Without much advance planning, I ended up reading two children's historical fiction books back to back. They are entirely different, although based in the same time period, but they take place in two different countries with differing focuses.
This story is about the war and the people who stayed home and their reality. It is written in a simple enough form for younger audiences, but only slightly older children will be able to understand the true impact of war (although even younger children ask good questions about the stories they encounter).
The story is told from two viewpoints. One is of a girl who has been moved with her school into the home of an Earl due to the war. The second narrator is an intelligent and well-read girl who has to work as a maid under the same roof. They form an unlikely alliance after a few hiccups.
Adventures fall apart if they are too convoluted or too simple. This plot hits just the right high points to keep the story moving while simultaneously keeping the idea of the war and its effects in the foreground. These two girls, on their own, find something wrong in the Earl's home. They start to dig, and their paths cross. Ultimately, their actions mean they might be saving lives!
I would highly recommend this to children who like to try new things (as well as all adults who find the blurb interesting). I would definitely buy a copy for my nice if and when she finishes all her pending to-reads.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

A fantastic boarding school/mystery/world war two spy novel! A girls school is evacuated to the countryside, and a collection of misfit pupils and locals find out about mysterious goings on, linked to the war. A really fresh take on this genre with really strong female leads. Absolutely perfect for 9-12 great olds.

Great WW2 historical fiction that my year 5 class will love as they are currently studying this part of history. I liked how the central characters were girls, as WW2 books seem to often centre around boys. Griping read.

Thanks NetGalley for approving me for this ARC. A easy good read, kept my attention throughout and enjoyed.

I loved this book and know that middle grade readers will too. Fans of Murder most unladylike will delight in this adventure. A school is set to the safety of the countrysider, the booaders now have a whole new are to explore (or not as some areas are out of bounds). A mystery needs solving and the country is at stake. Will midnight adventures and mixing with a maid help solve the mystery. A story you will not want to end.

There's a lot of books about WWII around for middle grade readers at the moment but this one really stands out as something a little different and exciting by adding an espionage twist to it.

Sidney has recently started at a new boarding school where she feels like she doesn't fit in. . When they are evacuated to a stately home in the countryside, she overhears a number of conversations between the owner of the house and other visitors and becomes suspicious that something dangerous is going on. Nancy is a housemaid working in the home and takes an instant dislike to all of the girls, even though Sidney is nothing like them. She also become suspicious about what is going on in the house and reluctantly at first, the girls begin to work together to hatch a plot to uncover the truth.

The girls were both really interesting and confident characters and although from very different backgrounds, actually had a lot in common. The plot was complex and didn't shy away from covering lots of aspects of WWII (the holocaust, missing airmen, Hitler, spies ansd traitors) that are often avoided in children's books but it was well written and very engaging. There's lots to discuss and explore and it would be a great book for any child interested in WWII (particularly what it was like at home and during evacuation) and it would compliment a topic on WWII in Upper Key Stage 2 brilliantly.

I loved this book and will certainly be recommending it to pupils in my school. It is set during World War 2 but covers it from a different angle than any other children's books on this theme I've read before. The focus is on a large stately home owned by an aristocrat and the main characters are a young girl working there as a maid and a girl who is there with teachers and other boarders from her boarding school (who have relocated there for safety). You really get to know both characters well and the plot and storyline is an engaging one. The note at the end of the book is good as it highlights that although events in the book are fiction they are based on knowledge of things that did go on during World War 2 that it's unlikely they would already be aware of. I would definitely consider using this with my class.

During World War II, Sidney and the rest of her school are evacuated to a stately home to continue their education. Nancy is a new housemaid at the house. When they both overhear a conversation about sharing secrets with Hitler, they know they must do something to stop this from happening. But can they find the evidence they need to get people to believe them?

This was a great 'spy' style novel. The stately home setting worked well to allow for lots of comings and goings and, of course, the obligatory secret passages! The unlikely friendship that developed between Sidney and Nancy was realistic, with an initial distrust of each other blossoming into a desire to work together to prevent a disaster for the country.

As well as being a fabulous adventure story, this would work well alongside a World War II topic in class to show another side to events of the time.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers, Nosy Crow, for an advance copy.

A nostalgic story of boarding school capers, ghostly goings-on in a wartime setting, based on real events. Brilliant!

A beautiful cover and a good old fashioned adventure for modern readers, aged nine upwards.

Set in a grand country house, it's based on real events where there was an aristocratic plot to bring down the government and hand over control to the Nazis in World War II. In this story two girls, Nancy and Sidney, save the day.

Initially we learn of life from two very different perspectives. Nancy is a maid while Sidney is a pupil at St Olave's boarding school, relocated to this country house because of the war.

They seem to have nothing in common and there is a certain amount of friction and conflict when they do have occasion to meet, but they both independently suspect landowner Lord Evesham of treachery. Together they vow to find the proof they need to thwart Lord Evesham's terrible plans.

