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Hunger Winter
Time for Courage
Not yet published
Expected 6 Jan 26During WWII, when the Nazis hunt Jewish children, the kids’ only hope is help from the Dutch Resistance. But these brave volunteers are outgunned, outmanned, and all they have is each other.
In this sequel to Hunger Winter, thirteen -year-old Dirk and his family move to a farm near Utrecht, Netherlands, in January of 1945. When the Nazis focus on capturing Jewish children to send to gas chambers, Dirk’s family intervenes. Their methods include providing ration cards and finding families to hide Jewish children and teens.
With edge-of-your-seat action and suspense, the reader follows Dirk and his family as they work with the Dutch Resistance to protect the children and battle the zeal and determination of the Gestapo to find the children and send them to their deaths.
This World War II historical fiction novel for kids excitement and danger set against the backdrop of the HolocaustHistorically accurate accounts of WWII events not normally covered in other booksMaps of the Netherlands to help parents and teachers prepare lessons for children about the history of WWIIThis middle-grade book is an adventure to be read again and again, a story that should not be forgotten.
In this sequel to Hunger Winter, thirteen -year-old Dirk and his family move to a farm near Utrecht, Netherlands, in January of 1945. When the Nazis focus on capturing Jewish children to send to gas chambers, Dirk’s family intervenes. Their methods include providing ration cards and finding families to hide Jewish children and teens.
With edge-of-your-seat action and suspense, the reader follows Dirk and his family as they work with the Dutch Resistance to protect the children and battle the zeal and determination of the Gestapo to find the children and send them to their deaths.
This World War II historical fiction novel for kids excitement and danger set against the backdrop of the HolocaustHistorically accurate accounts of WWII events not normally covered in other booksMaps of the Netherlands to help parents and teachers prepare lessons for children about the history of WWIIThis middle-grade book is an adventure to be read again and again, a story that should not be forgotten.
336 pages, Paperback
Expected publication January 6, 2026
2 people are currently reading
18 people want to read
About the author
Rob Currie
5 books115 followers An award-winning author, Rob Currie has been reading World War II books since he was a teenager. But why write this book?
Life conspired to get him to write Hunger Winter. Rob's father is a World War II veteran, his wife is of Dutch descent, and his son wrote a short story about World War II in the Netherlands. I guess you could say he finally took the hint.
Life conspired to get him to write Hunger Winter. Rob's father is a World War II veteran, his wife is of Dutch descent, and his son wrote a short story about World War II in the Netherlands. I guess you could say he finally took the hint.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 18, 2025
Wow is all I can say with this one. I am so glad I had the opportunity to read this book early. It is incredible even reading it as an adult. I literally stayed up until 1 am to finish it because I got so invested in the characters. So interesting reading about the impacts of WW2 in the Netherlands the horrors that they experienced. I will be thinking and reflecting on this book for quite some time.
October 21, 2025
E ARC provided by Netgalley
In this sequel to Hunger Winter, we rejoin the Ingelse family as they settle in to life at a farmhouse outside of Utrecht, Netherlands so that the father can continue to work with the Resistance. Els has finally allowed Dirk to join the efforts as well, and the book starts with a daring heist of food coupons for the orphans in the care of their Aunt Cora, as well as a harrowing chase scene. Dirk still doesn't always make good choices but is slowly starting to fully grasp the extent of how careful he must be after a Finnish girl, Enny, pulls him away from an elderly woman at a train station who is asking him for personal information. Dirk's six year old sister, Anna, is constantly asking for a younger brother (even though the mother has died), so when Dirk is unable to take three year old Isaac to his foster family, she is thrilled that he will be living with them. The Nazis soon attack the farmhouse, and Isaac's safety is in jeopardy. The father is on the run, as are the children. Will the Ingelse family be able to survive the war?
This was an excellent sequel, and I'll definitely purchase it for my fans of World War II, but it was a tense read filled with constant danger. There were some more lighthearted moments, such as when the group releases a bunch of cats in the train station to throw the Nazi dogs off the scent so that food parcels could be retrieved for delivery, but even that was a very serious and dangerous situation. The father's refrain that he won't tell his children what was happening "Not until after the war" was heartbreaking.
