Review originally published in Library Journal, July 2020. The determined daughter of Jewish bakery owners in Atlantic City, Florence Adler, 20, starts the summer of 1934 swimming, as she trains for an upcoming trip to France to swim the English Channel. When the siren of the sea's life is cut short in tragedy, Esther and Joseph… Continue reading Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland
Tag: Historical Fiction
The Light After the War by Anita Abriel
Originally published in Library Journal, February 2020. Based on the incredible true story of her mother's life, Abriel's novel set during and immediately following WWII is both moving and captivating. Jewish teenagers in Budapest, Vera and Edith, narrowly escape from the cattle car headed to Auschwitz, carrying both of their mothers. Believing their parents and… Continue reading The Light After the War by Anita Abriel
The Light in Hidden Places by Sharon Cameron
Originally published in School Library Journal, January 2020. Gr 9 & Up: One of nine children, 16-year-old Stefania Podgorska, “Fusia,” leaves the farm in Bircza and moves to Przemysl to work for the Jewish Diamant family. Fusia, a Catholic, joins the Diamant household, but they are forcibly moved to the ghetto by Germans, leaving her… Continue reading The Light in Hidden Places by Sharon Cameron
The German House by Annette Hess
Originally published in Library Journal, December 1, 2019. In 1963 Frankfurt, Germany, 24 year old Eva Bruhns is hired by David Miller, a Canadian investigator, as a Polish translator for the Auschwitz war crimes trial. Eva's memories of WWII are distant and vague, and her family refuses to comment on the war as she… Continue reading The German House by Annette Hess
Cilka’s Journey by Heather Morris
Originally published in Library Journal, October 2019. Morris's sophomore novel, follows a brave young Czech woman from Auschwitz-Birkenau to the gulag at Vorkuta, a Siberian prison labor camp. When the Soviets liberate Birkenau, they sentence 18 year old Cilka Klein to 15 years hard labor for prostitution and espionage, though she was repeatedly raped by… Continue reading Cilka’s Journey by Heather Morris
The Winemaker’s Wife by Kristin Harmel
Review originally appeared in Library Journal, July 2019. Alternating between the vineyards of war-torn 1940s France and present day, the lives of Ines and Michel, newlywed owners of the famed champagne house, Maison Chauveau, and the head winemaker’s Jewish wife, Celine Laurent, are forever altered. As Germans are pillaging homes and sending Jews to prison… Continue reading The Winemaker’s Wife by Kristin Harmel
The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff
Originally published in Library Journal, January 2019. Jenoff seamlessly weaves together the stories of three remarkable women and the impact of WWII on their lives. In the New York train station, Grace Healy, a newly widowed legal secretary, stumbles upon a suitcase with the name Trigg, containing a dozen photos of women with only first… Continue reading The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff
The Wartime Sisters by Lynda Cohen Loigman
Originally published in Library Journal, January 2019. Loigman's second novel follows Jewish sisters Ruth and Millie Kaplan from their childhood in Brooklyn to adulthood living at an armory base in Springfield, MA. The eldest by three years, Ruth is held to almost impossible standards, while Millie, with her striking looks and pleasing manner, gets away… Continue reading The Wartime Sisters by Lynda Cohen Loigman
The Latecomers by Helen Klein Ross
Originally published in Library Journal, October 15, 2018. In her third novel, Ross (What Was Mine; Making It) weaves a tale of the wealthy Hollingworth family and a secret that spans five generations. Rich historical details bring time periods to life from early 1900 wartime to the Great Depression and all the way up to September… Continue reading The Latecomers by Helen Klein Ross
Purple Hearts by Michael Grant
Purple Hearts is the final book in the Front Lines trilogy by Michael Grant. This young adult historical fiction story takes place in 1944. Though the Battle of D-Day at Omaha Beach, the Battle of the Bulge, and the depiction of German death camps is written with historical accuracy, the one twist in the story… Continue reading Purple Hearts by Michael Grant
Librarian Laura 