Thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture and Shirley Dickson for my copy of: The Outcast Girls.
England, in 1939: After the death of their parents Sandra and Alf Hudson grow up in an orphanage called Blakely Hall, all children have to leave and find a job when they turn fifteen. When it's Sandra's turn to find a employment, she's given a job working for the Kirton's as a housemaid and she soon discovers that she was much safer at the orphanage. Luckily the cook Olive Goodwin, has been kind to Sandra, she offers her a place to stay, until she finds another job and Sandra joins The Women's Land Army.

Germany, in 1939: Eleven year old Frieda Sternberg and her brother Kurt are about to board a ship to take them from Holland to England. After the night of broken glass, their father decides to get his Jewish children out of Germany and to safety in England. At the last minute Kurt jumps ship, poor Frieda has to travel to England on her own and she doesn't speak a word of English. She's given a home by a widow called Mrs Doris Leadbeater, she's kind and Frieda calls her Aunty Doris. She the postmistress in a little town called Leadburn, here Frieda attends the local primary school and she's bullied terribly by the other children for being a German.

England, in 1943: Both girls meet, when Sandra joins The Land Army and is sent to Leadburn. The girls grow very close, due to both having such difficult childhoods and they are true kindred spirits. Frieda is worried about Kurt, her parents and her grandmother in Germany and she has no contact with them since she left Germany in 1939. It takes it's toll on her mentally, she has a terrible time and she stops eating. Sandra worries about her brother Alf, he joined the air force and he's listed as missing in action. Sandra has issues due to growing up in the orphanage, she feels all alone in the world, she struggles socially and she's also illiterate.

I enjoyed The Outcast Girls, it's a story about how two lost and lonely young women form a strong friendship, how being friends helps both of them get through the difficult war years. The girls are very lucky to find each other and have two caring women who step up and guide them through their teenage years. I loved the characters of Aunty Doris, Olive Goodwin and Matthew Carlton, I really enjoyed reading the book and I gave it four stars.

5☆ A Captivating, Poignant and Heart Warming Historical Fiction, I couldn't put down!


The Outcast Girls is a WWII Historical Fiction that is simply captivating, poignant, heart warming and powerful.
It's a heart breaking story of the effects the war has on families and in particular Two Young Ladies and their friendship and bond they formed, despite the chaos and heartache around them!


1938 - Frieda and her brother Kurt were boarded on a train clutching their possessions and identity cards waving their Mother Goodbye as she sent the children to safety in England to escape the horrors that was happening in Berlin to the Jewish Community.
However Kurt didn't make it to England as he escaped leaving Frieda all alone and scared!

1943 - Sandra had been brought up in Blakeley Orphanage with her younger brother Alf after their Mother died during childbirth and their father could no longer cope due to illness.
But now Sandra works as a Servant for Mrs Kirton the lady of the house and her brother Alf was now in the RAF doing his bit for the War.
However Instead of going to do her bit for the war, Mrs Kirton insisted Sandra stayed on as her house maid, which was agreed as long as she did voluntary work for the war.
Eventually Sandra makes the decision and enlists in the Land Girls.

Sandra and Frieda paths cross and they become friends, after meeting in difficult circumstances. The two quickly bond as they have faced so much heartache and pain they can relate to each other's story.

The Outcast Girls is a raw and heart breaking story that had me engrossed from the first few pages. Frieda and Sandra's strength and courage simply shines through. Their friendship is so heart warming and powerful.
This is a Story about Friendship, Hope, Courage, Heartache, War, Children Refugees and Orphaned. It's a powerful, Gripping and poignant read that I couldn't put down. My only hope is that the Author considers writing more of their story as I really want to hear more!
Oh and I have to mention I adore the cover and the title it's perfect!

If you enjoy powerful, Gripping historical Fiction set in WWII that's captivating and wonderfully compelling then you will love The Outcast Girls by Shirley Dickson.

I would like to thank Book On The Bright Side Tours and Bookouture for this copy which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

A heart-breaking and poignant tale of love, loss, courage and the ties that bind, Shirley Dickson’s wartime tale The Outcast Girls is best read with a box of tissues handy as this book is sure to make readers tear up again and again.

