Anna Scanlon

Book received from a GoodReads giveaway in exchange for a honest review. Thanks for the novel!

This is a moving portrayal of survival and the consequences of trauma on those who experience it and their family members. I devoured this book within 24 hours, it was so moving and engrossing.

I lived and breathed Hungary and Auschwitz with our young story teller. The author was able to make Aliz vivid to her readers and connect with them, even though most of us are adults to Aliz's child. I liked that the author didn't try to sugarcoat anything. The Holocaust was portrayed just as it happened, with nothing to hide the horror or pain that young Aliz experienced. This was especially evident when Mengele and Hajna's death was involved. I think this added to young Aliz and just helped to portray how very strong this young girl was.

My favorite part of this novel, however, was the post war material, Aliz dealing with the Holocaust trauma and the effect all of this had on her surviving relatives in the US. The author dives right into how disturbing and painful the whole situation was. There's even talk of Aliz being institutionalized, that's how bleak it got. The author pulls no punches here either. She portrays the situation as stark as it really was.

Yet, there's a very definite message of hope and love, especially in the relationship between Aliz and her cousin Isabelle. I thoroughly enjoyed reading how the connection between these two helped to heal Aliz and gave Isabelle some maturity and a rounder vision of the world at large. It shows how the Holocaust wasn't just a European and WWII phenomena; it affected people worldwide and for far longer than most expect.

This book touches the heart and soul of the reader. The material is harsh and often times hard to read; yet, I think it teaches some very good lessons about how strong people really are and the power of love, family, and understanding. This novel is highly recommended for anyone looking for a good Holocaust fiction novel.… (altro)