I've read many WWII books, but this is the first I've read that takes place in China. I liked that it alternates chapters between the teacher and the student. Many of the other reviewers did a great job in describing the plot, so I won't repeat that. I hope to read more by this author in the near future. ( )

Historical fiction set in Japan-occupied China during World War II

Nancy Plummer and her teacher, Elspeth Kent, are living in Chefoo, China, at a school for the children of American and British missionaries when America declares war on Japan following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Overnight, they become prisoners in enemy territory, and soon Japanese soldiers are pouring in and taking control.

After several relocations, the students and staff find themselves in a prisoner camp. Nancy and Elspeth each struggle in their own ways to adapt to their new reality and keep hope alive that someday they will be free and reunited with their families. But none of them will escape unscathed by the horrors of war. ( )

I won When We Were Young and Brave from Library Thing's Early Reviewer program back in June 2020, but never received a copy from the publisher (William Morrow).  It still appeared on my Not Reviewed list (I've been an Early Reviewer since November 2007), so I checked my libraries and borrowed and read the e-book this month.

This historical fiction novel is based on the real-life World War II events at the Chefoo School, a Protestant boarding school for children of foreign missionaries, diplomats, and businessmen in China.  Most were British, but some were American or other nationalities.  The day after the Pearl Harbor attack, Japanese soldiers start to take over the school.  Eventually the students and staff are moved to a local internment site, and then a camp much further away, where they stayed until liberated just after the war's end.

The story is alternately told by two main fictional characters:  Elspeth Kent, one of the teachers, who originally came to the school to get away from her British home and memories of a lost love there; and Nancy Plummer, one of the students, who is the daughter of two missionaries and is ten when the story starts.

I particularly enjoyed the incorporation of the Girl Guides (the British version of the Girl Scouts) into the novel. Elspeth and fellow teacher Minnie Butterworth are the leaders of a group of Guides that includes Nancy and her friends and female classmates. The continuance of their Guide activities throughout their ordeal gives them all strength. That, and the setting in China, made this a refreshing, non-typical World War II story. ( )

When We Were Young And Brave is a fictional account of real life events surrounding the Chefoo School in China during the Japanese occupation in WWII. The Japanese took control of the British-run missionary school in December of 1941. At first the school continued, albeit with a number of restrictions and privations. But soon the Japanese moved the teachers and students from one place to another until they were in an internment camp. The bravery, resiliency, and dogged will to survive beautifully unfolds under the masterful hand of Hazel Gaynor. I have read a few of Gaynor’s novels, but in my opinion this one surpasses them all. The rich historical detail brought this reader into a place and time I knew little about. The story is told through two points of view, Elspeth, a teacher with the school, and Nancy a young student. Their voices told the story with depth and meaning. There are hard things in this book — the cruelty of the Japanese guards, the horrible treatment of the Chinese population, the near starvation conditions, and extreme hygienic neglect — but there are moments of hope and perseverance. A sunflower growing in an unlikely spot, the Girl Guides program the young girls clung to, the many kindnesses between prisoners — all brought a sense that life would some day return to normal. I admit to Googling to find out what was fact and fiction and found that Gaynor presented an accurate and moving look into the historical events. This book will stay with me a long time. I just wish I had read it with a book club — it certainly demands discussion. A general market offering, When We Were Young And Brave is a clean read, but as I said, with some very realistic depictions of what really went on in the camps. I rate it a very highly recommended read! Specific to the audiobook: the two narrators were excellent! I found they brought an authenticity to the two characters.

Very Highly Recommended.

Audience: Adults.

(I purchased the audiobook from Audible. All opinions expressed are mine alone.) ( )

Wonderfully descriptive even with Gaynor admitting to using her imagination instead of completely factual material in places, of course. It was wonderful to have an evolution over time of what became of some of the main characters in the story. Truly frighteningly horrible circumstances---what good does war do for anyone? ( )