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smalltownbookmom 's review for:
The Warsaw Orphan
by Kelly Rimmer
Excuse me while I try to piece my broken heart back together again!! Kelly Rimmer is an auto-buy author for me and I was so excited to get my hands on her new book this week! This is a heavy story about life in Warsaw Poland under Nazi occupation and follows Elzbieta (who fans may remember from The things we cannot say). Elzbieta is relatively removed from the tragedy going on in the Jewish ghetto until she meets Sara, her neighbor and starts helping her get Jewish children to freedom. While doing this work she meets Roman and his family and the two strike a friendship that eventually turns into something more. The journey they go on to get their 'happy ending' is fraught with heartbreaking tragedy and loss but Rimmer does such a great job showing the many different experiences and ways people chose to act during an unspeakable time (both the brave and the ugly). I cannot recommend this one more, especially for fans of WWII historical fiction or books like The light of days, The woman with the blue star or The things we cannot say.
⚠️CW: rape, some graphic violence, death of loved ones
Favorite quotes:
"I tell myself it is enough that history will harshly judge those who did not act, but I know in my heart that it is not enough...Bystanders have allowed themselves to be convinced that the Jews are not like us, and as soon as you convince someone that a group of people is not human, they will allow you to treat them as badly as you wish."
"I thought I could be a heroine. I could do something remarkable to honor my family legacy. I was thinking about myself, mostly, but I was also so desperate to do something."
⚠️CW: rape, some graphic violence, death of loved ones
Favorite quotes:
"I tell myself it is enough that history will harshly judge those who did not act, but I know in my heart that it is not enough...Bystanders have allowed themselves to be convinced that the Jews are not like us, and as soon as you convince someone that a group of people is not human, they will allow you to treat them as badly as you wish."
"I thought I could be a heroine. I could do something remarkable to honor my family legacy. I was thinking about myself, mostly, but I was also so desperate to do something."