Author(s): James Riordan

Biography, YA,children

My Side of the Story is completely unique approach to historical fiction. Read the story of one youngster's life in turbulent times, then flip the book and find out first hand how another child reacts to the same events - with very different feelings and results! "Frank": Frank is eleven and lives in war-torn London in a house which has two bedrooms but 10 family members. The 'gezzunder' of the attacking German bombs can be heard, but Frank isn't scared, he loves it! The war is exciting to him: the night-time dogfights, hunting bombed houses for trophies and sitting in the air raid shelter. His uncles and aunts talk about the Germans and the Jews, but they don't seem real to him. Then Frank is evacuated to the boring country were he lives with a strange Jewish girl called Hannah from Germany... "Hannah": Hannah is a young Jewish girl living in Berlin. Her family are growing more horrified at what is happening to Jews in their own country. Her parents' fear frightens her more than news of what's happening on the street. For her the threat of war is real and terrible. But she is one of the lucky ones who, after the horrors of Krystal Nacht, is transported out of Germany and goes to live in England. Thrown together with Frank, she clings to playing her beloved violin and wonders what is happening at home. Can she ever become friends with this strange English boy?