Our Canadian Girl: Margit 1 Home Free: Home Free

As World War II rages in Europe, Margit and her mother are forced to flee their home in Czechoslovakia and seek refuge in Canada. They are Jews, and although life is difficult in this unfamiliar land, they know life would have been much, much worse had they stayed behind. Many of their neighbours in Kensington Market, the area of Toronto where they have settled, are refugees like themselves, but there are others who look at Margit with suspicion and hostility. And although Margit manages to make some new friends, she cannot help wondering what will happen to her when the war ends. Will she and her mother be sent back to Czechoslovakia? And will they ever be able to find her father, who was taken away by the Nazis before they left?

Kathy Kacer is the author of two historical novels for young people that deal with the Holocaust, The Secret of Gabi's Dresser and Clara's War, as well as a non-fiction book, The Underground Reporters. She lives in Toronto.