Shortlisted for the 2004 Guardian Children's Fiction Prize and the 2005 Branford Boase Award.

All you have to do, Effi told herself, is grab him from behind, put the knife in the right place and stab. Listen, out there they’re killing God knows how many people every second, surely you can manage it once, Effi? Only it was a boy with fair hair and long thin wrists poking out of the sleeves of a dirty cardigan.

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It’s wartime. You’re separated from your family and friends. Your life is in constant danger. Dare you trust a stranger?

Set in Germany in 1945, this is the story of a boy, Hanno, and a girl, Effi. Hanno is on the run, having just seen his twin brother killed. Effi is streetwise. She has learned the hard way that she must keep her secrets to herself - and she’s even less keen to trust Hanno when she finds out he’s a policeman’s son. But there are far more dangerous people on the road, Russian soldiers, German deserters - and Major Otto, who likes to play games with people before he kills them.

This exceptional tale of courage, ingenuity, and the remarkable bonds formed during times of great hardship will keep you gripped right up to the very last page.

Praise for Last Train from Kummersdorf:

‘This is a very good novel, in places an extraordinarily good one, as in the electrifying scene of the train stuffed with luxuries, and the starving people running amock in it - a surreal scene which I particularly admire. It is an
achievement to write an original book about the war which has been
already so much written about, and I congratulate the author and you on
publishing the book.’ Jill Paton Walsh

‘Once you have read the opening paragraph you are hooked, and you do not want to put the book down until you have finished.. it is truly fantastic. I would recommend this book to any young person who is interested in the Second World War and for those who are studying it, it is a great read and you come away feeling that you have a wider knowledge of the war and the German civilian’s opinions on it.‘ Annemarie Simmons age 14, Historical Novels Review

‘Leslie Wilson weaves a powerful, touching, amusing story of survival against the odds… This is a wonderful story for children, though it will appeal to adults too, and all readers will emerge from the story with their understanding deepened not only of the horrors of war, but of the way in which good, and love, can triumph over the most dreadful of circumstances.’ Rabbi Dr Charles H Middleburgh

'It makes you think: 'What if?' Kate Woff, aged 12, Education Guardian

'a tale about Germany’s resistance to Hitler, of kindness amid horrors, of a fantasy coming miraculously true, and of growing tenderness between the two teenagers. For all its harshness, it concerns courage and love.' Sunday Times

'Compelling..this fine story bears an unmistakeable ring of truth.' Independent

'Outstanding..This beautifully-written book evokes horror through the eyes of two teenagers who have lost almost everything but hold on doggedly, somehow, to the exuberance and optimism of their youth' Observer

‘Add to the burgeoning list of must reads for this turbulent period in history Leslie Wilson's exceptional Last Train From Kummersdorf.. a most remarkable and powerful story. Grim, yet uplifting, saddening but moving, this book is above all about courage and the effects of war on children. It could be the story of any modern-day child caught up in the horrors of war.’ Birmingham Post

'Perhaps the greatest strength of this book, Leslie Wilson's first foray into writing for children, is its ability to get under the skin of young people and describe their fears and mixed-up emotions in the face of horror.' The Herald

‘A wonderful book…you can hear the bombs dropping, the shots coming from the wood, feel the tight shoes and the gnawing hunger, smell the rotting bodies and the burning houses... an exciting adventure story.' Armadillo

‘there is much necessary truth in this well-written story, not least the lesson that in wartime the language of morality is neither self-satisfied nor simple.’ TES Teacher

‘It would be easy to call yet another novel set in the Second World War predictable.. this book comes from a different angle and proves to be a powerful insight into a crumbling totalitarian world.’ The Bookseller

All the characters we meet on this journey have an immediacy and a reality - not ennobled or white-washed - but as people are; petty, jealous, narrow-minded - and then extraordinarily kind.
She captures the grief of war - the pity of war - and that everyone becomes a victim.’ Jamila Gavin, author of Coram Boy and The Blood Stone.

‘It is immaculately written and has scenes of magical conviction and power… This could be Europe or Africa; it could be the Thirty Years War or (regrettably) the present day. I don't think any reader, of any age, could be unmoved by the vulnerability of her boy soldier and stranded adolescent girl. Hilary Mantel, author of Giving Up the Ghost