My main take away from this book was that the world should have learned valuable lessons from World War II, and yet many did not, and the world has once again plunged into endless cycles of conflict that are killing and displacing so many people. It's good to see the indomitable spirit of the Dutch, but given the current global climate, this just made me sad.
https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/...
In this sequel to Hunger Winter, we rejoin the Ingelse family as they settle in to life at a farmhouse outside of Utrecht, Netherlands so that the father can continue to work with the Resistance. Els has finally allowed Dirk to join the efforts as well, and the book starts with a daring heist of food coupons for the orphans in the care of their Aunt Cora, as well as a harrowing chase scene. Dirk still doesn't always make good choices but is slowly starting to fully grasp the extent of how careful he must be after a Finnish girl, Enny, pulls him away from an elderly woman at a train station who is asking him for personal information. Dirk's six year old sister, Anna, is constantly asking for a younger brother (even though the mother has died), so when Dirk is unable to take three year old Isaac to his foster family, she is thrilled that he will be living with them. The Nazis soon attack the farmhouse, and Isaac's safety is in jeopardy. The father is on the run, as are the children. Will the Ingelse family be able to survive the war?
This was an excellent sequel, and I'll definitely purchase it for my fans of World War II, but it was a tense read filled with constant danger. There were some more lighthearted moments, such as when the group releases a bunch of cats in the train station to throw the Nazi dogs off the scent so that food parcels could be retrieved for delivery, but even that was a very serious and dangerous situation. The father's refrain that he won't tell his children what was happening "Not until after the war" was heartbreaking.
My main take away from this book was that the world should have learned valuable lessons from World War II, and yet many did not, and the world has once again plunged into endless cycles of conflict that are killing and displacing so many people. It's good to see the indomitable spirit of the Dutch, but given the current global climate, this just made me sad.
https://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/...
August 15, 2025
I didn’t realise at first that this was the second in a series, but it honestly didn’t matter reading the books out of order - and if I can find it I will go and read book one now, because the stuff alluded to all sounded very exciting!
If you like Enid Blyton then you’ll love this I reckon because it felt very much like The Famous Five Foil the Nazis. It’s thrilling and adventurous and full of a lot of perilous situations, but all with that slightly unrealistic tint that only a kids book can have, where young teenagers can outsmart the villains and get away with things that surely would have gotten them killed by the Gestapo had this been real. There’s also the idiotic mayor’s son who is such a bumbling prat that his idiocy makes you shake your head!
I read a lot of WWII books and this one was a fun change from the usual fare - younger protagonists written for a younger audience, and while there were still a lot of dark themes, there were much more narrow escapes and happily ever afters than usual. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and it had me on the edge of my seat on many occasions!
If you like Enid Blyton then you’ll love this I reckon because it felt very much like The Famous Five Foil the Nazis. It’s thrilling and adventurous and full of a lot of perilous situations, but all with that slightly unrealistic tint that only a kids book can have, where young teenagers can outsmart the villains and get away with things that surely would have gotten them killed by the Gestapo had this been real. There’s also the idiotic mayor’s son who is such a bumbling prat that his idiocy makes you shake your head!
I read a lot of WWII books and this one was a fun change from the usual fare - younger protagonists written for a younger audience, and while there were still a lot of dark themes, there were much more narrow escapes and happily ever afters than usual. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and it had me on the edge of my seat on many occasions!
October 13, 2025
A read that should be mandatory for all teens, we need to never forget!
Setting is Netherlands, and the German's have a stronghold here, and are after a people with a religion they now hate. They are also after those who are actively sabotaging their efforts, and helping others escape their evil.
This story is set in January 1945, and as I'm reading, with danger all around I can't help but think if it were only a few months later.
This book highlight these people, who risk everything, some very young and yet actively helping!
Such a great job the author has done with showing what was actually happening, and although fictional, some of the things are factual!
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Tyndale House, and was not required to give a positive review.
Setting is Netherlands, and the German's have a stronghold here, and are after a people with a religion they now hate. They are also after those who are actively sabotaging their efforts, and helping others escape their evil.
This story is set in January 1945, and as I'm reading, with danger all around I can't help but think if it were only a few months later.
This book highlight these people, who risk everything, some very young and yet actively helping!
Such a great job the author has done with showing what was actually happening, and although fictional, some of the things are factual!
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Tyndale House, and was not required to give a positive review.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews