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mudder17 's review for:
The Warsaw Orphan
by Kelly Rimmer
4 very solid stars
Kelly Rimmer has become one of my favorite historical fiction writers because I love the characters she creates, with all their faults and assets. They are believable and often full of heartache, and it is evident that she puts in a large amount of research into the time period in which she is writing. This is my third book by the author and I continue to be transported into the world of her characters. I was definitely more familiar with this time period having recently read The Boy on the Wooden Box, The Woman With the Blue Star, and of course, Rimmer's previous book, The Things We Cannot Say, all of which are set in Poland during World War II. I don't know if this is supposed to be a companion book to The Things We Cannot Say, since there are no direct connections, but they do cover the same time period. The main difference is that TTWCS connects the past and present to ultimately help the present-day MC heal, while this story is set exclusively in the past and tells the story of two teenagers, Elzbieta and Roman, each with their own traumas, who end up involved in the Polish resistance, but in their own way. I believe this book was inspired by a real-life heroine who smuggled thousands of Jewish children out of the Polish ghetto and into safety (her character was Sara in this book). As is true of all the books I've read by this author, there was a ton of heartbreak and I ended up crying for them both. I loved how the author used Elzbieta's art as a way to find healing and I wish I could have seen the large mural on her wall. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that there were times in the middle when it just felt "long" to me and I would find my mind drifting a bit. However, these were fortunately not prevalent and it did not take away my enjoyment of the book. It also felt like there were maybe 2-3 points near the end of the book where it felt like it was the big ending, but then there were other unresolved issues that needed to be wrapped up. Still, once I hit about the 80% point, I couldn't stop listening and kept going until I hit the final end. The narrators were pretty good, although I preferred the narrator who did Elzbieta's part of the story more than the one who did Roman's story. He still did a fine job, but I preferred the other narrator.
Overall, this was a great book and will likely stick with me for some time.
Kelly Rimmer has become one of my favorite historical fiction writers because I love the characters she creates, with all their faults and assets. They are believable and often full of heartache, and it is evident that she puts in a large amount of research into the time period in which she is writing. This is my third book by the author and I continue to be transported into the world of her characters. I was definitely more familiar with this time period having recently read The Boy on the Wooden Box, The Woman With the Blue Star, and of course, Rimmer's previous book, The Things We Cannot Say, all of which are set in Poland during World War II. I don't know if this is supposed to be a companion book to The Things We Cannot Say, since there are no direct connections, but they do cover the same time period. The main difference is that TTWCS connects the past and present to ultimately help the present-day MC heal, while this story is set exclusively in the past and tells the story of two teenagers, Elzbieta and Roman, each with their own traumas, who end up involved in the Polish resistance, but in their own way. I believe this book was inspired by a real-life heroine who smuggled thousands of Jewish children out of the Polish ghetto and into safety (her character was Sara in this book). As is true of all the books I've read by this author, there was a ton of heartbreak and I ended up crying for them both. I loved how the author used Elzbieta's art as a way to find healing and I wish I could have seen the large mural on her wall. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that there were times in the middle when it just felt "long" to me and I would find my mind drifting a bit. However, these were fortunately not prevalent and it did not take away my enjoyment of the book. It also felt like there were maybe 2-3 points near the end of the book where it felt like it was the big ending, but then there were other unresolved issues that needed to be wrapped up. Still, once I hit about the 80% point, I couldn't stop listening and kept going until I hit the final end. The narrators were pretty good, although I preferred the narrator who did Elzbieta's part of the story more than the one who did Roman's story. He still did a fine job, but I preferred the other narrator.
Overall, this was a great book and will likely stick with me for some time.