FICTION

The English German Girl

by Jake Wallis Simons
Herman Graf: Skyhorse, dist. by Norton. Sept. 2013. 342p. ISBN 9781626360747. $24.95. F
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Well written and well researched, this debut novel weaves historical facts with the fictional story of a Jewish family struggling in 1930s Berlin. Living in fear and losing hope amid Nazi persecution, the Klein family is surviving day to day when they learn about the Kindertransport, a nine-month rescue operation that helped thousands of Jewish children escape to safety prior to the outbreak of World War II. Fifteen-year-old Rosa Klein escapes to England on a Kindertransport train, but she suffers at having to leave her family behind in Germany. As Rosa fights to secure passage for her family, war erupts, sweeping the young woman into a future she can never fully embrace.
VERDICT With fully rounded characters and engaging dialog, Simons vividly captures the heartbreak as parents and children are parted. Readers will cry but still find hope brimming at the edge. Historical fiction fans will be fascinated by the less-familiar heroic details of the Kindertransport operation, while readers of literary fiction will appreciate the novel as an excellent and haunting story of love, loyalty, and loss.
Reviewed by Andrea Brooks, Northern Kentucky Univ. Lib., Highland Heights , Aug 01, 2013
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