The dark clouds of war have gathered and Germany is no longer a safe country for eleven year old Frieda and her brother Kurt. Synagogues are being set ablaze, civil unrest and prejudice are at an all time high and danger lurks around every corner. Trust has become an almost alien commodity for many people in Germany who find themselves trapped in a place that has seemingly transformed overnight. With Germany no place for young children, it is decided that England would be a better for Frieda and her brother. But on the crammed ship bound for their safe haven, Frieda is shocked when her brother Kurt jumps off back to land and disappears from sight.

Having spent her entire life trapped in an orphanage in England, the time has come for Sandra to make a new life for herself. Sandra cannot wait to start afresh and to make something of herself away from the shadows of the orphanage, however, the happiness she had thought would finally be hers after a lifetime of anguish and misery is fleeting as she finds out that her brother Alf is going to be flying bombers, leaving her alone and devastated once again. When Sandra and Frieda cross paths in the most surprising and unexpected of ways, a friendship is immediately struck and during these dark and difficult times, the girls begin to rely on one another and be a shoulder to cry on when all seems lost and desperate.

Sandra and Frieda are both worried about their brothers and about their families. Will they ever be reunited with their loved ones? Can they triumph over all the obstacles standing in their way? And will two letters destined for them reach them with news that will make them happy…or break their hearts all over again?

Shirley Dickson aims for the heart and does miss with her wonderfully written and beautifully affecting wartime tale, The Outcast Girls. Written with sensitivity, flair and compassion, this touching and beguiling saga is sure to touch readers’ hearts and keep them totally enthralled from the first page until the final sentence.

Sandra and Frieda are two terrific characters readers will instantly take to their hearts. Brilliantly nuanced and immensely believable, readers will be cheering them on and hoping that they will find the happiness which they seek.

A gripping and emotional saga that readers will not easily forget, Shirley Dickson’s The Outcast Girls is a must-read for historical fiction fans.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed Shirley Dickson's new book The Outcast Girls. It was just that little bit different to some of the more recent historical fiction that I have read and I found it quickly got to the heart of the story and its themes. It had such depth to it and dealt with some serious issues which two young girls were experiencing during the war years. Both are from different sides of the spectrum yet over time and through a moving and interesting journey they come to realise their lives mirror each other in many ways. The friendship and moving similarities between the two slowly became apparent and in turn become the main focus of the book.

Both Sandra and Frieda go on an incredible journey and this is certainly one book where you could see the voyage and transformation unfolding beneath your eyes. It was so well written with such a clear, concise beginning, middle and end with real changes occurring in each section. Even if I did think the very end, as in the last two or three pages, was slightly abrupt and even an end note with a page or two would have wrapped things further together even more. The two girls we meet at the start are vastly different to those we meet at the end and their metamorphosis through the help of love, support and simply getting out there in the world and doing their bit was a joy to read.

Chapters alternate between Sandra and Frieda and I loved how each girls perspective gave us such a well rounded view of the story as a whole. The prologue introduces us to Frieda, it is 1938 and Berlin is a city on the edge. Frieda's family are Jewish and have suffered the wrath of people on the night of Kristallnacht. They fear for their lives and steal away to a place of safety but with tensions rising and they do not know what the future will hold. Their father decides to sent them away to England where a group called The Movement for the Care of Children from Germany are helping children under the age of 17 to escape until it is safe to return.

Frieda and her younger brother Kurt are sent away but Kurt jumps ship in Holland leaving Frieda alone. This abandonment will wear away at Frieda for the years she is in England as war rages on all around her. Leaving her family, and in turn Kurt abandoning her and she herself doing nothing to stop it, will have such a profound affect on her that guilt, fear, anger, sadness and distress all become commonplace emotions that she can never shake off. Fast forward to 1943 and Frieda is living with Aunty Doris in the country village of Leadburn, although not related by blood the two women have gotten to know each other better over the years since Doris took Frieda in. They have a good bond but Doris wishes they could be closer as Frieda bottles so many things up. You couldn't blame Frieda for being wary after all she had left her family and homeland behind and does not know what has happened to them. The guilt she feels at not doing her best to keep Kurt with her, or even to follow him, just keeps eroding at her leading to some devastating consequences.

