Reviews

I enjoyed this novel about the Nowak sisters, living in rural Poland at the beginning of WWII. One day, while visiting her mother in a Jewish hospital, Helena discovers an American soldier and decides to offer him shelter. Obviously this puts her and her family (just her siblings) at great risk. Their father passed away recently, having died from alcoholism. Their mother is in a hospital and is gravely sick, but we don't exactly know her diagnosis. Upon their mother's death, Helena discovers her and her siblings are half Jewish, which means they need to escape Poland soon or else be sent to a Nazi "work camp" or suffer a worse fate.

I would have liked this book better had it not been a love story between Helena and the American. However, it was interesting reading about WWII from the perspective of rural Poland.

airxtciv's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

dreamsonpaper's review against another edition

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reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes

3.0

I loved that this story was based in Poland but the story went somewhere unbelievable and was rather slow. The most interesting part was at the end.

beastreader's review against another edition

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4.0

Another fabulous read by Pam Jenoff. This author has a nice ease about her that just draws me in as a reader and wants to stay in the moment reading her stories. The world that the author built just came alive. I really felt like I was transported back in time. I felt that both sisters were equally strong in their own right. Helena was independent and fearless in regards to her risking her life for Sam. Their story was sad but sweet at the same time. I liked that their relationship felt real and natural. In a way I am glad that it was Helena that fell in love with Sam and not Ruth. Not that I had anything against Ruth but because she had her beauty and all of the children loved her the best I wanted Helena to have something of her own. The ending was a fitting one. If you read this book you will get what I mean by this. So what are you waiting for...check this book out.

indesteph's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

It’s about what happens during war, but there’s a part of the story that made me mad. While there was redemption, it was not til the end. I found it a frustrating twist overall.

helayne's review against another edition

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medium-paced

3.5

jdavis85's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad fast-paced

4.0

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