An Indomitable Spirit
The Child Who Lived by Ellie Midwood is a powerful historical novel that I just could not put down, and devoured it in just one sitting.
The book is the true story of a young women with an indomitable spirit, who against all the odds, fell in love and had a baby in Mauthausen. This is a baby and mother who both should not have lived. This is the mother’s story.
All the action is set during World War II in various concentration camps. All of them, absolutely horrendous – but despite this, a character has maintained a kind heart. “A rebel with a moral compass always pointing in the right direction in spite of the circumstances.”
To give in to circumstances would be to perish. One had to hold on to hope and believe that one day the end would come. “We ought to stick it out to the end just to annoy them with being alive.”
Survival often came in the form of luck. We see a group of women banding together, in order to help to survive the brutality.
We witness the atrocious conditions and the dreadful actions inflicted on the girls. It was a time of great cruelty but there were also acts of heroism. This was such a powerful tale. It needs to be read in memory of the six million innocents who died and also of those who survived.
I will let Ellie Midwood have the closing words:
“The child who wasn’t meant to survive would become a child who lived.”
I received a free copy from the publishers for a blog tour. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.
JULIA WILSON
The Child Who Lived: An absolutely unputdownable and heartbreaking World War Two page-turner by Ellie Midwood
Austria, 1942: In Mauthausen concentration camp, two prisoners dare to fall in love. When a baby is born – a miracle baby born behind the gates of hell – they vow to escape. Inspired by true events, this powerful World War Two novel tells the incredible and inspirational tale of two ordinary people who risk everything to achieve the impossible.
As Lore is pushed through the towering gates of Mauthausen concentration camp, she holds little hope of ever leaving, knowing that usually death is the only way out.
But soon, when Lore meets fellow prisoner Wolf, she commits the ultimate act of resistance against the brutal SS by falling desperately in love, finding solace and hope in this hell on earth. And when Lore falls pregnant, they know they have to fight to not only survive, but escape.
Together they must achieve the impossible: bringing new life into a death camp, and risking their own to ensure their child who wasn’t meant to survive, will become the child who lived…
Fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz and The Choice will be incredibly gripped by this tearjerking page-turner. Based on true events, this unforgettable World War Two novel shows that even in darkness, love can sometimes find a way.
Buy link: https://geni.us/B0C5DPXL9Qsocial
About the author
Ellie Midwood is a USA Today bestselling and award-winning historical fiction author, whose works have been translated into 14 languages. She owes her interest in the history of the Second World War to her grandfather, Junior Sergeant in the 2nd Guards Tank Army of the First Belorussian Front, who began telling her about his experiences on the frontline when she was a young girl. Growing up, her interest in history only deepened and transformed from reading about the war to writing about it. After obtaining her BA in Linguistics, Ellie decided to make writing her full-time career and began working on her first full-length historical novel, “The Girl from Berlin.” Ellie is continuously enriching her library with new research material and feeds her passion for WWII and Holocaust history by collecting rare memorabilia and documents.
In her free time, Ellie is a health-obsessed yoga enthusiast, neat freak, adventurer, Nazi Germany history expert, polyglot, philosopher, a proud Jew, and a doggie mama. Ellie lives in New York with her fiancé and their two dogs.
Readers’ Favorite – winner in the Historical fiction category (2016) – “The Girl from Berlin: Standartenführer’s Wife” (first place)
Readers’ Favorite – winner in the Historical fiction category (2016) – “The Austrian” (honorable mention)
New Apple – 2016 Award for Excellence in Independent Publishing – “The Austrian” (official selection)
Readers’ Favorite – winner in the Historical fiction category (2017) – “Emilia”
Readers’ Favorite – winner in the Historical fiction category (2018) – “A Motherland’s Daughter, A Fatherland’s Son”
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