Now she has just left school and despite being still relatively young she feels it has not done much for her due to the bullying she has experienced. No doubt about it, Frieda has had it tough and all she has been through affects her state of mind and well being. An issue begins to make itself apparent and to be honest I had given scant thought to such a thing occurring back in the war years. Said problem is more prevalent today so I thought it was brilliant that the author brought our attention to something and showed that it can happen to anyone and at any point and place in time.

Throughout the story, you just feel an overwhelming sadness for Frieda as she can't see the good qualities about herself of which there are many. She is on a destructive path and those around her begin to see it and want to try and help her but Doris can't even reach beyond the walls that Frieda has established around her. She develops self loathing at what she believes to be her cowardice but I felt she was placing such harsh judgements on herself when there was no need to. Of course she should pine for, and worry about, her family but her parents sent her away for a reason and if they knew the state she had gotten herself into they would have been distraught.

It's when Freida begins work on a local farm and in turn the arrival of Sandra to work as a Land Girl that she begins to open up but it is not without its difficulties and matters of the heart slowly begin to come into play also. The friendship that develops between Frieda and Sandra was a catalyst for change in both their lives and it kept me reading even quicker to discover would there be a happy ending or would things turn even further sour with more heartache to come?

Sandra was a brilliantly crafted character. You could really see this young women go from being meek, afraid and sub servant to an impressive person who knew what she wanted in life and her confidence just seemed to grow and grow. Having been raised in an orphanage with her younger brother Alf due to the loss of their mother and their father being ill and then going straight into service, Sandra had not much worldly experience in many matters and it showed. The fact she was so innocent and couldn't stand up for herself said a lot. There were two characters mentioned when talking about the orphanage and I went back and checked. They were from the authors first book and the little connection between them and Sandra was a nice little added touch.

An unfortunate incident leads to Sandra leaving her employment as a housemaid and although it was traumatic and devastating at the time maybe in the end it was the best thing that could have ever happened to her. It spurred her onto make changes and with the help of Olive Goodwin, the cook in the house, she got some small bit of courage in order to buck up and make the necessary changes in her life. The biggest one being that she applies to be a Land Girl. Being a townie she knows nothing about the countryside or farming but all that is about to change as she arrives in Leadburn and stays at the hostel established for Land Girls who come from all over the country.

Similar to Frieda, Sandra was so down on herself and it was simply because she didn't have the courage and confidence. There was something major holding her back and we all take this thing for granted every minute of every day of our lives. Coupled with the worry of not knowing what will happen to Alf during the war as he is fighting with the RAF, Sandra takes time to settle into the rhythm and pace of village life. She really is like a fish out of water but I admired the fact that she just kept going and she became eager to learn everything in order to better herself both mentally, emotionally and physically.

The little lost girl from the orphanage who has been institutionalised all her life certainly underwent many adjustment and developments. But it was all handled so carefully and sensitively but it never felt forced or rushed or that it couldn't be within the realms of possibility. Initially, there was a certain naivety about her and a reticence but when she strikes out of her own that's when she comes to the fore although as with Frieda she goes through some tough and challenging times and you do wish she would see what was before her very eyes and not let a certain opportunity slip through her fingers.

The Outcast Girls was a beautiful story and one I very much enjoyed reading. As the line on the front cover suggests this is a heartbreaking and gripping story that I am glad I did not miss out on. Shirley Dickson has created two believable characters who really get under your skin and you feel every bit of emotion they go through. I feel privileged to have journeyed with them and The Outcast Girls has reminded me that Shirley is a historical fiction author who is not to be missed.

I received a free electronic ARC of this historical novel from Netgalley, Shirley Dickson, and Bookouture. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of the work. Shirley Dickson is on my favorite authors' list. She paints wartime England beautifully, and her characters are complete, complex people with heart.