It's a thrilling read. Lots of boarding school capers of ghostly goings on, secret passages and creeping around at night. There's wartime courage and daring, though tragic events are never far away. And these are resourceful girls from very different backgrounds who work together to bring justice. A brilliant read!

I was hooked from the very beginning of this book and read to the end in one sitting as I had to know how it ended. I loved the relationship between Nancy and Sidney and the snap shot given into how the difference classes work. I was intrigued to see if they would be able to solve the mystery and uncover the traitor before it was too late. I can already think of several children who will thoroughly enjoy this book too.

Set in the World War II period, Friends and Traitors is an immersive read that effortlessly transports the reader back in time. Helen Peters demonstrates her impressive historical fiction writing skills in a daring adventure that nevertheless effectively brings home the horror of wartime.

Sidney and her schoolmates are evacuated to Stanbrook, a country house, as the impact of war begins to bite. There, she befriends Nancy, who is working as a maid in the household. The two of them soon become aware of some strange goings-on in the house - which holds various secret passages and hidden pathways - and they decide to investigate.

What the young girls discover swiftly goes from being exciting to being terrifying, as they find themselves well and truly out of their depth. It seems the Earl of Stanbrook is a traitor, and is collaborating with the Nazis.

For Sidney, whose brother goes missing after a brutal dogfight over France, it is all too close to home. But the implications of the Earl's treasonous activity go far deeper than its effects on Sidney's family, since the aim of the collaborators is a victory for Hitler.

So how can two girls make a difference in a situation so complex and so fraught?

Peters does an excellent job of exploring not only the impacts of the war on individuals and families, but also how the class system and wider society operated at the time.

For example, while Nancy is clearly more intelligent than Sidney or her classmates, she is unable to access the educational opportunities that she deserves because of her family circumstances. Sidney's growing awareness of these realities demonstrate the kind of character arc Peters pulls off more than once in this story, and it is one of the things that makes the book so readable.

Anyone looking out for a YA historical fiction read is likely to enjoy this book. Recommended.

Sidney, a schoolgirl, and Nancy, a housemaid, find their paths crossing when one's school is evactuated to the stately home of Stanbrook and the other is starting her emplyment there. Soon, the two girls discover that Lord Evesham, new owner of Stanbrook, is up to no good. There are secret nighttime meetings, hidden things and suspicious overheard conversations - something sinister is brewing. After the first thrill of investigating a mystery, things start taking a deadly turn. The news that Sidney’s brother went missing brutally brings home the reality of war. Evesham, his friends and their evil plans mus be stopped, or the consequences will be terrible for the whole nation...

Helen Peters proves once again what a wonderful story teller she is. Friends and Traitors is a thrilling piece of historical fiction. The budding relationship between Sidney and Nancy, far to be friendly for most of the time, is wonderfully oberved and gives the story a strong feel of authenticity. It also reflects well the division of classes running through the story and touches, in a sensitive and poignant way, to political themes and fighting for what is right. An absolutely gripping and thought-provoking read.

'Friends and Traitors' is a thrilling middle-grade historical adventure set in 1940. Sidney and her school are evacuated to Stanbrook, a vast stately home in the countryside; there she meets Nancy, who has been sent to work there as a housemaid. Together, they soon get wind of suspicious going-on involving the Earl of Stanbrook and a secret plan to collaborate with the Nazis. Nobody believes them when they try to raise the alarm, so they must use all their cunning to put a stop to the Earl's plot before it is too late.

This is a gripping read which makes full use of the country house setting - secret passageways and priceless artefacts play a key role in the story, and the upstairs-downstairs divide between Sidney and Nancy is carefully explored; initially Sidney envies the freedom she thinks Nancy has compared to all the rules she is required to follow, but becomes more aware of her privilege as the novel progresses. In a nice twist, Helen Peters makes Nancy brighter than Sidney and her classmates, but she is unable to take up her grammar school place because her family need her to start working as soon as she turns fourteen.

Peters also explores some important but overlooked aspects of WW2 history, most significantly the collusion of several British aristocrats in plans to overthrow the government and usher in Nazi rule. The novel exposes the double-standard by which different types of 'traitor' were treated - a Jewish housemaid is dismissed and her brother is interned as an enemy alien despite their hatred of the Nazi regime, while Lord Evesham's status protects him from suspicion.

This should be a very popular title with older primary readers but there is plenty for adults to enjoy too. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC to review.

I really enjoyed this book. Definitely a YA book but still fun to read as an adult. Two unlikely friends join together to solve a mystery and expose a traitor. All jolly good fun stuff when St Olaves school moves to a stately home during the war. Well written and highly engaging. Wasn't a fan of truncating words like hilarious to hilare but maybe I'm showing my age
Highly enjoyable

Nosy crow comes with some brilliant authors and book. Helen Peters Friends and Traitors is definately up there with the best books we have read this year. The children all found something of interest in the story and followed it up with many questions and internet searches to find out more. I thoroughly enjoyed it and suspect that my grumpy husband did too, although he was allegedly reading the paper (without turning the pages). The only sour note was when my youngest grandchild asked me what it was like during the war !

