*Shortlisted

Review by Alexander, Sheen Mount Primary School 
The main character in this book is a boy named Fred who is 12 years old. His father was German, so he had to go to a prison in Alexandra Palace. I enjoyed reading My Family the Enemy because I learnt some interesting facts about WW2 that I didn’t know before. It must have been very difficult for Fred and his family to live in London during the war because his father was German and everyone in England blamed him for the war. 

There were some interesting characters in this book. My favourite was a girl called Prue. Prue would always stand up for Fred when other people didn’t like him because his dad was German. My least favourite character was another girl called Lil who was Fred’s sister. She was always boasting about things. 

I would definitely recommend this book to children who love history and learning new interesting facts about WW2. The story was told in a dramatic way that made it exciting to read. I would give it a 5-star rating because it was a very exciting story to read.  

Review by Patricia, Oliver Goldsmith Primary School
This book is really interesting and makes you curious. It is the start of WW2 and Fred is a curious intriguing character that asks a lot of questions. But what he doesn’t know is that he is German and that is a shock. Everything starts falling apart and everything changes. Although Fred is sad, he doesn’t let himself fall apart because his sister is right by his side. This plot is exciting and thought-provoking. This book shows bravery, emotion, and more but ends off with a happy ending. I recommend this book to everyone who likes history and exciting books. This was truly amazing. 

Review by Scarlett, Netley Primary School 
This book scared and intrigued me! It also made me feel sad because at the beginning of the war, ten-year-old Fred was excited and thought it was just one big adventure - until his family bakery was attacked and his dad (who was German) was imprisoned in an internment camp! I feel this story really brought me back to 1914 in London. Fred is my favourite character because he’s so curious. My favourite part was in Chapter 13, when Fred’s dad was taken away, leaving Fred and his mum all alone. The author used very strong emotional words, and it made me think about how lucky I really am.