Take a photo of a barcode or cover
emilybutynski 's review for:
The Warsaw Orphan
by Kelly Rimmer
Another fantastic book from Kelly Rimmer! Really loved this one. Always love to read stories about history, especially those that haven’t had much publication.
Elzbieta, formerly Emilia, lives in Warsaw with her foster parents and foster uncle in relative comfort. They have mostly enough to eat, and Uncle Piotr seems to be able to acquire anything they might need. Emilia befriends Sara across the hall and begins to help her rescue Jewish children from the ghetto.
Roman lives with his family in the Jewish ghetto of Warsaw. His apartment is now home to several families, including his mom and stepfather, younger brother, and infant sister. Roman is lucky enough to have a job at a textile factory, but struggles to find food for his mother, so that she might nurse baby Eleonora. Eventually, Sara and Emilia come to visit the family, and they want to find a foster family for the baby.
Stop here for spoilers ***
Eleonora escapes with Emilia in the bottom of her bag through a checkpoint, and she is brought to a foster family, where she can live as the daughter of this family as their infant recently died. The rest of Roman’s family, however, is eventually rounded up and forced to board the trains to a “transit camp,” though everyone knows it was a concentration camp.
After the trains stop, those left organize to fight the Germans. After the failed Uprising, Roman is able to escape. Emilia and Sara nurse him back to health. When he is well, he immediately connects with people from the Uprising, and all of Warsaw fights the Germans. Emilia and her family were supposed to leave the city, but the fighting started early and they became trapped.
Eventually, when the fighting ceases, Emilia and her family escape to Łódź, where they live in Uncle Piotr’s factory. Emilia is attacked one day returning from the market, and becomes pregnant. She move into a French convent to wait out her pregnancy.
Roman is determined to continue fighting for his country no matter what. He feels he has nothing left to lose. After the Warsaw Uprising, he begins work with Emilia’s foster father, but he contacts members of the failed army, and they work to sabotage the Soviets. He is arrested and tortured within the prison.
After the baby is born, Emilia returns to Warsaw and her foster parents adopt the baby as their own. They rescue Roman from prison, and he again must endure a healing process as both of his legs were broken. Once he is healed, however, he begins work in a lawyers’ office. He realizes that his life, and his life with Emilia, is more important than continuing to fight, and he begins to make amends. Emilia and Roman find baby Eleonora, now five, living in an orphanage, and begin the process of adopting her.
Overall, I truly loved this book. I loved the characters and the story. My heart ached for them. I wish I could have changed history, change how Jewish people were treated, and how the Germans acted. It is so important to remember that these awful things did happen, though, and to learn from them.
Elzbieta, formerly Emilia, lives in Warsaw with her foster parents and foster uncle in relative comfort. They have mostly enough to eat, and Uncle Piotr seems to be able to acquire anything they might need. Emilia befriends Sara across the hall and begins to help her rescue Jewish children from the ghetto.
Roman lives with his family in the Jewish ghetto of Warsaw. His apartment is now home to several families, including his mom and stepfather, younger brother, and infant sister. Roman is lucky enough to have a job at a textile factory, but struggles to find food for his mother, so that she might nurse baby Eleonora. Eventually, Sara and Emilia come to visit the family, and they want to find a foster family for the baby.
Stop here for spoilers ***
Eleonora escapes with Emilia in the bottom of her bag through a checkpoint, and she is brought to a foster family, where she can live as the daughter of this family as their infant recently died. The rest of Roman’s family, however, is eventually rounded up and forced to board the trains to a “transit camp,” though everyone knows it was a concentration camp.
After the trains stop, those left organize to fight the Germans. After the failed Uprising, Roman is able to escape. Emilia and Sara nurse him back to health. When he is well, he immediately connects with people from the Uprising, and all of Warsaw fights the Germans. Emilia and her family were supposed to leave the city, but the fighting started early and they became trapped.
Eventually, when the fighting ceases, Emilia and her family escape to Łódź, where they live in Uncle Piotr’s factory. Emilia is attacked one day returning from the market, and becomes pregnant. She move into a French convent to wait out her pregnancy.
Roman is determined to continue fighting for his country no matter what. He feels he has nothing left to lose. After the Warsaw Uprising, he begins work with Emilia’s foster father, but he contacts members of the failed army, and they work to sabotage the Soviets. He is arrested and tortured within the prison.
After the baby is born, Emilia returns to Warsaw and her foster parents adopt the baby as their own. They rescue Roman from prison, and he again must endure a healing process as both of his legs were broken. Once he is healed, however, he begins work in a lawyers’ office. He realizes that his life, and his life with Emilia, is more important than continuing to fight, and he begins to make amends. Emilia and Roman find baby Eleonora, now five, living in an orphanage, and begin the process of adopting her.
Overall, I truly loved this book. I loved the characters and the story. My heart ached for them. I wish I could have changed history, change how Jewish people were treated, and how the Germans acted. It is so important to remember that these awful things did happen, though, and to learn from them.