Ashes by Christopher de Vinck

Blurb

"A deeply touching novel about two young women whose differences, which once united them, will tear them apart forever, during Hitler’s Nazi occupation of Belgium and France. Based on true events.

For fans of All The Light We Cannot See and Tattooist of Auschwitz.

Belgium, July 1939: Simone Lyon is the daughter of a Belgium national hero, the famous General Joseph Lyon. Her best friend Hava Daniels, is the eldest daughter of a devout Jewish family. Despite growing up in different worlds, they are inseparable.

But when, in the spring of 1940, Nazi planes and tanks begin bombing Brussels, their resilience and strength are tested. Hava and Simone find themselves caught in the advancing onslaught and are forced to flee.

In an emotionally-charged race for survival, even the most harrowing horrors cannot break their bonds of love and friendship. The two teenage girls, will see their innocence fall, against the ugly backdrop of a war dictating that theirs was a friendship that should never have been."

Kindle Edition, 352 pages
Expected publication: May 26th 2020 by Harper Inspire
With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

My Review

The story starts and we meet Simone Lyon the daughter of a Belgian national hero, who inspired his fellow soldiers to dig trenches which helped halt the Germans in the First World War. She lives a fairly privileged lifestyle and watches her father ride a white horse through the park of Brussels each week with people cheering him as he goes. When she volunteers for the day with the Red Cross she meets Hava and they instantly strike up a close friendship. The author captures the innocence of two 18 year old girls at the end of the 1930's, reading Gone With The Wind, dreaming of meeting Clark Gable, going for picnics and drawing lines up the back of their legs to pretend they're wearing stockings and trying to ignore the growing threat of war. I particularly enjoyed the glimpses into Hava's family life, with her father telling Simone Jewish stories and Hava's younger brother enlisting his sister to put on a play for Simone and their parents.

Their peace is shattered as the German army arrives and the author immerses you in the horror, fear and utter chaos of an invading army bombing a city and people trying to flee, but not sure where to go. It's terrifying and so hard to think of people going through this both then and in more recent history. The majority of the book follows Simone and Hava as they try to stay ahead of the advancing Germany army.

I couldn't put this book down, I was deeply involved in the story of Simone and Hava's friendship and the book left me heartbroken all over again by the pain and loss caused by World War II.

I highly recommend this book and give it 5 out of 5.