THE YEAR WE ESCAPED
For fans of Jackie French and Katrina Nannestad, The Year We Escaped is a heart-stopping and remarkable World War II story by talented author Suzanne Leal.
Europe, 1940
With war on their doorstep, German classmates Klara and Rachel, and French brothers Lucien and Paul, are forced to leave their homes. They are taken to Gurs, a French detention camp in the south-west of France. It's a crowded place, with little comfort and even less food.
When Klara and Rachel are promised safe refuge in a remote French village, Lucien and Paul are anxious to join them — and will risk their own lives to get there.
Filled with adventure, danger and intrigue, this is the story of four unlikely friends desperate to escape from a war that keeps coming closer.
Out Now
CURIOUS ABOUT THE YEAR WE ESCAPED?
On Thursday 19 June, author David Dyer launched The Year We Escaped with a beautiful speech - and shared the hilarious results of an AI experiment . Watch the replay to hear what inspired the novel and why it’s resonating with both middle-grade readers and adults alike.
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The Year We Escaped takes out the 2025 ARA Historical Novel Prize – Children & Young Adult category!
Suzanne Leal says:
“Wartime tales of courage led me to set my novel in the French internment camp of Gurs and I’m so delighted now to have won this prestigious prize and to stand alongside my longlisted and shortlisted colleagues. I thank Edward Federman and ARA for their generosity, the HNSA team, and the judges for all their work.”
In an exclusive conversation with Gregory Dobbs for the Good Reading Podcast, Suzanne shares the source of her fascination with World War II history, why finding the right setting for young readers’ introduction to historical fiction is so important, and how combining themes of loss, resilience and empathy with a compelling story helps engage readers with the past.
Suzanne Leal on her HNSA prize-winning book, The Year We Escaped
Shortlisted for the 2025 ARA Historical Novel Prize – Children & Young Adult Category
Longlisted for the 2025 ARA Historical Novel Prize – Children & Young Adult Category
Children’s Top 10 Books, The Avenue Bookstore!
Readplus Review, Michelle O’Connell
Review, Ashleigh Meikle
Review, Mia Macrossan
The Year We Escaped, ARA Historical Novel Prize Winner
The Year We Escaped Wins the 2025 ARA Historical Novel Prize – Children & Young Adult Category
If you love sound of The Year We Escaped, you will also enjoy Suzanne’s award-winning novel Running With Ivan - out now!
RUNNING WITH IVAN
Yearning to escape the new family he never wanted, thirteen-year-old Leo Arnold is transported to wartime Europe where he must draw on his courage to save himself and those around him.
From award-winning author Suzanne Leal comes a gripping timeslip novel inspired by true stories.
Thirteen-year-old Leo Arnold hates his life. He doesn't want a new school, a new house or a new family. And he definitely doesn't want to be sharing a room with his new stepbrother, Cooper.
What Leo wants is to be somewhere else, far away. So when he uncovers an old music box and turns the key, he is astonished to find himself in Prague, surrounded by whispers and fears of a second world war. A war that ended decades ago.
In Prague, Leo meets Ivan, a Czech boy, and the two become friends. But when World War Two finally erupts, the unimaginable becomes real and the boys are imprisoned. Fearing the worst, Leo and Ivan frantically search for an escape. A search that sends them running.
Running against time.
Running for their lives.
WOULD YOU LIKE SUZANNE TO VISIT YOUR SCHOOL?
A highly experienced presenter, Suzanne loves meeting readers and doing school visits.
Running with Ivan is an exciting time travel adventure of two boys who love to run. Written for middle-grade readers (9-13 years) and inspired by real historical events in wartime Europe, it’s a compelling and moving story of friendship, resilience, survival and hope.
The Year We Escaped is a story of friends, Klara and Rachel, and brothers, Lucien and Paul, who find themselves caught up in a war that is spreading through France. Based on true events, this is a page-turning adventure of courage and determination.
To set up a time for a school visit, contact Suzanne.
SUZANNE’S NOVELS
‘Leal is a master storyteller. Impossible to put down.’
NIKKI GEMMELL