Why a Booktrail?
ww2: Sisters are separated by war but will a new life enable one to ever leave the other behind?
A Hope at the End of the World
What you need to know before your trail
Polish teenagers Helena and Luzyna Grabowski have lost everything. Left orphans, they are shipped to a refugee camp in Persia. Then they hear that orphans are being selected for relocation to New Zealand, Helena is filled with hope—until the officials say they have a place only for her younger sister.
On the morning she is to be transported, Luzyna fails to join the chosen group, and Helena takes her place. But the horrors of war—and her guilt at abandoning her sister—follow Helena on the journey across the sea, as a man from her past preys on her fear and remorse.
Helena is welcomed into a new life in New Zealand but her traumas Helena has suffered threaten her peace and blind her to the devotion of James, a charming, heroic young Allied pilot.
Helena might finally step out of the long shadow of her past …if she can..
Travel Guide
From Iran to New Zealand
The journey starts in a refugee camp close to the city of Tehran. The prospect of relocation seems to be a happy one for those kept in the camp. When the day of departure arrives, they are told to be ready on the exercise grounds in the middle of the camp. A truck is to take them to Isafhan where they would spend the night and then begin the journey in earnest. They will then travel by truck, then train to Bombay and from there by ship to Wellington
Quite the journey by any ones standards but for poor and frightened refugees even more so.
New Zealand
The land of hope and opportunity – there is a welcome committee at the pier and even the PM of the country himself makes an appearance to welcome the ship. He assures them he understands that bad things have happened to these people but that this is a beautiful country, peaceful and hopeful and promises them that everything is going to be good for them here. They are first taken to a refugee camp to Pahiatua which is a Maori name which means ‘God’s resting place’ referring to the time the Maori chief was fleeing from enemies and the war god showed him the way there where he was able to find refuge.
Pahiatua
It’s a small country community with farmhouses scattered about and only one general store, cafe and gas station. The refugees are allowed to go into town in their free time but they prefer to wander the countryside. One day they head out to Palmerston a few miles from Pahiatua – the guide tells them that the first Europeans there had bought their land from the Ngati Rangitane. The region was spared by land wars but there are few Maori left in the region. When the bus passes underneath a gate decorated with carvings,they are told that they are called Tiki – and are the guardian gods. There is a lot of Maori heritage and culture to discover here such as the fact that very few Maori are tattooed.
There is much history detailed and evoked in the novel – New Zealand offers some interesting views of the 2ww and the Maori population as being outsiders in their own country at the very time Polish refugees were trying to become more settled in their new home.
Booktrail Boarding Pass: A Hope at the End of the World
Author/Guide: Sarah Lark Destination: Iran, Mumbai, Wellington, Palmerston, Pahiatua Departure Time: WW2
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