All the Broken Places by John Boyne

All the Broken Places by John Boyne
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Many thanks to Milly Neff for recommending this awesome Holocaust book! Oh boy, I loved this novel, but I really tried to like Gretel Fernsby, but her life, her history, her personality kept me reading---but I did not really like her throughout her life from childhood to adulthood. I loved 91 year old Gretel though and this book moved back and forth in time, so chilling, haunting, and sad. Gretel's past has tormented her whole life but as the 91 year old now living in England, I loved these parts of the book most because Gretel has become a caring, forthright, dame who befriends a new family in her complex that calls upon her (demands) to question her own guilt, complicity, and all that she has spent her life running from and can she really help protect violence? A must read!

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We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter

We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow! Awesomely narrated Kathleen Gati and Robert Fass, this historical fiction debut is taken from Georgia Hunter's Jewish family in the year leading up to & during the Holocaust! It was so tough but compelling to read about the Kurc family during WWII and the Holocaust---expansive and horror filled as I listened I kept telling myself---remember the title of the book---they were the lucky ones... as debut author Georgia Hunter wove a heart warming family saga beginning in Poland through the gut wrenching Holocaust and what happens to the many family members. A must read, highly recommended!

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The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult

The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this book as part of my Albright College book club and this was chosen by Sue Murphy Bonnewell. As much as I am drawn to Holocaust books, during this time of Covid, I found myself putting the book down because it was so horrific hearing Mika's hellish story of her life in the concentration camps. It was interesting reading her book she was writing and reading to her best friend about a devil... I think Sage is a very flawed human being but I liked her and wanted her to find happiness and not settle because she thought so little of herself. I LOVED Leo and his passion for Nazi hunting, his interest in Sage and her story, then her grandmother's story; it was all so mesmerizing, but devastating! Jodi Picoult wrote novel I very much wanted to put down but could not; very thoroughly researched!!!

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Lilac Girls (Lilac Girls, #1) by Martha Hall Kelly

Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Awesomely narrated by Cassandra Campbell , Kathleen Gati , Kathrin Kana ,and Martha Hall Kelly, I loved this book but had to stop listening also because it was so gripping and upsetting with the horrors exacted upon Kasia, her family and friends at Ravensbrück during WWII. Mesmerizing were the voices of Caroline and Kasia and I hated Dr. Herta Oberheuser as she changed from a caring person to a German supporter of the Third Reich. The research was meticulous by Martha Hall Kelly and I will certainly be listening to or reading the 2nd in the series, The Lost Girls. For those interested in knowing more about WWII, the Holocaust, and a very dark period of history, this is a must read!

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The Huntress by Kate Quinn

The Huntress by Kate Quinn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Excellently narrated by Saskia Maarleveld (loved all of her voices both male and female!!!), thanks so much to Pat Graham for recommending The Alice Network and then others telling me I must read The Huntress. OMG, it was 18 hours long and I still did not want it to end. I was thoroughly invested in the story, the characters, the suspense and Kate Quinn delivered! Written back and forth between WWII and years later in Boston and narrated back and forth by Ian, Nina and Jordan, Ian and Tony are hunting for a cool, heartless killer (the Huntress) who shot Polish children and Tony's brother after befriending them and feeding them. Jordan's dad has fallen for Anna and her daughter Ruth, proposing marriage. Nina's story was thoroughly crazy, Russian Dad who tried to drown her, crazy pilot skills and "family" of sisters she flies with. The hunt for the huntress was full of suspense, psychological daring do, lots of angst and the way these characters lived and breathed made me fall in love with them all, except the bad ones! This is a must read for any who love WWII stories, Holocaust stories, and the hunt for justice after the Holocaust!

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The View Across the Rooftops by Suzanne Kelman

A View Across the Rooftops by Suzanne Kelman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks to Pat Graham for another great recommendation! I loved this historical fiction, taking place in Denmark during WWII/Holocaust. It was a tough read as all Holocaust stories are, but the beauty and strength of the characters, plot, and words made this a favorite for me so I will be recommending it to all my reader friends! Hannah, Michael Bloom, Elka, Ingrid, and Joseph are memorable characters for their struggles, resilience, and response to the upending of their lives during the German occupation of their home, Denmark. During this time of covid-19 it was very difficult to listen to this audiobook, but Alan Medcroft's narration was stellar. Highly recommended!

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From Sand and Ash by Amy Harmon

From Sand and Ash by Amy Harmon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a riveting audiobook read by Cassandra Campbell as she so eloquently narrates the life and love of Eva Rosselli and Angelo Bianco. Raised together as children, Eva is a Jew and Angelo is Roman Catholic, they play together, laugh together, despite their religious differences and family circumstances, they are very very close. When Angelo chooses the church, he makes a decision to walk away from Eva's friendship and love, but as WWII threatens the Jewish and Eva, Angelo and Eva are brought together again- both now doing everything possible to help shelter the Jews. Such a saga of family, religion, loss, and love, I could not stop listening to this haunting book!

