When the World Was Ours

By: Liz Kessler

Narrated by: Tom Lawrence, Willow Nash

Length: 7 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's Summary

One moment can change a life forever.

A powerful and heart-breaking novel about three childhood friends living during the Second World War whose fates are closely intertwined, even when their lives take very different courses. Inspired by a true story, this is the perfect story for fans of The Book Thief and Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl.

Vienna, 1936.

Elsa, Leo and Max have always been best friends, a special team of three. Then the Nazis come.

As a growing darkness descends around them, Leo and Elsa run for their lives, taking two very different paths across Europe. And Max, once their closest friend, now becomes the enemy as he is drawn into the Hitler Youth. Will the friends ever find their way back to each other? Will they want to?

Inspired by a true story, When the World Was Ours is an extraordinary novel that is as powerful as it is heartbreaking, and shows how the bonds of love, family and friendship allow glimmers of hope to flourish, even in the most hopeless of times. 

Three friends. Two sides. One memory.

©2021 Liz Kessler (P)2021 Simon & Schuster UK

Critic Reviews

"When The World Was Ours is Liz's masterpiece...an instant classic." (Anthony McGowan, winner of the 2020 CILIP Carnegie Medal)

"An exceptional read." (The Sunday Times)

"Vital glimmers of hope enlighten this profoundly poignant book." (Guardian)

Excellent

My 12 year old son read the book and loved it. He would read every moment possible. He kept telling me about the story and how good it was. It captured him. I knew I wanted to read it. We had a long road trip for the Thanksgiving and decided to download the book. What a great story. WWII & the Holocaust have always intrigued me. To hear the story about these 3 young friends just makes you wonder more about the paths that so many others had to go through. How many friends became enemies or were made to turn against one another.
The language is appropriate, & I did not have to worry about what was being read.
I highly recommend this book.

You won't want to stop listening.

An excellent story, flawlessly performed. I couldn't stop listening! You'll feel like you are there.

Incredibly, amazingly sad

You will smile, Cry, and realise how precious life is and how lucky you are.

Should be a GCSE course book.

Such a heartbreaking story and all the more so because it’s told from three angles. In my opinion, this is a much better story than The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, which didn’t stir me in the way that this book does. Maybe it’s time to start including some of these stories as GCSE course books lest we forget.

Emotional read

This book makes you think of the innocent lives lost to war. Parts of it made me smile and made me sad.

Fantastic read

Emotional, emotive and heart warming. The fact it’s based on a true story makes it even more compelling.

Amazing

I live the book but would live to have just one more voice for the book also when they are speaking maybe a little more emotion because I can't really tell if they are narrating or talking. Great book I love it, so emotional I couldn't stop crying

Amazing story

Not for bed but very good for someone interested in World War Two and what it was like in Germany

A Great Read

Full of love, hope for the future and tragedy coming together to make a brilliant story.

Thought Provoking

I thougherly enjoyed this book. It made me hope nothing like this should happen again