickson (P)2020 Bookouture
20th Century Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction War Heartfelt England Tear-jerking
All stars
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The storyline is really good. I loved it from start to finish. The narrator really makes the story work .

Good read

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Loved it, wanted to finish it ASAP, but didn't want it to end. Really enjoyed it

Best audio

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Shirley is a great writer , another great book, I didn’t want it to end , looking forward to whatever is next , thanks Shirley

Loved it

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Listener received this title free

I really enjoyed this book, it was just the right balance between happy and sad, loving and losing. And reading it in the middle of the Coronavirus scare, it kind of put all our current concerns into perspective. These people were worrying for their families and young men for years on end, I have no idea how they coped.

The two main characters are young women who volunteer to help farm the land while the men are off at war. They were known as the Land Girls. They did all the work previously done by the men and they worked long hours.
Frieda was a German Jew, sent out of her country with hundreds of other children, to save them from being sent to the concentration camps. She struck lucky with Doris, a very caring step-mother, but her worries for her family haunt her. She meets Sandra, raised in an orphanage after the death of her mother, she has only her brother Alf for family and he has volunteered with a bomber squadron.
The two girls recognise the similarities in their situations and strike a firm bond.

Through hard work, love affairs, bomb attacks and food shortages, the girls get through the war and help each other to survive. I was very surprised to find that one of them had eating issues, I had thought that a modern problem.

The narration of my audiobook was excellently done by Rosie Jones, who did a fabulous job with the accents of the two girls.

Shirley Dickson was a new author to me and one I shall look out for in the future.

Land Girls

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I loved listening to every word of this beautiful novel but be warned - listen in the car and prob shouldn’t when it’s such a weepie! 5 stars from me!

WWII

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