Reviews with content warning for Genocide - We Were the Lucky Ones

Any book set in Europe during WWII is going to be impactful. But the fact that this is based on the author’s real family is profound beyond words, and the fact that this is her debut novel is absolutely incredible. The research she put into it to do it justice really shows. I was immersed in each storyline, and the historical blurbs between chapters added impactful backstory.

Though the new series on Hulu is fantastic, I definitely recommend reading this first to digest every piece of vital information. And DO NOT skip the author’s notes at the end!

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annamk1704's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

Content Warnings

oldandnewbooksmell's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0

Trigger Warnings: Holocaust, war, death, starvation

In Radom, Poland, in March of 1939, the Kurc family’s talk around the Seder table is of new babies and budding romance - not really much of the shadows of the war just around the corner, or the hardships threatening Jews, but the empty set where middle son, Addy should be, is a heavy reminder. Nothing changes overnight, but new rules, regulations, and laws go into effect and then suddenly, Europe is inescapable.

One sibling is forced into exile, another gets shuffled between refugee boats halfway across the world, others struggle to escape certain death; rather that’s working grueling hours on empty stomachs in the ghetto or hiding as gentiles in plain sight. We Are the Lucky Ones is inspired by the incredible true story of one Jewish family separated at the start of the war and their determination to not only survive, but to reunite.

Right, so I have enough titles on my plate right now to last me through to forever, but I started watching the adaptation of this when it dropped on Hulu a few weeks ago, thinking I’d cheat a little and watch the show first (yea, yea, I know, you don’t do that!). But then, it left me on a cliffhanger I did not care to endure for an entire week while I waited for the next episode - so, I went out and bought the book (yes, I even bit the bullet and bought the one with the stupid Hulu advertisement on it because I couldn’t find any older versions). I then read from Saturday late afternoon up until 3:00 am, slept for a bit, then woke up and read the remaining 75 pages or so I couldn’t stay awake for.

Starting off - obviously the tv adaptation took a few more liberties in a few of the characters’ storylines. I loved the book ones more because to me, they’re sweeter, but I’ve still got two more episodes left of the series, so maybe it’ll change.

I did appreciate the changing around of all Kurc family members for each chapter. And the little tidbits of history that was happening at the time, because sometimes we would jump a few months and it was nice to know what had been going on or happening.

This is a difficult book about survival in one of the worst times in human history, not everyone will be able to read it, but I just had to when you learn about so many members of one immediate family, their stories, and that it’s based on the author’s family history. This is absolutely added to my recommendation list for historical fiction. Always.

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fkshg8465's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This took a while, and I walked to DNF it so many times early on. There were too many characters to track, and I kept getting lost in the story. Plus I generally don’t love WWII as a genre. Glad I stuck with it. Payoff was worth it.

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heathers94's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Content Warnings

craftyanty's review

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

Finally got around to reading this book after having it sit on my TBR list for years. Halfway through, I found out it is a true story (I either forgot or never knew.), and that made it even more engaging.

I'd planned to read the ebook but ended up doing audio. That made it a bit hard to keep track of exactly how all the people were related though I could still keep track of each of the storylines without much fuss thanks to the narrator, Kathleen Gati. She was so good at languages, accents, etc. that she made me feel as I was witnessing the story unfold in each of the parts of the world it was set in. I will definitely be looking for more of Gati's narrations. I also can't wait for the Hulu series to stream later this week.

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