The Upstairs Room was one of my favorites but this was not as powerful. Still well done but perhaps a little harder to connect with.

This is the sequel to The Upstairs Room. The author's previous work was a Newbery honor book which told her story(via the character of Annie de Leeuw) of hiding in an attic for three years while Hitler's evil forces hunted down Jews like animals. Fortunately, Reiss and her sister were hidden by a farm family, poor in finances, but rich in human kindness.

The Journey Back chronicles the difficulty of post war Holland and the adjustment not only for the country, but for those who are now struggling to pull their lives together. While originally happy to be reunited with her father and sisters, soon the family fabric is torn apart by stress. Longing to be with the family who hid her, yet hoping to embrace her biological family, like many, the impact of war forever scars. ( )

Book two by Johanna Reiss. (The Upstairs Room). This book gives a look at post war Europe for Jews. How people went on blaming them for the loss of loved ones during the war. Many people thought that if not for the Jews there would not have been a war. Good knowledge of after the war life, for some.