A World Between Us by Lydia Syson

A World Between Us
by Lydia Syson

This felt more like an easy-read adult novel than a teenage one. I'm not sure this would be a commercial success in the teenage market. (The cover is very old-fashioned and rather awful which may not help.) That said, I quite enjoyed the story. It is London 1936, and Felix is a trainee nurse living with her mum and brother Neville, whose best friend George is in love with Felix, of which she is at first totally unaware. Felix gets caught up in a march of supporters of the Spanish Republicans - it is the start of the Spanish Civil War. She bumps into Nat, who is off to Spain as a Brigader, planning to help fight against the Spanish rebels. They instantly fall for each other, and once he has left she decides to do the same, and escapes to Spain to help in the army hospitals. However, George finds out where she has gone, and he too follows her out there to serve. Felix has to decide whether to follow her head or her heart, and one near-death experience almost helps her decide.