Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.27 AVERAGE
4.27 AVERAGE
Once I started I couldn’t put it down!! A great read!
A well-written story about WWII...my favorite genre. The character formation was solid, well done.
Unbeknownst to me this actually tells a story related to the characters in The Things We Cannot Say which I finished right before this. I was so happy to get more of Emilia's story. I would probably give it a 4.5 if I could. The end was a bit rushed but was true to what the characters actually needed to move on.
This book.
Having read others about this ugliest of times in human history, I'd say this novel/historical fictional account of the Warsaw ghetto is about as perfect a book as you can get.
As one would expect, there are the familiar questions the captives of the ghetto asked themselves, including: "Why would they want to hurt/kill us? We're their work force, so we should go to these relocation centers," and "If we are to be taken, should we give our children to others to raise in the hope that they'll survive and we can reunite after the war?" Knowing what we know in hindsight, these are heartbreaking, obliterating questions -- and Rimmer does not shy away from the agony her characters go through in these decisions.
She also doesn't shy away from the brutality both at the hands of the Nazis and as a result of trying to survive on a daily basis. She describes in painful detail the psychological and emotional damage on top of the physical threats and harms. The book is a powerful reminder that the end of World War II for some meant freedom -- and for others meant atrocities committed by Russian soldiers that were in some cases just as cruel as what the Nazis did.
Why would I recommend a book that has such difficult moments? Because within the hell that was Nazi occupied Poland was love, strength, family and fellowship; courage, friendship and even hope. It is exquisitely written in that it makes you feel a spectrum of feelings. This book is definitely going to stay with me.
Having read others about this ugliest of times in human history, I'd say this novel/historical fictional account of the Warsaw ghetto is about as perfect a book as you can get.
As one would expect, there are the familiar questions the captives of the ghetto asked themselves, including: "Why would they want to hurt/kill us? We're their work force, so we should go to these relocation centers," and "If we are to be taken, should we give our children to others to raise in the hope that they'll survive and we can reunite after the war?" Knowing what we know in hindsight, these are heartbreaking, obliterating questions -- and Rimmer does not shy away from the agony her characters go through in these decisions.
She also doesn't shy away from the brutality both at the hands of the Nazis and as a result of trying to survive on a daily basis. She describes in painful detail the psychological and emotional damage on top of the physical threats and harms. The book is a powerful reminder that the end of World War II for some meant freedom -- and for others meant atrocities committed by Russian soldiers that were in some cases just as cruel as what the Nazis did.
Why would I recommend a book that has such difficult moments? Because within the hell that was Nazi occupied Poland was love, strength, family and fellowship; courage, friendship and even hope. It is exquisitely written in that it makes you feel a spectrum of feelings. This book is definitely going to stay with me.
A beautifully written book. Such a sad, but powerful story. I loved this book!
Heart wrenching. Historical fiction set in Warsaw, Poland as the Germans invade. Survival, family, love, war, death, kindness…Roman and Emilia’s story becomes intertwined among all the turmoil of this time period. I would love to believe it isn’t possible to repeat the mistakes of our collective past; but the Russian invasion of Ukraine makes this serve as an important reminder.
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
This book was painfully raw in detail and beautifully written. I was completely engulfed in this book. I think the naive depiction of Roman and Elzbieta mixed with the their often mature narrative voices completely explains their children of war pov . Not quite a five star read but just about there. I felt like the ending dragged a little bit and Romans constant need to fight got tiredsome but overall completely loved this book. Cried, smiled, felt angry... With such vivid detail it was easy to feel all the emotions wrapped up in this story.
Warsaw during the Nazi occupation of Poland. The Nazis have rounded up the Jews into the walled ghetto, where they slowly starve to death and die of illnesses due to overcrowding. A teenage boy, Roman, eventually loses his entire family to transportation and eventual murder at Treblinka—except for his infant sister, who is smuggled out of the ghetto and taken to a foster family.
Elzbieta is a Catholic girl who becomes friends with a neighbor, Sara, a nurse who works for the city. Sara regularly visits the ghetto to do typhus checks, and Elzbieta learns that there's more to Sara's activities than health checks. Elzbieta is the one who sneaks Roman's baby sister beyond the wall.
Nazi atrocities. Soviet atrocities. Redemption and love.
Elzbieta is a Catholic girl who becomes friends with a neighbor, Sara, a nurse who works for the city. Sara regularly visits the ghetto to do typhus checks, and Elzbieta learns that there's more to Sara's activities than health checks. Elzbieta is the one who sneaks Roman's baby sister beyond the wall.
Nazi atrocities. Soviet atrocities. Redemption and love.
A great historical fiction book! It still astounds me that people stood by and let one man do all this damage. We must remember so we never repeat this horrific event in history again.
Having read The Things We Cannot Say I knew I would need to read this story as well. While I realize these characters were fictional I know there were actual people living these exact same stories. This author has an amazing way of telling such a gut-wrenching story that you feel the story.
I have read so many stories about the Holocaust and I am always amazed by the truly heinous nature of human beings.
I have read so many stories about the Holocaust and I am always amazed by the truly heinous nature of human beings.