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White Rose by Kip Wilson

White Rose by Kip Wilson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Many thanks to #jennlagarde for her Eight Amazeballs to Novels in Verse, which gave me this awesome title, White Rose, historical fiction based on the life of Sophie Scholl, who was one of the brave teens responsible for using passive resistance (distributing flyers) alerting others to the German slaughter of Jews in Germany during WWII. Kip Wilson's poetry was gripping in it's beauty and horror as Hitler's regime wipes out Jews and others. Sophie's bravery, cunning, and love of Germany had Sophie and her friends (especially boyfriend Fritz, who serves in the war) using graffiti and pamphlets to alert others to the criminal activities and deaths Hitler orchestrated. A must read for all!

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The Tatooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris

The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved Lale and his deep abiding love for Gita during the horrors of WWII in the concentration camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau. As prisoner, Lale promises himself to survive the horrors of the camps, the inhumanity of the soldiers, doctors, and leaders horrifies and scares Lale but does not stop him from helping his fellow prisoners. As the tattooist, Lale gets more food and hides his trades for food, jewels, etc in order to help his fellow prisoners. I could not stop turning the pages as the disgust and sadness I fought against as I read each atrocity kept me awake at night. Author Morris passes on the information Lale provided to her after Gita dies. This was a saga of enduring abiding love during a horrible time when you did not know if you would survive from day to day, of man's inhumanity to man---but Lale summoned courage and helped others and fought for Gita's life. The times Lale and Gita could meet, their love was deep and consumed with survival. I especially liked the information Heather Morris provides at the end about their life after genocide, an afterword by their son Gary was especially poignant. Highly recommended.

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Resistance vy Jennifer A. Nielsen

Resistance by Jennifer A. Nielsen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a great YA historical fiction book; the plot and characters made compelling reading---how the Jews suffered in the concentration camps; but these brave resistance teens fight to save Jews by being couriers. The networking of the resistance groups was not one I was familiar with having read many Holocaust novels and nonfiction titles. This is a must read for teens studying the Holocaust in history; these brave teens and their stories were researched and show the heroism of these teens in the "face of almost certain defeat". Highly recommended.

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The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe Translated by Lilit Thwaites

The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this book for the #2jennsbookclub twitter chat taking place Thursday 1/11 at 8PM EST; please join us! I can't tell you how deeply affecting this Holocaust book was- yes, all Holocaust books are (fiction or nonfiction), but Iturbe's book translated by Lilit Thwaites was so compelling, horrific, yet outstanding and I believe it is because of the main character, Dita Kraus, and her deeply moving narrative of her courageous life in the killing machine known as the Auschwitz Prison, her friends and family as they are forced all day, every day trying to survive while the SS officers, Dr, Mengele (oh is he so very evil) want to extinguish all the Jews and many others. I will be forever contemplating Dita's words whether she is creating a picture of her life before Auschwitz, running (hiding) to preserve the books in her library (8 in all) in order to bring the love of books and school to the children in Block 31. Fredy Hirsh was a real hero too and his depth of character and deep love for the children in his care, allowed these children to thrive in hell as they listened to their teachers read a book, discuss the world, and drill them on math. I fell in love with Fredy as Dita did and his strength of character urged Dita on to never give up hope. There are so many great quotations in this book- I highly recommend it for adults and teens. The world needs to keep reading and sharing these books!

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Anna and the Swallow Man by Gavriel Savit

Anna and the Swallow Man by Gavriel Savit
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I listened to this audiobook as part of the 2017 HUB Challenge and oh did this audiobook narrated by Allan Corduner deserve the Odyssey Award and kudos to debut author, Gavriel Savit; I look forward to reading more from him. It is 1939 and Anna is just 7 yrs old when her Polish father is taken away, never to return. Anna meets the Swallow Man who is a master manipulator, commands a knowledge of many languages and together they teach each other how to survive in a world gone beserk. OMG I loved Allan Corduner's narration, his voices, his hypnotic voice, his chilling voice, his Anna and his Swallow Man. A must read; a different kind of Holocaust book but gut wrenching all the same about a horrific period of time.

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The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh did I love this book, the writing and the characters! Kristin Hannah has written a spellbinding historical Fiction novel about the horrors of WWII in France, a family torn apart by war and the courageous things people will do. Before the war, Vianne and Isabelle Rossignol are two sisters who have suffered the loss of their mother, the rejection by their father, and a chasm between them. When WWII breaks out, life is turned upside down; Isabelle who has always been a rebel, becomes a heroine who saves pilots while her sister must endure Commandant Beck billeted in their home. I was so sickened by the Nazi atrocities toward the Jews & French men, women and children but I rooted for the sisters to persevere and endure. A compelling must read; highly recommended!.

