Rosie Raja: Churchill's Spy really held the balance well between showing the gravity of occupied France in WWII, and still pitching the story at a level suitable for children. There’s a narrative reason why Rosie is still sheltered despite her situation, and even as an adult reading this I felt satisfied with these storytelling choices. I also adored the characters - it's quite rare that a children’s book manages to have well-fleshed-out adult characters too, but that is the case here. The whole cast of characters are very endearing.
All in all, this is a gripping tale that is educational too. I look forward to the sequel!

Rosie Raja, manages to escape to France aboard the plan her Dad is travelling in - desparate to develop her relationship with since her mum died, and to find out what keeps him away from home so much.

Weaving history with personal relationships and drama - this story has so much voice, adventure and history tucked inside. I devoured it in one day, an absolute treasure of a book.

This was a really quick and lovely read; I would say perfect for a lower middle grade/just transitioning out of chapter books kind of age! The plot was smaller-scale and took place over a much shorter time frame than I think I was expecting, but it works for the story it’s telling (though I’m not convinced that Rosie & co. would have actually met Churchill just for the service they did!) Also, having it end still in 1941 leaves open the possibility of sequels, and the ending suggests that future books might take place in other, non-European countries – which would be a totally different perspective of WW2 that I’ve never seen tackled by children’s fiction (or much fiction at all, really), so am excited to see!

What I did really love, though, was everything relating to the Raj and the Indian struggle for independence! I loved the little snippets about Gandhi, Jinnah, etc. and was especially impressed by how explicitly Ahmed makes the parallel between British people fighting against being ruled by Germans, while still actively ruling over Indians.

CW: grief; death; past death of a parent

What a brilliant wartime story, very suitably pitched for a younger audience. We all loved this so much it was hard to stop reading (on a school night !). Strong female and male lead characters, plenty of bravery and loyalty but best of all a great storyline. Desperate to find out what happens to Rosie and Jean next ( me and the children).

A great storyline covering the war from a different perspective. As a mother of children who enjoy reading books set in wartime this will add another perspective for them. Well written and easy to read while keeping the reader gripped.

I enjoyed this book. It covers aspects of the French Resistance and the role of the British in this fight without being too dark or overwhelming. The story is gripping and lightly touches on tough concepts of what people felt to be acceptable during the war. It is interesting learning about Rosie's previous life in the Raj's India and hearing snippets of the Indian fight for freedom that was taking place at the same time as World War 2. I found it especially thought provoking considering the fact that the British were fighting against Hitler trying taking over their country, while the Indian people were fight the British for basically having done the same thing. I don't know if many children would pick up on this, but I feel that there were lots of different topics of conversation that would come out of this book about right and wrong and people's perspectives. I will definitely be looking to add it to my school's collection of World War 2 books.