Xenophobia, simply put, is the fear or hatred of strangers or foreigners. And at nine years old, Alan Holmes learns just how painful it can be to bear the brunt of such an animosity.

It’s 1939, and Alan’s parents decide to send him to boarding school in England. Far away from his happy home in France, the young boy is suddenly faced with not only the unchecked, pitiless torments inflicted by his English schoolmates, but also the harsh treatment of a prejudiced teacher. But while his life at school has plenty of its own horror stories, the outside world is experiencing its own terrible share of tragedy as well, and Alan worries over his parents’ life and safety as they race to escape from invaded France before it’s too late.

A follow-up to In the Moon: A Memoir of a 1930s childhood in France, Holmes continues the telling of his remarkable life story in A Serious and Proper Education, which covers the life-changing years of 1939 and 1940. Although the circumstances described, both personal and historical, are often appalling, the inner dialogue of the author’s younger self is surprisingly heartwarming, hopeful, and is often humorous.