The Woman With The Blue Star: A Novel by Pam Jenoff

(Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book!

 

about book:

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Girls of Paris comes a riveting tale of courage and unlikely friendship during World War II.
1942. Sadie Gault is eighteen and living with her parents in the Kraków Ghetto during World War II. When the Nazis liquidate the ghetto, Sadie and her pregnant mother are forced to seek refuge in the perilous tunnels beneath the city. One day Sadie looks up through a grate and sees a girl about her own age buying flowers.
Ella Stepanek is an affluent Polish girl living a life of relative ease with her stepmother, who has developed close alliances with the occupying Germans. While on an errand in the market, she catches a glimpse of something moving beneath a grate in the street. Upon closer inspection, she realizes it’s a girl hiding.
Ella begins to aid Sadie and the two become close, but as the dangers of the war worsen, their lives are set on a collision course that will test them in the face of overwhelming odds. Inspired by incredible true stories, The Woman with the Blue Star is an unforgettable testament to the power of friendship and the extraordinary strength of the human will to survive.

my thoughts:

Wow. What a story. Talk about an emotional and beautiful must-read book. The Woman With The Blue Star by Pam Jenoff is just excellent and I am wholeheartedly recommending it to everyone. 

Its WWII and Sadie is living with her parents. She's eighteen years old. The Nazis are terrifying everyone and people are being taken from their homes. One night, Sadie's father wakes her up and rushes her and his pregnant wife to a safe place - the sewers below the streets.  Yep, they are to take refuge with another family beneath the city, surrounded by waste and rats.  It's the only way they can survive.  Ella is rich. She lives with her stepmother. Her father has left.  No one talks to her anymore, because her stepmother has sided with the occupying Germans. This connection allows Ella to wander freely.  It's during one of her trips into town that she sees Sadie beneath the grate in the street.  From that moment, their lives are never the same. And, that is all I will write about this amazing and important book. You MUST read it for yourself to experience it all - it is worth it! This is one book you will not want to miss out on. 

The writing is top notch - the descriptions, the history, the characters, all of it will just hook you from the start. And the story itself will have you reading faster and faster to find out what will happen next. You'll be crying one minute and smiling the next. The Woman With The Blue Star is historical fiction at its finest. 

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book!

The Brothers of Auschwitz: A novel of hope and heartbreak by Malka Adler

(Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!)

about book:

An extraordinary novel of hope and heartbreak, this is a story about a family separated by the Holocaust and their harrowing journey back to each other.

There was a good orchestra at Auschwitz. I could immediately hear it was good. I almost wept for the beauty of it, but the large pile of striped pajamas stayed in my mind, and I didn’t cry…

Dov and Yitzhak live in a small village in the mountains of Hungary, isolated both from the world and from the horrors of the war.

But one day in 1944, everything changes. The Nazis storm the homes of the Jewish villagers and inform them they have one hour. One hour before the train will take them to Auschwitz.

Six decades later, from the safety of their living rooms at home in Israel, the brothers finally break their silence to a friend who will never let their stories be forgotten.

Narrated in a poetic style reminiscent of Margaret Atwood, Malka Adler has penned a visceral yet essential read for those who have found strength, solace and above all, hope, in books like The Choice by Edith Eger and The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe.

my thoughts:

Wow. Just, wow. Talk about an emotional, heart-wrenching read. The Brothers of Auschwitz is a biographical novel that tells the story of two brothers and their experience during WWII. We read about their family, their relationship, the war, the Nazis, concentration camps, their lives after the war, and so much more in between it all.  It is a gripping read that will break your heart and make you cry for the atrocities faced by these two brothers.  This is one book that you will never forget. 

Adler has written a story filled with authentic details that are vivid, personal, and historical. She has utilized the story of these two brothers, along with her own father's experience to create a story that will open your eyes to the truth and fill your mind with images that will haunt you. She writes about the ugly horrors of it all, but she also weaves the idea of hope throughout. The strength and hope that this family clung to throughout their journey of hell. It is an amazingly powerful read. You can't help but question humanity as you read this story. This is one book that will have you thinking a million things at once as you read it. The Brothers of Auschwitz is a story that you must experience - it is the epitome of a must-read. I would recommend it to everyone. Check it out!

Here's the link to the TLC Book Tour schedule for: The Brothers of Auschwitz

Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!

A Brief Stop On The Road From Auschwitz by Göran Rosenberg

Look what's new in paperback today:

(Thank you to Other Press for providing me with a copy of this book!)

 

"On the 2nd of August 1947, a young man gets off a train in a small Swedish town to begin his life anew. Having survived the ghetto of Lodz, the death camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau, and the transports during the final months of Nazi Germany, his final challenge is to survive the survival. In A BRIEF STOP ON THE ROAD FROM AUSCHWITZ (Other Press Paperback Reprint * 2/28/17), Göran Rosenberg returns to his own childhood in order to tell the story of this young man, his father; walking at his side, holding his hand, following him along the road from Auschwitz, trying to foster a lost intimacy. It is also the story of the chasm that soon opens between the world of the child, permeated by the optimism, progress and collective oblivion of post-war Sweden, and the world of the father, darkened by the long shadows of the past. Beautiful, powerful, and deeply moving, this is the story of what came after Auschwitz; a world of silence, suppression, oblivion, guilt and shame. Melancholy, wise and beautiful, A BRIEF STOP ON THE ROAD FROM AUSCHWITZ is a measured examination of the past and a loving portrait of a father.

This compulsive read is a remarkable story with enormous ramifications for events playing out on the global stage today.  The insights gleaned from Göran’s experiences offer a unique perspective on the legacy that will be inherited by millions of refugees in crisis today, as well as the continual abuse inflicted on minority communities around the world.  Göran is primed to discuss an original perspective on the core lessons to be drawn from the horrors of the Holocaust, lessons that cut across religious, geographic, and ethnic lines. This is very simply a new classic of the memoir genre."

Wow! Talk about a powerful and unforgettable story.  A son's retelling of his father's life after Auschwitz - beyond brilliant! This book has garnered tons of acclaim for its truth, its history, and its message on survival.  It is a sobering piece of work that conjures up the past with such clarity and preciseness.  The writing is superb - it explores humanity, pain, memory, and hope with such openness and realism.  I just LOVED this book.  Its been days since I read it and I can't seem to stop thinking about it.  I would definitely recommend it to fans of nonfiction, especially those interested in history.   This is one book you won't want to miss.


Thank you to Other Press for providing me with a copy of this book!