tessa_palomeque 's review for:

Cilka's Journey by Heather Morris
5.0

When I finished the Tattooist of Auschwitz, I remember wondering what happened to Cilka. I believe it was mentioned at the end that she was sentenced to 15 years in a Siberian labor camp, but I was left wanting and needing to know what happened to her. I'm so glad Heather Morris recognized that in many of her readers and has given us the fictional account of her story.
Cilka's Journey is heart-wrenching in exactly the way I'd expect it to be. Full of pain and hardship, but also blossoming friendships and sacrifices made for others. Cilka was an incredible woman who endured inexplicable hardship while in Auschwitz, only to them be sentenced as a "Nazi supporter" because she was raped for years by the Nazis. That alone made me furious, but the way she takes that and endures through the Siberian camp, not only surviving herself, but doing her best to help others is commendable. My heart ached for Cilka at so many points, and I am so happy I read this book. It is one that will stay with me for a long, long time.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC!