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The Last Orphan by Carly Schabowski

Nov13

Butterflies

The Last Orphan by Carl Schabowski is a powerful dual timeline novel that consumed me from the start.

The action is set in 1982 and during World War II. Nazi-occupied Europe was a dangerous place to be. We follow a young man and a Jewish boy as together, and with a support network, they try to rescue and hide as many Jewish children as they could. The action is grounded in facts. Their wartime experiences never leave them. They are forever haunted by guilt over what they did and didn’t do.

In 1982 we meet the daughter of the young boy who is also suffering over things she couldn’t change. Alcohol and drug misuse have been her way of coping as she tries to escape her memories. She needs to face the past before substance abuse kills her.

People had different moral codes during World War II. Actions done in order to save the self, would forever haunt a life.

Carl Schabowski has captured the fear of the children and the desperation of the parents with her dialogue and description. There were some hard to read scenes.

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Only I Can Save Them by Imogen Matthews

Oct10

Unravelling The Truth

Only I Can Save Them by Imogen Matthews is a powerful dual timeline novel that has its’ roots in facts as we follow photographer Rudolf Breslauer from Leipzig in 1936 and onwards. The second period is in present day and seen through the eyes of Rudolf Breslauer’s great granddaughter.

The novel spans the Second World War years as we follow Rudolf Breslauer and his family from their home in Amsterdam (where they located to avoid the persecution) to the camp of Westerbork, which was a holding camp for Dutch Jews before continuing on to Auschwitz, Birkenau or Theresienstadt.

In present day, a great granddaughter finds a photo of her grandmother aged thirteen in a book. She wants to seek the truth about her grandmother’s family and their wartime experiences.

For all of her life, the grandmother has kept quiet but as she approaches the end of her life, is it now time for the truth to come out?

Rudolf Breslauer did what he could in order to protect his family. He was chosen as the official photographer of Westerbork – but there were only so many photos that the commandant wanted before it would be a one-way ticket to Auschwitz.

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The Nanny Outside The Gates by Shari J Ryan

Sep28

There Was Once A Girl…

The Nanny Outside The Gates by Shari J Ryan is a powerful, heart-breaking historical novel that consumed me from the start.

The action is set in 1943 in Poland, mainly in the house of an officer serving in Auschwitz. Shari J Ryan has perfectly captured the horrors of the time. The stark contrasts between those who have everything and still steal from those who have nothing. The picture painted of family life juxtaposed with the death camp.

There is the innocence of the children and the cruelty of their father. The children are not so clueless as to what is happening.

Within the home there are Jewish inmates from Auschwitz working, along with a Nanny who was plucked from the streets. The young girls are not supposed to talk with the Jewish people but they can spot true goodness.

The novel opens with the ending. Then, the reader is transported back three months before working towards the end. We know part of what is coming – but how will it all end?

We see the action alternating between Halina, the Nanny, and Gavriel, a Jewish man working in the house. Both have good hearts and feel for the three young girls. “I’ll have to protect the light in the children who’ve been raised by darkness.” Halina is a beacon of light shining in the dark. “Any child raised by a Nazi has already been taught to hate. Taught that they’re a superior race.” Halina’s innate goodness is seen by the girls. “Something in her eyes says she still believes in their innocence… That they’re worth saving.”

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The Last War Orphan by Jenna Ness

Sep19

Gripping

The Last War Orphan by Jenna Ness is a gripping historical read that I just could not put down. It is the second book in the Orphans Of St Agnes series. The books need to be read in order as they follow on immediately from each other.

The series is set in France during World War II. This book sees two of the three orphans returning to Paris in order to be re-united with the third, Lucie, who had fled back to the only home she had ever known – the orphanage. Unfortunately, this is now occupied by a leading figure in the Nazi party. The reader witnesses the snake-like nature of a man who pretends to be-friend Lucie. Lucie has a caring, trusting nature, and this could lead to a downfall.

We learn what makes a family. “She was still my sister, by love if not blood.” Love unites very different characters who become one big family – added to one abandoned baby at a time.

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