Safe

At the end of World War II thirteen-year-olds Kizzy and Jakob have found refuge at a Schloss with a countess and many horses. The countess wants Kizzy to follow ladylike pursuits, but a frustrated Kizzy only wants to be with the horses.

When they hear of a group of abandoned horses some miles away, Kizzy and Jakob volunteer to ride them back to the Schloss. Saving them will mean going through Nazi lines. They are scared, but determined to help. They’re driven to another Schloss in the forests of Bohemia, where they find far more horses than expected. While they’re reeling from this change to their plans, the driver betrays them – and then they discover a gang of lost children in hiding.

Now Kizzy and Jakob have to travel through the countryside with seven terrified, hungry children and almost fifty horses, while gun-toting soldiers flee in the other direction and bomber planes fly overhead.

This is an exciting, huge-hearted adventure that explores themes of prejudice, friendship and loyalty. The realities of war are made clear, but take place off-stage. Kizzy and Jakob – a Roma and a Jew respectively – are brave and inventive protagonists, and readers will be cheering them on.