The Reading Wells Book Club: 2024 reads - hosted by thereadingwells

March: The Lilac Girls
What to expect: historical fiction that explores the unsung roles of women during World War II and the dark realities they faced, with a focus on the power of female resilience and second chances.

"New York socialite Caroline Ferriday has her hands full with her post at the French consulate and a new love on the horizon. But Caroline's world is forever changed when Hitler's army invades Poland in September 1939--and then sets its sights on France. 
 An ocean away from Caroline, Kasia Kuzmerick, a Polish teenager, senses her carefree youth disappearing as she is drawn deeper into her role as courier for the underground resistance movement. In a tense atmosphere of watchful eyes and suspecting neighbors, one false move can have dire consequences. 
 For the ambitious young German doctor, Herta Oberheuser, an ad for a government medical position seems her ticket out of a desolate life. Once hired, though, she finds herself trapped in a male-dominated realm of Nazi secrets and power. 
 The lives of these three women are set on a collision course when the unthinkable happens and Kasia is sent to Ravensbr ck, the notorious Nazi concentration camp for women. Their stories cross continents--from New York to Paris, Germany, and Poland--as Caroline and Kasia strive to bring justice to those whom history has forgotten. "
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502 pages first pub 2016 (editions)

fiction historical literary dark emotional sad medium-paced
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