Goodreads Summary
In 1944, blonde and blue-eyed Jewess Hadassah Benjamin feels abandoned by God when she is saved from a firing squad only to be handed over to a new enemy. Pressed into service by SS-Kommandant Colonel Aric von Schmidt at the transit camp of Theresienstadt in Czechoslovakia, she is able to hide behind the false identity of Stella Muller.
However, in order to survive and maintain her cover as Aric's secretary, she is forced to stand by as her own people are sent to Auschwitz. Suspecting her employer is a man of hidden depths and sympathies, Stella cautiously appeals to him on behalf of those in the camp. Aric's compassion gives her hope, and she finds herself battling a growing attraction for this man she knows she should despise as an enemy. Stella pours herself into her efforts to keep even some of the camp's prisoners safe, but she risks the revelation of her true identity with every attempt. When her bravery brings her to the point of the ultimate sacrifice, she has only her faith to lean upon. Perhaps God has placed her there for such a time as this, but how can she save her people when she is unable to save herself?
My Thoughts
I just can't get over how involved I became over this book. Breslin took one of my favorite books in the Bible, Esther, and took another real life account, the Holocaust, and meddled them together to create a drama that gripped me all the way to the last chapter. You will be doing yourself the biggest favor by buying this book and reading it. It's well thought out, the struggle of Hadassah between loving Aric and saving her people is compelling, and Aric trying to figure out the path he will be willing to take shows the drastic conditions that were going on during the Holocaust.
Each chapter was set up by a Bible verse from the book of Esther. I really liked this choice of helping the reader to follow with the story, and also as a way to interest them into actually reading the whole book (which is not that long at all).
Hadassah, also known as Stella, was a great heroine. She was a caretaker and ultimately took upon the role of saving her people. She was willing the risk her life for them, which to me brilliantly symbolized Esther in the Bible. Both women were scared, but took it upon themselves to do the unbelievable with their God guiding them. However, Aric was a hard character for me to warm up too. He seemed to be a stiff character and was consumed sometimes with Stella/Hadassah almost like she was a posession. I felt that towards the end though that changed, and he triumphed over this, and maybe that is what the author wanted to convey through him because he was in a SS Kommandant, but I'm not sure. But other than that I loved the relationships that formed through this book despite the horrid events taking place in the environment around them.
Breslin did a really well job at writing this book. I felt it was well researched in both Biblical and historical facts. It's the perfect blend of both sources. If you love the story of Esther, stories set in the Holocaust that have a joyful ending, and or all of the above this is the book for you!
Rating: 4.75 out of 5 bookshelves
[Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."]
About the Author
Taylor, you made my day when you described this book as a Holocaust story with a joyful ending! I've been wanting to read this, but I have a hard time with World War II stories - so now I can look forward to reading it.
ReplyDeleteWoohoo! Yeah I loved it, still tough elements but it truly goes by the book of Esther!
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