A fascinating story about a young girl named Gwen and her classmates who were students at Chefoo school. This book documents their lives in the Weihsein internment camp which is run by the Japanese imperial army.

They eat nothing but Broomcorn, eggplant and stale bread, sleep on pallets, and disease runs rampant through the camp. When two of the young boys escape life become even harder for the prisoners.

I loved the girls teacher Miss E. their Girl Guide leader who continues to practice the Girl Guide codes and keep them positive throughout their whole terrible imprisonment. She kept her head high and helped the girls always look on the bright side even when it seemed impossible.

As a lifelong Girl Guide I really loved to see how the Girl Guide codes helped these girls through the worst time of their lives.