Book Review of
Lilac Girls
New York socialite Caroline Ferriday has her hands full with her post at the French consulate and a new love on the horizon. But Caroline’s world is forever changed when Hitler’s army invades Poland in September 1939—and then sets its sights on France.
An ocean away from Caroline, Kasia Kuzmerick, a Polish teenager, senses her carefree youth disappearing as she is drawn deeper into her role as courier for the underground resistance movement. In a tense atmosphere of watchful eyes and suspecting neighbors, one false move can have dire consequences.
For the ambitious young German doctor, Herta Oberheuser, an ad for a government medical position seems her ticket out of a desolate life. Once hired, though, she finds herself trapped in a male-dominated realm of Nazi secrets and power.
The lives of these three women are set on a collision course when the unthinkable happens and Kasia is sent to Ravensbrück, the notorious Nazi concentration camp for women. Their stories cross continents—from New York to Paris, Germany, and Poland—as Caroline and Kasia strive to bring justice to those whom history has forgotten.
Lynn's Review
Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly was published in 2016 and has been a popular WWII historical fiction book over the last few years. I had heard great things about it, so I decided to finally give it a try.
Lilac Girls has almost five hundred pages, so it is a fairly long book compared to many modern historical fiction books. It took me at least one hundred and fifty pages to get into too. I almost put it down several times. I mentioned it in my Facebook group and multiple people told me to keep reading it because they thought I would enjoy it. And I did!
I am so glad I kept with this book. The writing is so well done. The book is based on a real life story of a New York women during WWII. It follows the life of three women through out the war. It also gives you a look into life inside a concentration camp for women.
I had trouble liking one of the characters in the book, which is why I think I had trouble getting into the book. I struggled with some of the decisions that she made, but she is based on a real life person, so it made sense that it was in the book. Once I got into the book and knew the characters well, I had trouble putting it down. I understand why so many people love this one.