Last Train from Kummersdorf

by Leslie Wilson

Germany, 1945. The Russian armies are closing in. When Hanno Frisch sees his twin brother killed, he's had enough. On the run, he meets streetwise Effi. She's on her way to the West to find her father, who's in the US Army. Effi's learned the hard way that she must keep secrets to herself - and she's even less keen to trust Hanno when she finds out he's a policeman's son. But there are far more dangerous people on the road: Russian soldiers, German deserters - and Major Otto, who likes to play games with people before he kills them.

Genres: World War II, Young Adult, Fiction, War, Historical Fiction, Novels, Historical

250 pages, Paperback

First published February 5, 2004

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[~Madison · Rating 3 out of 5]

the writing style is either a love it or hate it kinda thing.. it wasn't for me but it is for others and i just know they'll love this book.

I loved the stories and characters but the side characters had more personality than the main characters which was weird but i loved the whole cast and their dynamics :)

[Jessica Bartlett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. I first read it when I was about 12.

[Libby Butler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book - it’s kinda a children’s/young adult novel but there’s something about it that’s really sweet and also dark and sad. It’s got a well imagined story line which just about toes the line between being a story of love and the will to survive between two 15 year olds and the destitute horrors of WW2.
I liked the characters, I liked that it was sad and dark but also really happy and hopeful. I think the ending marks it firmly as a children’s book but still, I enjoyed it. Nice and easy to read, leaves you both humbled and with hope.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

a touching and torturing account of wartime on the wrong side. Mixed feelings of defeat and pride with foremost the urge to survive.

[Bidasari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kisah Hanno dan Effi yang berjumpa semasa masing-masing melarikan diri dari kacau bilau Perang Dunia Kedua.

Mereka terpaksa melalui macam-macam perkara untuk survive di samping merawat luka di hati kerana kematian orang-orang tersayang akibat perang.

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Effi is the daughter of Berlin communist resistance protesters, and Hanno is a teenage deserter from the German army. Together they try to make it from the environs of Berlin to the west of Germany where they can reunite with family members.

It's refreshing to have a view of Germany at the end of WW2 that isn't from the perspective of the victors. But there's a lot here that parents or teens might take issue with - teen smoking, and a description of the effects of child rape (although the rape itself is not described, and doesn't happen to the main characters). Nazis are demonized, fair enough, but so are all Russians, regardless of personal politics.

[SolarDog · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book does an excellent job of making the experience of a war vivid. It's set in Germany at the very tail end of WWII when the country is basically falling into ruins around peoples' ears... It's written from the point of view of two young teenagers. The characterization is really good. I think it's very realistic in terms of war's impact on people, the characters all have layers and realistic motivations. I'm making it sound depressing, but it isn't really. It's sad sometimes, but sometimes it's happy and it's gripping and touching and very "human".

[Sally · Rating 1 out of 5]

It sounded so good but then it just wasn't. Awkwardly written, and a lot of the times we'd suddenly meet new characters and just jump right in as if we already knew them, but we didn't, so I was all wtf? Could have been a good story, but for the most part the telling was also rather dull. A struggle to finish.

[sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is actually worth reading. I have always been interested to read a book about Hitler but this book is their story and their views on Hitler. From what I have read it has a sprinkle of romance, it can sometimes get to you as you think people actually went through this.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly I did'nt enjoy this book as I found it diffucult to understand at parts. The way that the author just threw the characters in was hard to register.