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4.32 AVERAGE
4.32 AVERAGE
Just sad this is based on a true event but beautifully written. An easy read but a real insight into the ordeal.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
Loveable characters:
Yes
I really enjoyed this deeper dive into the life of Cilka after reading about her in The Tattooist of Auschwitz. A challenging, but important read.
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
So good!
emotional
slow-paced
10/10 : I read The Tattooist of Auschwitz last year, & it has stayed with me ever since. This book is the sequel, which has left me feeling profoundly moved, once more. Based on true events, with harrowing scenes, the likes of which we struggle to comprehend, this book follows the journey of Cilka, a 16 year old girl, that we were briefly introduced to previously by Lale (the tattooist). I can’t imagine the devastating impact life in the prison camps must have had, & this story is a heartbreaking recount of one woman’s sheer determination, at surviving the ordeals she endured. Thank you Heather Morris, for sharing these stories with us, they are incredible.
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Good but not up to the first book standard
After ‘Tatooist’ I read a ‘light book’ before jumping right into reading ‘Cilka’s Journey’, and while I enjoyed it quite a bit and liked following another character’s story, there were issues throughout and especially at the end. While I know it is a fictionalized ‘based on true events’ story, there were too many times when Cilka felt like June from Handmaid’s Tale being protected by ‘plot armor’.
There were also too many areas left unexplored - especially later in the story. For example, what happens to ‘A’ late in the book deserved a bit more attention, and while Cilka felt such a connection to the other women, we really only learned about a couple.
But the absolute rush of the ending was the worst for me. There are so many gaps, unanswered questions, and more that made the ending very frustrating and unsatisfying. I complained that the first book felt rushed at the end, but this is a whole other level. If you asked me halfway through “will you read the third book?” My answer would have been an enthusiastic yes … but now I am not sure.
After ‘Tatooist’ I read a ‘light book’ before jumping right into reading ‘Cilka’s Journey’, and while I enjoyed it quite a bit and liked following another character’s story, there were issues throughout and especially at the end. While I know it is a fictionalized ‘based on true events’ story, there were too many times when Cilka felt like June from Handmaid’s Tale being protected by ‘plot armor’.
There were also too many areas left unexplored - especially later in the story. For example, what happens to ‘A’ late in the book deserved a bit more attention, and while Cilka felt such a connection to the other women, we really only learned about a couple.
But the absolute rush of the ending was the worst for me. There are so many gaps, unanswered questions, and more that made the ending very frustrating and unsatisfying. I complained that the first book felt rushed at the end, but this is a whole other level. If you asked me halfway through “will you read the third book?” My answer would have been an enthusiastic yes … but now I am not sure.
dark
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thoroughy readable and very interesting. I found this book just as hard to put down as the first in the series and I think I finished both books in less than 48 hrs each.