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All the Light You Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a beautiful, haunting book! Doerr's look at WWII & the Holocaust also delves into characters' lives before the war- Marie Laure & Werner are the main, rich characters who are defined by their families (one blind, the other an orphan) and as the book jumps between 1940 and 1944 the reader is immersed in their worlds and cannot break away as war envelopes them and their lives are irrevocably changed. I loved the depth and breadth of this book; will be thinking about snails, radio transmitters, puzzles for a very long time; highly recommended to adults and HS readers who cover The Holocaust in school.

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Goebbels by Peter Longerich

Goebbels: A Biography by Peter Longerich
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC, Goebbels by Peter Longerich. This book is a must for Holocaust libraries, academic, public and high school libraries. The research on Goebbels, Hitler, and their campaign against the Jews is extensive and exhaustive. Thanks to his journals, the reader learns what an insecure self-serving man Joseph Goebbels was and how this helped to catapult him to become the Minister of Propaganda in Hitler’s inner circle. His hatred of Jews was as virulent as Hitler’s and together they created the National Socialist Movement in Germany and dreamed of destroying all Jews in Germany and throughout the world. Riveting and revolting.

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The Book Thief by Markus Zusack

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I re-read this book as part of the 2014 Hub Challenge. I loved it when I first read it and the words, characters, and setting were just as beautiful and horrifying. Told from the point of view of Death, Liesel Meminger is a young girl who is adopted by a German family during the time the war with Germany broke out and the Jews were persecuted, killed, and some were hidden in homes, basements and walls. Liesel becomes the book thief when she picks up a book a gravedigger dropped while burying her brother, Werner. She continues to take books at a parade celebrating the Germans superiority (where she realizes Hitler probably killed her mother because she was a Communist)and later when she carries her step mother's laundry to the Mayor's house. His wife has a room full of books and lets Liesel read any of the books. Liesel's stepfather, Hans Hubermann is a wonderful man who has difficulty finding work because he will not join Hitler's party. He shows Liesel love, and teaches her to read. On the other hand her stepmother is gruff, and angry. But that changes the day, Hans accepts Max, a Jew (Max's dad saved Hans in the war)into their house. Liesel's stepmother now becomes a loving, scared person who supports hiding Max and swears Liesel to tell no one, even her best friend, Rudy. The story of Liesel, her friends and family, narrated by death is one of my favorite books. Everyone should read it, Markus Zusack speaks of a time that must never be forgotten in history. He writes with depth and compassion to show Liesel's world and how she continued to live despite losing everyone she loved, one by one. Death loves Liesel and you will too.

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The Boy on the Wooden Box by Leon Leyson (audio book)

The Boy on the Wooden Box by Leon Leyson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved the voice of the person who narrates this audiobook as the main character, Leon Leyson, who is saved from death (and others in his family) as a result of OsKar Schindler's compassion during the Holocaust. Even though this is a child's book, it will appeal to all readers, young and old. Highly recommended!

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The Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies an Survivors Captured the World's Most Notorious Nazi by Neal Bascomb

The Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies and Survivors Captured the World's Most Notorious Nazi by Neal Bascomb
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The pursuit and capture of Adolf Eichmann after 15 years as part of the Nazi plan to exterminate the Jews was a profound and thrilling read. The secret plan was thoroughly planned by Jews who personally survived the Holocaust and lost loved ones in the concentration camps and the government officials of Israel. A highly recommended read for young adults and adults as a reminder of the atrocities by Hitler and the Germans against the Jews. Six million were exterminated and many were shot, beaten, starved and worked to death in addition to the furnaces of the concentration camps.

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Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this book for two reasons, with the first being it is the Goodreads February Discussion for Books Hot Off the Presses
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
and the second is my participation in the 2014 HUB Reading Challenge
http://www.yalsa.ala.org/thehub/2014/.... This book is on the list of the 2014 Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults. Rose Justice is a transport pilot, who grew up outside Hershey, PA. It is during the war that Rose's plane is intercepted, she is captured by the Germans and taken to the Ravensbrück concentration camp, where she is a prisoner for six months. Rose and the other captives (who are there much longer)endure beatings, torture, experimentation, and deprivation. It is during her imprisonment and after, as she recuperates in Paris that the full story emerges. What was so wonderful about this story was the "family" Rose formed while in Ravensbrück and it was these bonds that enabled them to endure and in many cases, survive. Wein weaves the importance of family throughout the whole book; with Rose's Hershey family, her pilot friends who are her family before her capture and the Rabbits, Lisette, Irina, Roza, Karolina and others who are her camp family. Rose uses her poetry and storytelling with her concentration camp friends to as a way to remember life before and survive each day whatever way they could. It is during her imprisonment (and after) with the Hamburg Ravensbrück Trials and the Doctors' Trial against Nazi war criminals that Rose emerges as a much stronger person; a writer and medical student, and is able to bear witness in her own way to the atrocities of the camp and let the world know the names of all 75 of the Rabbits who were maimed (and many killed) by Nazis due to their experimentation. Readers will love the women (pilots, survivors, and those who do not survive) in this book; their bravery, fury, compassion, defiance, craziness, and beauty. Highly recommended!

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