‘The Girl Without A Name’ by Suzanne Goldring is a dual timeline book that weaves present-day with world war 2 times perfectly. It is woven so skilfully that I was equally hooked by the story of Ruby, from the war as I was with Billie’s present-day search.
2004, Billie discovers her father having suffered a stroke. He seems to be trying to speak to her bit Billie is unable to understand. The ambulance gets him to hospital and once he is stable Billie gets his things together, she notices an old picture in his wallet but Billie has no clue who this woman is and wants to find out.
Then we slip back to 1939, children from Christchurch school are being evacuated to the country. We meet Ruby who is on the train with Joan and Stevie Stevens. They are all a bit excited but nervous as well. When they arrive in Devon, Ruby and Joan are kept together with a nice lady and Stevie isn’t qs lucky.
The story slips back and forth and we discover what happens to Stevie during the war years and we visit the 1950s. We discover not every evacuee had a safe haven. I have now read a few books that highlight the damage that was done during the war with the children and it always breaks my heart.
Back in 2004, Billie is determined to find out if the woman in the picture is Ruby and if she had a relationship with her dad before her mum came on the scene. The question is can she find out what happened so long ago?
A book that is about love, friendship, betrayal, fear, being strong and having fresh starts. A captivating read that I found heartbreaking and thought-provoking too. How well do we know our parents as people and not just our mum and dad? Billie went on a journey and discovered her dad was much more than just dad, never thinking about him as a person till the day she started her search for the woman in the picture. A great book with well-developed characters who were mainly likeable. A story that I found emotional too at times. If you enjoy dual timelines and a war story then this could be a book for you.
Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for the copy of the book so I could give you my thoughts today.
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