Journey Through the Night

by Anne de Vries

This book is a glimpse into the daily life and struggles of a Dutch family and their community during the German occupation of Holland. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0888157509
• ISBN13: 9780888157508
• Release Date: January 1984
• Publisher: Paideia Press
• Weight: 2.30 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Hard decisions in WW II

This book opens just before the start of World War II in the Netherlands. John is part of a Christian family, and they just want to be safe. But then around them, they see others on their way to death camps. They begin by harboring a "diver," a young man named William who helped British pilots escape from German hands. They go on to take in pilots who had been shot down, all the while keeping them safely hidden and away from the prying eyes of ones who earn 30 guilders for each life. One man had become very rich on the deaths of hidden Jews, pilots, and those who helped them. John and his father see no choice but to become more involved in the underground. It did not begin consciously at first, they were just offering a safe haven to those who would be killed if caught. But they couldn't stop there. It wouldn't be right to let things go on as they were without doing what they could. This book does not paint any people as heroes, as we usually think of them. Instead, it portrays them as heroes usually are, ordinary people who see they must do what is right, whatever it cost. People whose names will never be remembered by many people who benefit from their sacrifices. They listen to their forbidden radio, to hear messages from the Queen and her ministers. They realize that the underground is an army, and they are fighting a war. The leaders in their area had a meeting one day over what they would do about a certain spy who was responsible for many, many deaths. They decided that he would have to be "taken out" to save the lives of many others. One day John and William met up with him, and "took him out." John's anguish over his responsibility in the death of another person is portrayed clearly as he later asks his father, "This is a war, right? We are fighting for the right, aren't we? We had do to it to save others, right?" War is not a comfortable or pretty thing, or an adventure. I don't know if I can say I enjoyed this book, but I believe it was a good book. I couldn't put it down once I had started it. It chronicles events until the end of the war, and the family is always concerned about doing what was right. I would not recommend this book to those who are nonresistant. It does give a picture of the war, and Anne De Vries lived through it, and should know of what she is writing. She also knows how to touch the heart.

Journey Through the Night

I remember devouring this book series when I read it for the first time at age 12. Being so deeply affected by the impacting story, I recently sought out the books again sixteen years later and found myself plunged back into the story, coming up for air and food only two days later when I was done.I appreciate the honesty and yet the hope that is offered in this story. This is shown through the beauty of the human spirit in dark times and also of a God who sees, loves and cares for His people.I highly recommend this literature.

Journey Through the Night

Journey Through The Night is an exciting glimpse into the daily life and struggles of a Dutch family and their community during the German occupation of Holland. Historical fiction at it's best with a continual and sometimes comical reminder of how precious true freedom and family are. It's an easy reading for the whole family and well worth the investment.

Absolutely BEST Children's Series on WWII Dutch Occupation

I cannot begin to express my love of this 4-book series. I read it when I was in grade school and have tried to reread the series at least once every few years. However, as I do not own the series, I must interlibrary loan it or borrow it from people who do own it. [This review can also double as a plea to the publisher to republish the series.]This series was originally written in Dutch by Anne De Vries and was translated into English and published in Canada. The four books are: (v. 1) Into the darkness (v. 2) The darkness deepens (v. 3) Dawn's early light and (v. 4) A new day.The series traces the German occupation of the Netherlands from 1940 to 1945 during World War II. The books are seen through the eyes of John De Boer, a Dutch teenager who grows up during the war and assists in the resistance movement. Filled with suspense, intrigue, and harsh reality, the series protrays what life was like during the war.The books are written for middle school ages and up. The prose is easy to read, though not simplistic. A parent may want to read along with a younger child because parts of the books can be very emotionally disturbing.