The Child Who Lived by Ellie Midwood

 

Synopsis from Goodreads:

"Austria, 1942: In Mauthausen concentration camp, two prisoners dare to fall in love. When a baby is born – a miracle baby born behind the gates of hell – they vow to escape. Inspired by true events, this powerful World War Two novel tells the incredible and inspirational tale of two ordinary people who risk everything to achieve the impossible.

As Lore is pushed through the towering gates of Mauthausen concentration camp, she holds little hope of ever leaving, knowing that usually death is the only way out.

But soon, when Lore meets fellow prisoner Wolf , she commits the ultimate act of resistance against the brutal SS by falling desperately in love, finding solace and hope in this hell on earth. And when Lore falls pregnant, they know they have to fight to not only survive, but escape.

Together they must achieve the bringing new life into a death camp, and risking their own to ensure their child who wasn’t meant to survive, will become the child who lived…"

📚📚📚📚📚📚

Although a work of fiction, The Child Who Lived is based on true events and tells a little told story of female prisoners within Mauthausen.

The book starts in the divorce courts in 1946 where Lore's husband is filing for divorce due to her 'unacceptable behaviour'.  There, she tells the story of her remarkable life before and during the war.

Lore was a political prisoner initially interred in Ravensbrück but sent to Mauthausen with another group of women there to service the needs of the men.  Lore and the other women soon become like family; looking out for and supporting each other whilst trying to survive the brutal regime inflicted by the SS.  Against all the odds and rules, Lore finds love and unexpectedly becomes pregnant ... a death sentence for both mother and baby. How is she going to survive and save the life of her unborn child?

This is a story of bravery, strength, love and survival and although a work of fiction and therefore there is some 'artistic licence' and a suspension of reality at times, it is a story that hits all the emotions and the characters stay with you long after you finish.

Recommended to those who enjoy reading historical fiction from this era and thank you to the author, Bookouture and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of The Child Who Lived.

👇👇👇👇👇👇

Connect with the author:

Website

Facebook

The Young Survivors by Debra Barnes

⭐⭐⭐ out 23 July 2020 ⭐⭐⭐

Description from Goodreads:

"What if everyone you loved was suddenly taken away?

Five siblings struggle to stay together as the tides of war threaten to tear them apart. When Germany invades and occupies France in the Second World War, the five Laskowski children lose everything: their home, their Jewish community and most devastatingly their parents who are abducted in the night. There is no safe place left for them to evade the Nazis, but they cling together, never certain when the authorities will come for what is left of them.

Inspired by the poignant, true story of the author’s mother, this moving historical novel conveys the hardship, the uncertainty and the impossible choices the Laskowski children were forced to make to survive the horrors of the Holocaust."

🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮

This is not your usual memoir about the Holocaust ... well not one I have ever read before anyway ... it's the true story of what is was like for a family of Jews living in France during World War II.

Written from the perspective of three of the children, the story tells of their harrowing experiences during the German occupation of France and having to move from place to place, losing the adults in their lives and being separated from their siblings.

This is a heart-rending story but also a story of survival, bravery and hope and I want to thank the Duckworth Books Group via JellyBooks for my copy in return for them analysing my reading data and an honest review although this wasn't compulsory.

🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮

Click here to find out more about Jellybooks but here is an extract from an email received from Jellybooks for your information:

"When you have finished a book, there is a short survey asking you for your impressions about that book. The book may be an ebook or an audiobook.

Alternatively, if you find that you do not enjoy your reading or listening experience, you may stop at any time and proceed to the survey at the end of the book and tell us why you stopped reading or listening. There is no obligation to waste your time on an ebook or audiobook that you don’t like! Giving up does not disqualify you in any way from participating in future campaigns. All we ask for is that you at least give the book a try.

Reviews are strongly encouraged.

Notifications: We may send you one, or more, short nudge emails if you forget about the book.

Important Information!

The Sponsor for this test reading project is [various publishers].

Some of the books being provided may have been from uncorrected proofs, not the final pages or audio files (“advance reading copies”). You may see typographical or grammatical errors that will be corrected in the finished book.

The full Jellybooks Privacy Policy can be found here: https://www.jellybooks.com/about/legal/privacy and further specific details about how your data will be used during this particular campaign are set out below:

What data will be collected about me during this campaign?

Jellybooks will be collecting certain elements of your personal data, such as your name, email address, gender and age as well as information about your reading behavior and your feedback on the ebooks.

Who will we share your data with?

Jellybooks will assign you a unique identity number and will share this identity number as well as your reading data with the Sponsor. No information which can identify you personally will be shared with Sponsor. Other than this, your data will not be shared by Jellybooks with any other third parties.

How will my data be used?

The data you send us will be used to help Jellybooks and the Sponsor to better understand the book’s audience, as well as to help improve future content.

The full Privacy Policy for the project’s Sponsor can be found here: [website of publisher's privacy policy].

With that in mind, YOU AGREE AND ACKNOWLEDGE that by clicking the “Sync Reading Stream” button or using the Jellybooks Cloud Reader that the data collected in your reading device or reading application, through your interaction with the eBook, will be sent to Jellybooks, which will analyze the information for the purpose of this project and share it with the Sponsor as described above. If you do not wish your data to be collected and shared in this way, please do not take part in this project.