What We Left Behind: Unforgettable World War Two historical fiction

In 1939, as bombs threaten London, five displaced children arrive at the home of Dodie Fitznorton in her quiet village. Their arrival transforms her orderly life—her home now filled with odd socks, abandoned toast crusts, and a flea-infested ginger kitten discovered hidden upstairs. The children carry more than just tattered suitcases. Eight-year-old Olive trembles when spoken to and bears a bruised lip she won't explain, while her brother Peter appears angry at the world. When Dodie meets Patrick Winter, the children's grey-eyed American teacher, she feels less alone in her struggle. As darkness spreads across Europe, Dodie's sanctuary begins to feel under siege. Village whispers speak of spies, and the children's futures hang in the balance. Dodie must decide who to trust before everything she has built collapses around her. The novel explores love forged during wartime and the bonds formed in crisis.