#BlogTour: The Bird In The Bamboo Cage by Hazel Gaynor @HazelGaynor @fictionpubteam @HarperFiction @RandomTTours #TheBirdInTheBambooCage #HazelGaynor #RandomThingsTours

Book Synopsis:

China, 1941. With Japan’s declaration of war on the Allies, Elspeth Kent’s future changes forever. When soldiers take control of the missionary school where she teaches, comfortable security is replaced by rationing, uncertainty and fear.

Ten-year-old Nancy Plummer has always felt safe at Chefoo School. Now the enemy, separated indefinitely from anxious parents, the children must turn to their teachers – to Miss Kent and her new Girl Guide patrol especially – for help. But worse is to come when the pupils and teachers are sent to a distant internment camp. Unimaginable hardship, impossible choices and danger lie ahead.

Inspired by true events, this is the unforgettable story of the life-changing bonds formed between a young girl and her teacher, in a remote corner of a terrible war.

The Bird In The Bamboo Cage is published in ebook and hardback on the 20th August 2020. You can pre-order your copy using the link below.

My Review:

This was an absolutely beautiful, compelling and emotional read which will stay with me for a long time. In The Bird In The Bamboo Cage the author writes about a part of ww2 that I knew nothing about so I found it fascinating to learn more about it.

The story is told by two narrators, Nancy a ten year old girl who has been sent to the Chefoo school in China as her parents are missionaries and Elspeth a teacher at the school. I thought this worked well as it gave the reader two different perspectives to everything that happens, especially as they are different ages.

The school seemed like a special place and I loved the teachers methods for trying to distract the children and keep them happy. It was quite touching to see this continue to the internet camp and how the teachers continued to protect the children and shield them from some of the terrible things that were happening there. Some of the descriptions and events in the camp were hard to read but I liked the descriptions of the prisoner’s ingenuity to keep themselves alive.

I thought this was one of those rare books that just completely absorbed me into the story and captivated me. It is quite an emotional read and I often found myself tearing up as I read but it was also a story of bravery and love which was beautiful to read about. I found it a fascinating book and I’ll be recommending it to everyone.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Harper Collins for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

Hazel Gaynor is an award-winning New York Times, USA Today, Irish Times, and international bestselling author. Her 2014 debut THE GIRL WHO CAME HOME won the 2015 RNA Historical Novel of the Year award, A MEMORY OF VIOLETS was a 2015 WHSmith Fresh Talent pick, THE GIRL FROM THE SAVOY was shortlisted for the 2017 Irish Book Awards, and THE LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER’S DAUGHTER was shortlisted for the 2019 HWA Gold Crown Award. LAST CHRISTMAS IN PARIS (co-written with Heather Webb) won the 2018 Women’s Fiction Writers Association Star Award. Their most recent collaboration is MEET ME IN MONACO. Hazel’s forthcoming historical novel, THE BIRD IN THE BAMBOO CAGE, set in China during WW2, will be published in the UK and Ireland in August 2020. Hazel was selected by Library Journal as one of Ten Big Breakout Authors for 2015 and her work has been translated into fourteen languages to date. She is co-founder of creative writing events The Inspiration Project, and lives in Ireland with her husband and two children. She is represented by Michelle Brower of Aevitas Creative Management, New York. For more information, visit http://www.hazelgaynor.com @HazelGaynor