The book is well presented. I think the cover and the floral illustrations make the book a real pleasure. Whilst I am enjoying the content and it is an interesting story line, compelling is not the word I would use. I may add that I am adult reading a book for younger readers. I ordered it because I too have a German mother who was a teenager during the war and came over to England in 1948 six months before I was born. There are parallels about being brought up by a German mother (with an English father) in the post war era.