After November 1938 Kristallnacht in Berlin in February 1939, Frieda Sternberg, 11 or 12 years old, and her little brother Kurt, two years younger, were placed on a Jewish Children's emigration train via a group known as 'Movement for the care of Children from Germany' which set up transportation and foster families to take-in the children when they reached rural England. The children, all under 17 years, could carry only a small suitcase and they would cross into Holland, train to the Dutch coast and then boat or ferry to England and stay with foster families for the duration of the war. Their father had already been gathered up in one of the pogroms, leaving their mother and grandmother hiding in the home of a family friend. Kurt wanted to stay in Berlin and help out the ladies - his dad had told him that he was the man of the house until father returned. He boarded the train but was known for obstinance and stubbornness. Frieda worried that he would give her trouble. She didn't anticipate him jumping ship as the boarding ramp was removed, however. He waves her goodbye as she steams out of the Holland port. Frieda arrived in England alone and feeling guilty that she had let her parents down, and of course, worried sick about Kurt. Her foster situation is nice, she works part-time and lived with the post-mistress, Aunty Doris, in Leadburn. Life in England is very trying, however. Frieda is ostracized and resented and occasionally abused by most of her classmates in school, if not for her German heritage and accent, then for her Jewish religion. She develops a food aversion while still in school, finding it almost impossible to eat anything, and dwindles down to a twig. When she is about to age out of the program of relief that helps Doris support her at not-quite-fifteen, Frieda is offered a job on Nichol's farm on the outskirts of Leadburn. Without other options, she is grateful for the job with housing, though she still isn't eating enough to keep a bird alive and can add Mrs. Nichols to Doris among those worried about her.

Sandra Hudson was raised as was her older brother Alf in a British orphanage after their mother died. Their father was an invalid and died soon after they settled into the routine of the children's home. At 15 she went into service. Her brother Alf was already in the Royal Air Force and stationed on the coast. Sandra was unlucky with the draw of an employer - she is basically slave labor for the Kirton family, taking the place of several staff members as they quit or are laid off, until only she and the Cook, Olive, are left to do the work of many. The only highlight in her life is when she received mail from her brother - which Olive happily reads to her. Olive also has son Kenneth in the military, so in their friendship, they feel like old souls and confidants despite the age difference. The Kirton son Duncan, home from school, does his best to sexually abuse the girl. After Sandra screams for help several times, a nearby bomb knocks the corner off of the house next door and drops ceiling and roof parts onto Sandra. After she is dug out of the debris, Sandra tries to explain how she wound up in Duncan's bed, but Mrs. Kirton lets her go without reference or past wages and threatens her should she tell anyone what happened with Duncan. But for the assist of confidant and friend Olive Goodwin, she would have been broke and homeless, and Sandra knew she needed to find work fast. She is unable to read or write, so service work is about all that she feels confident to seek, but Olive talks her into shooting a little higher, something where she can learn a new trade or go to school part-time. When Sandra sees the advertisements for The Women's Land Army at the local bus stop, she is inspired to apply. To her surprise, she is accepted without hesitation, despite the fact that she has never been out of the city. She is sent to the Leadburn hostel in Northumberland. And again to her surprise, she learns many farm skills quickly and finds true friends among the girls from all walks of life that she lives and works with. The farm work is challenging and always interesting. Sandra actually for the first time feels confident and content. And the local clergyman is not only willing to read to her and answer her letters from Alf and Olive but is also willing to teach her to read.

The two girls meet at the local church in Leadburn and find they have much in common. Often Sandra is sent to work on the Nichols farm, and Frieda helps her learn to milk cows. Soon the girls are friends, a mutual support sisterhood that helps them both find confidence and peace. And they need moral support - Frieda has still after nearly three years heard nothing from her German family including Kurt, and the news of the imprisonment and murder of German Jews is very disturbing. And her Italian POW prisoner boyfriend is going to be a problem. Sandra also receives a telegraph - the Red Cross notifies her that brother Alf is a POW in Switzerland. And her American pilot is actually married. And then Alf escapes to who knows where? Complications. If they can make it through the war, life would be much simpler. But at least they have each other. And Olive.

The Outcast Girls is the third book I have read by author, Shirley Dickson. I loved both The Orphan Sisters and Our Last Goodbye. So, when I saw Dickson had another new release, I knew I just had to have it. I love how Dickson easily transports you back in time with each of her beautifully written stories immersing us in history centering around World War II.

