Farshore Never Forget You: Based on a true story, the most heartbreaking new WW2 historical fiction novel of heroism and female friendship of 2022

I got this book for my mum and she said this about it: “Based on a real person, the author Jamila Gavin tells us (at the back of the book) that this story is a ‘fictionalised context’ in the hope of catching the essence of and offer tribute to Noor Inayat Khan. Noor Inayat Khan was a British resistance agent in France in World War II who served in the Special Operations Executive. As a spoiler is not likely to be welcome it is enough to say she was awarded a George Cross and MBE. (I found it really interesting finding out more about the real Noor and well worth doing a bit of research of your own.) The rest of the characters are all fictional but nonetheless I found the friendship between the four girls who then became young women felt real and this along with their individuality drove the story forward. I was reluctant to put it down and it felt well written. The historical events and the people’s reactions to them made the realities of war and living in that time (particularly for females) more than just ‘facts’. Some of these I was aware of but not all. It is suggested as a book for 11 and older. I would say that it is probably about right but does depend on the individual youngster. As an adult I did enjoy it and I feel the story is ‘rich’ and involved. Others may wonder like I did what my own response would have been in the war. Would I show the bravery of Noor (and others)? – I do feel the author has brought Noor to us and captured the ‘essence’ of her.” My mum said she is very happy to recommend this excellent story to others and it deserved to be 5 stars.”

Interesting story of 4 school friends and their varying stories in WWII. I know one of the characters is a real person, which led me to be a bit confused about how real the other ones were. It's okay written, more chick lit level than literature, but is an interesting story.

I love any stories about WWII, fictional or no. Even though this is a YA book, I think both adults and teens will enjoy. We meet a group of 4 young girls in a boarding school on the cusp of the break out of WWII. Two of the young girls are real life people: Vera Atkins and Noor Inayat Khan. If you have never heard of either, then I highly recommend reading further about them. The bravery and acts these young women did, particularly Khan, was truly remarkable and humbling. We follow all 4 girls from school until the war hits and they all end up being scattered in different parts of Europe as they each do their bits for the war effort. Although the subject matter is tough (as war should be), you end up feeling very invested and want to continue turning the pages until you find out each of their fates (be warned, you may end up needing tissues at the end). It isn't graphic in terms of some of the aspects of war as it is aimed at teens, but the implication is there and haunting. I'd never read anything by Gavin before, but I most certainly will be on the look out for more of her books. Absolutely beautiful book, I highly recommend.

I fully enjoyed this book. Without giving too much of the story away the book is about 4 girls who meet at a boarding school who quickly become friends. However when the war starts there friendship is put to the test when each girl goes off into a different area to help the war effort. The book covers a lot from spies, the resistance, what it was like in countries living under the nazi rule. It was great to see how the author intersected each of the girls stories (although at times to was difficult at first to work out which of the girls was narrating each part of the story). It had me engage right to the heart-breaking end. Would recommend this book for older junior school/secondary school age due to the subject of the book Anyone interested in the reading about the war will enjoy this book. Would highly recommend

Given my age and specialised knowledge of WW2 I`m not really part of the target readership of this novel, which is clearly written for young adults; it`s an absorbing and nicely paced story following the fortunes of four diverse young women – school-friends just before the war – who go on to play different roles in that war. At least two of the characters are based on real-life people - Noor Inayat Khan and – perhaps less well-known – Vera Atkins; the broad historical settings, events and operational elements described in the different narratives are fairly well-researched, though if I wished to nit-pick, there are several inaccuracies with the smaller details; no matter – as a wartime novel for young readers it serves it's purposes very well and although a little contrived in places, it's a very decent read. It isn't too frank in it's descriptions of certain aspects of war and is certainly thoughtful and broadly inclusive in appeal (though I do wish authors would exercise a little more care and not use England and Britain as interchangeable references in our shared history – some of us in other parts of the UK find this offensive and there's no excuse for it in this day and age). Well worth picking up as an inspirational and interesting historical YA novel.