Title: Girl on the Run | Author: Nancy McDonald | Genre: Middle Grade (Historical Fiction) | Publisher: Iguana Books | Release Date: September 2021
Book Description: It’s 1933 in Berlin. The Nazis have seized power, and for thirteen-year-old Amelie Meyer life is changing in ways she never could have imagined.
Her new teacher is picking on Jewish students, her friends are starting to shun her for not joining their Aryan youth group and her father is getting remarried. As tensions mount at home and school, Amelie embarks on a perilous journey – with nothing less than her whole future at stake.
My Thoughts: After thoroughly enjoying Nancy McDonald’s previous novels including One Boy’s War (link goes to my review), I was excited to see what new issues would be addressed in Girl on the Run. I found this story to be just as intriguing as those that came before it with loads of historical facts weaved into a tense drama that steadily builds in tension until a wonderfully satisfying conclusion.
Middle grade readers are whisked away to the past to experience an unsettling time in history as Hitler is taking full control of Germany. For young Amelie and her younger sister, Gigi, life is becoming difficult at home as well when they learn about their father’s intentions to marry an evil woman. Outside of the family home, anti-Jewish sentiments are rising. Amelie struggles to understand what is happening at school where her teachers are being replaced by military personnel, while her father is put in the difficult position of teaching a skewed version of science in his university classes. Amelie is forced to take matters into her own hands in order to save herself and her sister before it’s too late.
Well-researched and perfectly-pitched at a middle-grade reading level, Girl on the Run draws readers into the historical setting with rich details and emotive descriptions. Amelie is a likeable, brave character that young readers will cheer for as she navigates her changing homeland. The author’s notes at the back of the book are well-worth a read for fascinating facts and further details on the evolving landscape in 1930s Germany. In addition, a selection of discussion questions are a wonderful tool for continuing the discussion about the book and WWII.
Buy Now:
Amazon ~ Amazon.ca
Barnes & Noble ~ IndieBound
Abe Books ~ Book Depository ~ Books-A-Million
Add to Goodreads
Continue Amelie’s Story in THE DOKTOR’S DAUGHTER:
Title: The Doktor’s Daughter | Author: Nancy McDonald | Genre: Middle Grade (Historical Fiction) | Publisher: Iguana Books | Release Date: June 2022
Transformed by the Nazis, Berlin is now a drab and dangerous city, and Amelie can’t wait to return to Paris. But before she can leave, she finds herself swept up in an intrigue that makes her question everything she thinks she knows about her father. Is he a traitor or a hero? The only way to find out is to put her own life on the line.
Buy Now:
Amazon ~ Amazon.ca
Barnes & Noble ~ Abe Books
Book Depository ~ Books-A-Million
Add to Goodreads
Nancy McDonald began her career as a journalist on television programs that include W5, Canada AM and Marketplace before going on to become a sought-after freelance writer, penning everything from documentaries to live-action scripts to comic books. The Doktor’s Daughter, the sequel to Girl on the Run, is her fourth novel. Nancy lives in Stratford, Ontario where she revels in Shakespeare, treads the boards with the Perth County Players and works part-time at Fanfare Book, Stratford’s only independent bookseller.
Connect with the Author: Website ~ Facebook ~ Instagram ~ Goodreads
Enter the Giveaway: Click on the link below for your chance to WIN a signed copy of GIRL ON THE RUN and THE DOKTOR’S DAUGHTER. Good luck!
GIRL ON THE RUN (The Doktors Daughter) Book Tour Giveaway
Tour Schedule:
May 1 – Cover Lover Book Review – book series spotlight / guest post / giveaway
May 1 – My Reading Getaway – book review of GIRL ON THE RUN / giveaway
May 2 – Rockin’ Book Reviews – book review of GIRL ON THE RUN / guest post / giveaway
May 2 – My Reading Getaway – book review of THE DOKTOR’S DAUGHTER / giveaway
May 3 – Diane’s Book Journal – book series spotlight / giveaway
May 3 – @regallywritten – book review of GIRL ON THE RUN
May 4 – Deborah-Zenha Adams – book series spotlight / guest post / giveaway
May 4 – Rockin’ Book Reviews – book review of THE DOKTOR’S DAUGHTER / giveaway
May 5 – Gina Rae Mitchell – book series spotlight / guest post / giveaway
May 5 – Character Madness and Musings – book review of GIRL ON THE RUN / giveaway
May 9 – Celticlady’s Reviews – book series spotlight / giveaway
May 9 –Connie’s History Classroom – book review of GIRL ON THE RUN / giveaway
May 10 – Stephanie Jane – book series spotlight / giveaway
May 11 – Library Lady’s Kid Lit – books spotlight / author interview / giveaway
May 11– Library Lady’s Kid Lit – book review of GIRL ON THE RUN / author interview / giveaway
May 11 – Welcome To MLM Opinion’s Reviews – book review of GIRL ON THE RUN / giveaway
May 12 – Library Lady’s Kid Lit – book review of THE DOKTOR’S DAUGHR / giveaway
May 12– Locks, Hooks and Books – book review of GIRL ON THE RUN / giveaway
May 12 – Welcome To MLM Opinion’s Reviews – book review of THE DOKTORS DAUGHTER / giveaway
May 15 – Writer with Wanderlust – book review of GIRL ON THE RUN / author interview / giveaway
May 15 –Connie’s History Classroom – book review of THE DOKTOR’S DAUGHTER / giveaway
May 15 – @regallywritten – book review of THE DOKTORS DAUGHTER
May 16 –fundinmental – book series spotlight / giveaway
May 17 –Leanne bookstagram– book review of GIRL ON THE RUN / giveaway
May 17 –Locks, Hooks and Books – book review of THE DOKTOR’S DAUGHTER / giveaway
May 17 – Writer with Wanderlust – book review of THE DOKTOR’S DAUGHTER / giveaway
May 18 –Liese’s Blog – book series spotlight
May 18 – History from a Woman’s Perspective – book series spotlight
May 18 – Splashes of Joy – book review of GIRL ON THE RUN / giveaway
May 18 – The Book Countess – book review of GIRL ON THE RUN / giveaway
May 19 –Leanne bookstagram – book review of THE DOKTOR’S DAUGHTER / giveaway
May 19 – Splashes of Joy – book review of THE DOKTOR’S DAUGHTER / giveaway
May 19 – The Book Countess – book review of THE DOKTOR’S DAUGHTER / giveaway
Stephanie Ward 
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Pingback: Book Review + Giveaway: The Doktor’s Daughter – Stephanie Ward
Great cover.
sherry @ fundinmental
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I enjoyed the books with Käfer Avigdor. I wonder if the author has plans for a future book with Käfer meeting up with Amelie Meyer. It sounds like they would make a good team.
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Oh, that’s a great idea! I’d love to read that book. Thanks for stopping by 🙂
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Pingback: Author Interview with Nancy McDonald – Stephanie Ward
I’m thrilled you enjoyed Girl on the Run and think it’s perfectly pitched for middle grade readers! I I’m looking forward to your thoughts on The Doktor’s Daughter.
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Girl on the Run is such an exciting story. I really enjoyed reading it. (Spoiler: And I loved The Doctor’s Daughter too.) Thanks so much for stopping by my tour stop 🙂
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Thank YOU for featuring my books! I’m excited to read your review of The Doktor’s Daughter.
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