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When the World Was Ours
- Narrated by: Tom Lawrence, Willow Nash
- Length: 7 hrs and 1 min
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When the World Was Ours
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Summary
One moment can change a life forever.
A powerful and heart-breaking novel about three childhood friends living during the Second World War whose fates are closely intertwined, even when their lives take very different courses. Inspired by a true story, this is the perfect story for fans of The Book Thief and Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl.
Vienna, 1936.
Elsa, Leo and Max have always been best friends, a special team of three. Then the Nazis come.
As a growing darkness descends around them, Leo and Elsa run for their lives, taking two very different paths across Europe. And Max, once their closest friend, now becomes the enemy as he is drawn into the Hitler Youth. Will the friends ever find their way back to each other? Will they want to?
Inspired by a true story, When the World Was Ours is an extraordinary novel that is as powerful as it is heartbreaking, and shows how the bonds of love, family and friendship allow glimmers of hope to flourish, even in the most hopeless of times.
Three friends. Two sides. One memory.
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Critic reviews
"When The World Was Ours is Liz's masterpiece...an instant classic." (Anthony McGowan, winner of the 2020 CILIP Carnegie Medal)
"An exceptional read." (The Sunday Times)
"Vital glimmers of hope enlighten this profoundly poignant book." (Guardian)
What listeners say about When the World Was Ours
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lydia Pink
- 17-11-23
Amazing
It was so amazing and really sad. An awesome book I would definitely recommend it hone you like it as much as I did
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- A. M. Taylor
- 05-12-22
Amazing story
Not for bed but very good for someone interested in World War Two and what it was like in Germany
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Paul
- 21-04-23
Emotional read
This book makes you think of the innocent lives lost to war. Parts of it made me smile and made me sad.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sigrin
- 23-10-23
Powerful
This book is not just for teens who it is recommended for, it is a must for all.
It follows the lives pf three children and their growing up in Germany during the rise of the nNazi party and the consequences of this and world war 2 on the lives of these once innocent children.
Powerful and brilliant story telling
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lynne Nicholson
- 28-07-24
Harrowing
It’s difficult not to leave a no spoilers review.
I’ve no idea what I can say to encourage people to read this book…
It’s very visceral, though gently written it doesn’t hold back any punches.
Read it.
Look into your heart as you look at the world today.
Make changes if needed.
We need to learn from this recent history and not let it happen again
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 28-12-22
Amazing
I live the book but would live to have just one more voice for the book also when they are speaking maybe a little more emotion because I can't really tell if they are narrating or talking. Great book I love it, so emotional I couldn't stop crying
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lynne Robinson
- 30-10-24
Beautifully written
What a wonderful book. The whole story was written from the heart. Very well written and well researched. I thoroughly enjoyed it
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- savyshopper
- 14-02-21
Thought Provoking
I thougherly enjoyed this book. It made me hope nothing like this should happen again
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Gillian
- 25-05-23
Should be a GCSE course book.
Such a heartbreaking story and all the more so because it’s told from three angles. In my opinion, this is a much better story than The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, which didn’t stir me in the way that this book does. Maybe it’s time to start including some of these stories as GCSE course books lest we forget.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- l wod
- 12-04-21
A Great Read
Full of love, hope for the future and tragedy coming together to make a brilliant story.
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