The forefront of this story is about two young women, Sandra and Frieda, and while they both have differences they share a lot of the same similarities. Sandra’s childhood was spent at Blakely Hall Orphanage and Frieda, a Jewish girl from Germany, is an evacuee from the war. Both have younger brothers that are not in their lives right now. While Sandra’s brother is off fighting in the war, Frieda is not really sure where her brother is as he hopped off the ship before they landed in England. Sandra does not think very highly of herself, thinks she is stupid and has no confidence. Frieda has been bullied all throughout school for being Jewish and not “skinny” which later manifests itself psychologically. When the two women meet they form a bond and here is where you can see how both Sandra and Frieda both change for the better with their new found friendship.

I found this such an easy story to read and it flowed so well. Although Dickson writes about the war, her stories tend to be more about her characters and their stories as they navigate their way through the war. At times heartbreaking and other times uplifting, Dickson weaves her way through the two emotions so effortlessly and it is one of the things I really enjoy about her books. Dickson also writes some wonderfully crafted characters who you can relate to and fall in love with.

The Outcast Girls by Shirley Dickson is such a heartwarming story and one I easily found myself becoming deeply invested in the friendship between Sandra and Frieda. Another perfect read and another five star story from Dickson.

I was quickly absorbed in this read, and it soon became a page-turner.
We journey from Germany to England, from an evil permeating Europe to living as a refugee, and being bullied. Yes, kids will be kids, but I can’t imagine what this young girl was going through, and her family was in so much danger.
Enter a young woman, girl, who has spent most of her life in an orphanage, and then in service, but she has a bright spot in the cook in the home she works. Love how God puts people in your path, and both these young women receive this blessing.
The author gives us a chance to walk in each of these survivor’s shoes, and we get to really care about each of them.
I just wished that there had been an epilogue at the end, I wanted more information about Frieda’s family, but I did enjoy this story, saw how these people worked so hard on the home front!

I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Bookoutour, and was not required to give a positive review.

WWII bittersweet historical

I love WWII historicals and The Outcast Girls was just perfect for me. It has a good story with a bittersweet ending, characters full of courage meeting challenges that would try any of us, much less young women and teens. I am now looking for Ms Dickson's back-list, as she is a new author to me.

Thanks to the publisher for an e-arc via Netgalley. I have no obligation to write a review, and this review is my honest opinion.

WWII Women at Home in Britain
This is an in-depth tale of the lives of two young women during the Second World War in Britain. Most of the story takes place in 1943 with bombings, food rationing and loss of life. It is a gripping tale that makes the reader feel like they lived this horror. The story is left a bit 'open-ended' for either a sequel or the reader to fill in the blanks. I became totally invested in this story almost immediately. I know that I will read this book again. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

A different take on WWII in England

Frieda Sternberg is a Jewish German girl sent to England by her parents for safety's sake. Sandra Hudson grew up in an orphanage with her brother after their father left them there. The father was unable to cope with the two children after their mother died in childbirth.

Both girls are haunted by past memories and worried about their brothers and find friendship with each other when both start working for the Land Girls, an organization that put women to work in rural England on farms to help feed the general population while the men were away at war.

I liked this story but wish it had gone into more depth on the Land Girls process. It was a part of World War II I had never heard about and was interested in.

I would have rated this with 3.5 stars if I could have.

I received this book from Bookouture through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.

I’ve read a few of this author’s books now and each time she’s given me a captivating and emotional wartime saga which pulls at your heart strings right from the first page. In this book we meet Sandra and Frieda. Both are young girls, one from England and one from Germany. They have completely different lives but are brought together as friends during the perils of war.

I love this author’s previous books, so I knew I would be able to settle down and enjoy this one. Told from the perspectives of both girls, we first meet Frieda in occupied Berlin. She and her brother Kurt are sent away from Berlin onboard a ship heading for England, but just as the ship is about to leave Kurt jumps back onto land and leaves Frieda on her own. Sandra, along with her brother Alf, is an orphan and throughout her teenage years becomes a maid. She isn’t treated very well in service, and finds herself without work, money or a home. Desperately worried about her brother Alf, Sandra joins the Land Girls and here is where she meets evacuee Frieda who is living with her aunt.

