Twelve-year-old Louie loves living in Sydney with her Hungarian grandparents, helping them run the beautiful Majestic Boutique Hotel. But when she finds an antique rose gold locket, dropped by a mysterious girl, her tranquil world is upended – Louie and her brothers are plunged back through time to Nazi-occupied Budapest.

While stuck in the past the siblings become caught up in the heroic deeds of the secret Jewish underground, working together to follow the clues to uncover their grandparents’ history and return to their own time. Through discovering the truth about her Jewish heritage Louie learns that we all need to remember and honour the past in order to truly understand our present.

Louie and her brothers encounter danger at every turn, displaying tenacity, intelligence and empathy as they are confronted by the shocking realities of a war they knew little about. Inspired by the experiences of Susanne Gervay’s own parents, Heroes of the Secret Underground is a powerful introduction to the Holocaust for readers ages 10 and up, and a reminder of the importance of hope and resilience in dark times.

Daniella Robertson is a children’s and YA specialist at Readings Malvern.