Debs has reviewed The Oceans Between Us, a moving story based on fact.

Jack is five and living with his mum Molly in Croydon during the Blitz. His dad was killed at Dunkirk but they’re doing their best to cope. One day, a bomb lands at the back of their house and explodes as his mum is running from the house. Molly loses her memory, she knows she’s lost something, but what? She can’t even remember her real name and over the next few years remains in hospital being cared for. While she’s in hospital, Jack is taken to live at an orphanage. No one can trace his mother and she is believed to have been killed when the bomb exploded. Jack misses his mum and refuses to believe she’s dead. He’s offered a new life in sunny Australia, tempted by stories of having horses and oranges and, after a little trepidation, he agrees to go. But life with the Catholic brothers in Boys Town, Bindoon is nothing like they’ve been led to believe.

The story spans several decades. As Jack finds a way to cope with what life throws at him, he keeps believing that his mother will one day find him. Molly’s life back in England is also difficult and as she begins to remember her past she desperately tries to find a way to contact her son.

This is a heart-breaking, well researched story. It’s hard to imagine how horrific it must have been for the children and their families to cope with being separated from each other by such an enormous distance and also the callous way decisions were made about their lives. Jack and Molly’s aren’t the only sad stories in this beautifully written book.  I look forward to reading more by this author.

My thanks to Headline and Netgalley for my free arc copy in exchange for an honest review.