The story is just so well told and you can’t help but be caught up in the storyline from the first page. Both of the girl’s characters were very likeable and whilst their backgrounds were so different, their lives now were similar in that they wanted to survive the war and find out what has happened to their brothers. I couldn’t begin to imagine how difficult it must have been for both of them – Frieda in a foreign country, speaking a different language and no family, and Sandra, an orphan with no family to speak of and no home or job. I loved how they became friends, with Sandra definitely becoming more of an older sister or mother figure for Frieda to look up to.

The story flowed well and kept me tenterhooks, waiting to see what happened in the two girls lives as the war raged on. As in the author’s previous books, the scene was set wonderfully and it was full of emotion, heartache and most importantly friendships. It described perfectly how, at that time, friendships were formed in the unlikeliest of circumstances. A mesmerising read which shows, once again, how the people of England coped during the war, even under the most difficult of circumstances, thanks to the support and friendship of the people around them. Would definitely recommend!

What a page-turner this beautifully written, heart-wrenching story is. Frieda and her brother Kurt are living in Berlin in 1938 when their parents send them to an orphanage in England to be safe. As the boat gets ready to leave the port, Kurt jumps off and runs. Frieda go to the orphanage by herself and is eventually adopted by a woman she calls Aunty Doris. England, 1937, 15-year-old Sandra is released from an orphanage to begin working as a housemaid. Her brother Alf joins the service. Frieda gets fired from her job and joins the Land Army where young girls are hired to work as farmhands. It is there that she meets Frieda and they become friends. This is a real tug-at-your heartstrings book as the two girls grow and learn about life while becoming close friends and confidants. Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of this outstanding book in exchange for an honest review.

Starting at the orphanage that was the jumping off point of The Orphan Girls, we have Sandra – a long term orphanage resident with her younger brother and we have Frieda, a German Jewish girl who was sent from Germany to England with her younger brother for their safety. Unfortunately, before they left German, Frieda’s brother left ship, leaving his sister alone, frightened and worrying for him. Plunked into the orphanage and as the ‘new kid’ who was also different, Frieda’s worries for her brother aren’t soothed by the bullying or newness of her situation, and only her courage and hope helped.

Leaving the orphanage after aging out, Sandra finds herself in domestic service for a woman who ‘didn’t always’ appreciate her. When she learns that her bother is going to war, she wants to do her part and joins in the Woman’s Land Army which is where she meets Freida in the small village where the farm is. While the two girls have plenty in common and even their worries for their brothers are things to tie them together – the gentle use of their actual differences and approaches to each day and the world around them shows the strength of them both, and the support they gain from one another.

Make no mistake, there were moments in the story that felt very ‘here we go again’ as situations and some dramatic moments that felt more ‘dressing’ than ‘substance’ were here, but the story was clever and tried to provide insight into the homefront and the women of the Land Girls with a bit of a twist, adding in Frieda and her own unique perspective on both the war and her own worries for family. Most striking is the moments when both girls allow themselves a moment to wonder IF they’ll ever see family again, allowing the reader to remember just how ‘alone’ both of them are. A solid read with plenty of moments to enjoy.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=” https://wp.me/p3OmRo-aAY/” > <a> I am, Indeed </a>

I have a bit of a soft spot for WWII books and this one sounded like one I would enjoy.

Both of these girls survived so much at young ages, and it is this which unites them, I think. Sandra takes on the role of older sister to Frieda, and as neither girl have any family nearby, they become each others family.

I can't even imagine what it would be like to be evacuated as a child, to a country where you didn't speak the language and, whats more, the locals are not exactly thrilled about your nationality (even though you were persecuted in your native country). Frieda is pretty amazing, all things considered. Sandra is a lovely character too, a strong girl who has also been through a lot in her life. I loved Olive, she really was a maternal character and every teenage girl should have an Olive in their lives! Aunty Doris was also lovely.

As much as it was interesting reading about the story about the Land Girls, I really wish the story had gone just a little bit further. It needed a bit of finishing, somehow. I also felt like parts of it were a bit long-winded. Minor things though. All in all, I enjoyed it very much.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture.

4 stars from me.