I was really excited to read this one as I love a WW2 set fiction and I loved the idea of exposing traitors. One of the things I found most interesting in this wasn’t the actual traitor element however, it was the relationship between the two protagonists and the split narrative, which was exceptionally well written with each character having a clear and distinctive voice.
But what i found most interesting was the fact that for the majority of the book the ‘friends’ didn’t actually appear to be friends - often criticising, sometimes insulting, each other and challenging the other to be a better person. These are two characters who likely without that joint goal of taking down the traitor they would never have become friends, which I think is a fascinating way to explore the ‘upstairs’ and the ‘downstairs’ elements of class.
I really enjoyed the pacing in this, and it really kept the pages turning, as I kept wanting to know what would happen next: there were some (not literal) bombs dropped which disrupted the main narrative which I thoroughly enjoyed - real life happens despite an important quest.
Will definitely be seeking out more books by Helen Peters!

Friends and Traitors
By Helen Peters
Published by Nosy Crow Ltd

This fabulous historical novel keeps you gripped from the offset. Helen Peters writes with both compassion and honesty for what is right in very difficult World War II circumstances. Her characters are not just bold and brave but determined and willing to face the truth of their deeds.

Who would have thought a friendship would flourish between a school girl & a housemaid? This gripping World War II story about how two girls foil an aristocratic plot to bring down the government and hand the country to the Nazis is brilliantly told with great suspense and mystery.

As the lives of a school girl evacuee and a housemaid become entwined through overheard conversations, Helen Peters unveils secret meetings, childhood pranks and missing pieces of government findings.
Some secrets are just too dangerous to know!!

At first it is terribly thrilling, poking around in the day and creeping about by night. But uncovering the hidden past, finding secret passageways and using evidence against the aristocracy takes a deadly turn. The Earl and his evil plotters must be stopped, or nothing will ever be the same again.

Praise for Helen Peters - a fabulous, young reader’s novel, combining historical events with a mystery to be unveiled.

Joanne Bardgett - teacher of littlies, lover of Children’s literature.

#Netgalley
#nosycrow
#helenpeters

I was given an arc copy of this book in return for a review.

As per usual i was drawn to the cover art. It made me think of two friends trying to solve a mystery or escape from a dangerous place.

Either way i had to know who these two girls were and what their story was.

It is a wonderful story of courage and fun in the face of danger. Its very easy to ready abd the main characters are easy to like and identify with . Its a fantastic way to get an idea of what happened to schools during that time and how the students reacted.

I really enjoyed this read

This is a brilliant mystery regardless of the intended target: well plotted, solid, and with a clever cast of fleshed out characters.
It's a classic mystery, one of those books that brought back in time and I thoroughly enjoyed.
Well done, I hope to read other stories featuring these characters
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Helen Peter's points out this is fiction but is based on some in the upper classes being supportive of Hitler. The idea that a posh girl's school could get moved into a big stately home during evacuation is entirely plausable
Sidney Dashworth is quite new to St Olave's, and the horrible Lucinda is going to make sure Sidney knows who is the most important. Nancy is also new, a new housemaid at Stanbrook House, not her choice, she had a scholarship to Grammar school, but it didn't include all the extras and her parents couldn't afford those so it was out to work.
We learn that Sidney has a brother, George, in the RAF. She writes him letters telling him all about the school.
Nancy meets Mr Burford, Albert and Rosa (another housemaid) on the driveway. Rosa is an evacuee, from the Nazis in Austria, she is Jewish. All her family live in England. Nancy has a brother too, Jack. The two of them are motor racing fans so when she sees Dorothy Taylor a famous female racing driver arrives as well, she is very excited. Miss Taylor seems to be friends with Lord Evesham, the owner of Stanbrook House.
Nancy has a very dim view of Lucinda, after almost being pushed down the stairs, and this goes for Sidney who was behind her too. However, Sidney overhears a conversation she doesn't understand, about a delivery in the middle of the night. So she keeps watching over the stables. What is it they are putting in there? Sidney wants to investigate.
Nancy hears a conversation between Lord Evesham and another man, Lonsdale, while in the stables. She isn't happy, she doesn't really understand it. She reports it to the butler who tells her she has put 2+2 together and made 5. Lord Evesham is a war hero and high up in the air ministry. She tries reporting the conversation to the police, but they just think it's a prank call.
Then a chance meeting where neither girl should be leads to a prank on the other girls in Sidney's dorm. Then Sidney and Nancy have to hide quickly when they hear Lord Evesham and Miss Taylor talking again. They know something is wrong now, but how can they convince anyone?
Brilliant. Very Secret Seven. Posh schools and adventures. Friendship where you don't expect it. Treachery, I've only read Helen Peter's Jasmine Green books so now I clearly have to go and find some more of the older MG books ( definitely have The Secret Hen House Theatre at school).