Cheryl Leung’s Reviews > The Child Without a Home > Status Update

Freya gets the rest of Agnes story. She lived in Lithuania for a time then came to Britain for her music. Freya sends her email to her brother and they make up; go through grandpas stuff; he lost a wife and child in the war. Her brother writes column about Agnes’ life; Dimiter reads it and comes to meet Agnes. Freya and Finn are romantic and move in together.

Agnes is at home now; sharing with Freya; how she was staying at the farm with Lukas and became his friend & enjoyed his sense of humor, his company, patience on teaching her & her brother on the farm & the language. As time passed the Russian army became more present; taking farms; searching for Germans in hiding. Lukas told Agnes where to go if they were ever alone. Army took the family, Dieter drown in escape

Wander out of the city to abandon home; spend night; hear tanks & home searched; narrowly escape. Then sleep in lean to in bush; taken to orphan leader; Agnes forced to find food; Dieter held at camp as insurance. Flee camp when Dieter is beaten; sleep in barn; found by farmer and forced to labour for food/shelter in barn. When at market, Luke offers aid; takes them to his home; teaching them Lithuanian language

Freya goes to Agnes’ as she will be DC’d the next day. While preparing the downstairs guest room she finds photos of a younger Agnes; in a ball gown playing piano; getting a bouquet on stage; with a cap and gown. Also an airline ticket dated 1945; to London from Vilnius; different last name(translated to English now). And photo of a man, woman and young boy - Freya assumes is her brother grown up.

Agnes, Dieter, and Aunt carry on to the pier; leave everything but one bag. The boat is torpedoed and aunty is lost. Soaked from being on dinghy’s they are cold but do sleep when on land on hard benches. Then onto a train to the next port, but the Russian army has invaded farther so train can’t go to pier. Hide in bunker which they are found in, escape out the back and run in direction away from gunfire.

Agnes makes more trips after being released d/t a man from market saying he knows her. All 4 go to town; their home occupied by refugees who won’t leave so mom & aunt go to their local Nazi leader only to discover he has fled; can hear sounds of war. They head out; see many others fleeing as well as tanks pulling out. Plane shot at them on pond. Mom murdered; standing up to nazi; Striped PJs man beaten to death

Freya upsets Agnes by inquiring about her past, & the picture with castle (reminder of her grandpa) again. Agnes’s accent sounds Polish like her grandpa(but says she’s Lithuanian) & Freya wants to know her past. Agnes is cold to her for the rest of the visit
Cameron, Freyas x comes to the bar - surface level chat.
Once home, Freya sees Agnes’s lights on still but no answer. Finn & her find her on floor

Agnes goes into town to find her friend Liesel; who is lucky enough to be leaving to a safe place as her dad works for the Nazi’s. Liesel tells Agnes what train to hop on to get to Lithuania to trade her goods for food. She does just that but is caught by a Russian soldier before she is able to get back on a train to head back home.

Freya is mentoring history students and is struck when one selects the topic of Polish RAF fighters who came to England to fight in WWII. Her grandfather did that, and left his momentous to her brother Matt, whom she now has a strained relationship with because he thinks she wants the stuff for monetary reasons. Freya confides in Agnes (when she went back to visit as she promised) and was encouraged to write her bro

Agnes and her family go to her aunts house (who is alone in the farm now). They are forbidden to leave east Prussia, and hear rumours of the Russian army winning parts of the war. They visit their home weekly with no notice from their dad.

Food is scarce so Agnes leaves a note and goes back to her house, gathers valuables in hopes of trading them for food.