It was 1939 when eleven-year-old Frieda and her brother Kurt were boarding a ship bound for England from Germany, where they would be fostered until their family could join them. But Kurt was determined to stay and look after their mother and grandmother, as their father had been arrested. To Frieda’s shock, Kurt ran from the ship as the ramp was about to be raised – would she ever see him or her family again?

Sandra and her brother Alf had spent their years in the Blakely Hall Orphanage after their mother had passed away and when Sandra turned fifteen, she was released while Alf remained. Her work as a housemaid was never ending, with the mistress making things twice as difficult for her. On learning that Alf had enlisted to fight in the war, Sandra wanted to do her bit as well and joined the Land Girls, so in 1943 she found herself living in a hostel in a small country town outside London. Working on a nearby farm, Sandra met Frieda who lived with her Aunt Doris nearby and the two girls became friends. They both had a common background; their lives seemed a mirror of each other’s.

While Sandra worried for Alf, Frieda was the same about Kurt – what would the end of the war bring?

The Outcast Girls is the second book by Shirley Dickson that I’ve read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it once again. Frieda and Sandra were wonderful characters while their work on the farm – hard though it was – helped them through the days of uncertainty. Friendly with all the Land Girls in the hostel, Sandra felt herself become more outgoing after her life in the orphanage, while Frieda’s confidence grew through having a friend. The Outcast Girls was an excellent read, and one I highly recommend.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

Two young women, fearing for their brothers lives but determined to do their part. After losing her job in Service, Sandra is determined to do more with her life, and sets out to support the war effort by joining the land army. There she meets Freida, a German Jew who was sent to England to ensure her safety. Both girls are desolate without their beloved brothers, but they soon form a friendship that will see them through even the darkest of days. But the question remains - will they ever be reunited with their families?

This is one of those books thats just lovely. A nice easy read with interesting characters, an engaging plot, and just enough drama to keep you reading. I've read a lot of these sorts of books, and while this wasn't the best, it definitely wasn't the worst.

I will say though, I did feel that the synopsis oversold it slightly - comparing it to Before We Were Yours I feel is a mistake, as there are some fairly significant differences between the two. I really enjoyed Before We Were Yours, and so that was the main reason I requested this, which meant I was left a bit underwhelmed. Part of the reason was that this just didn't seem quite as well written. I did find the writing was at times a little simplistic - the language could be quite stilted, and there was a fair few examples of telling not showing, especially when it came to the girls emotions. But that's me being fussy, and it didn't really affect my enjoyment of the book.

If you're a fan of the genre, you'll definitely enjoy this one. It's not going to blow your mind, but its a nice enough book to while away the afternoon.

My first Shirley Dickson novel and I loved it! Reading how the girls became very close friends during WWII, working on the farm together after the rough time they had at the beginning of the war, was so true to life for many during that period of time. The book felt like an autobiography and I felt part of it. Brilliant

I really enjoy reading stories that take place during WWII, so I was intrigued by the synopsis for this one. I loved the camaraderie between Sandra and Frieda. They were two girls dealing with their own personal tragedies, yet they had a lot more in common than I expected they would, and though it was such a dark and lonely time for these two, they found strength and comfort in their friendship. I did feel that it ended a bit abruptly, but overall I really enjoyed this book.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3133833165

A very good historical novel about 2 young girls and their growing into young womanhood .The novel begins with the background stories of Sandra an orphan and Frieda a kinder transport from war torn Germany. They meet as Land Girls when in their teens. Land Girls are young women who are recruited to help the war effort as farmhands raising food while the young men are fighting the war. As far as I know this was unique to England. The girls have many similarities both not knowing the whereabouts of their brothers and feeling as outcasts. The girls form a close relationship enduring first love heartbreak..among other things. I highly recommend this novel to historical and general fiction readers. I look forward to reading more novels by this author. Thanks to netgalley and Bookouture publishers for an advance copy.

A lovely read. This is set during ww2 and focuses on the lives of Frieda, a German Jewish refugee and Sandra, an orphan who goes from scullery maid to land girl. The characters are likeable and the friendships that form are heartwarming. It’s quite an easy read, with some ups and downs along the way. I’d definitely recommend it.
Thank you to netgalley, the author and publishers for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.