Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly on Bette’s Bookshelf
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.
Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly on Bette’s Bookshelf
Whew, this is a difficult book to review. It is very well written and researched, and as a matter of fact, detailed to the point of being emotionally draining. There are in depth concentration camp scenes that give explicit details about the experimental surgeries conducted at Ravensbruck. The book reads like a true story and if you read the author’s note, you learn that a number of the characters are in fact real people and their stories more truth than fiction.
Lilac Girls is the kind of book you cannot put down, yet for me it was a bit too painful – rather like a deadly automobile accident that you pass on the highway, one where you know those are dead bodies scattered across the road and still you crane your neck to catch a glimpse. This is a powerful story, well told but far from what I would consider a pleasant read.
About Bette Lee Crosby
It is the wit and wisdom of that Southern Mama Crosby brings to her works of fiction; the result is a delightful blend of humor, mystery and romance along with a cast of quirky charters who will steal your heart away. Her work was first recognized in 2006 when she received The National League of American Pen Women Award for a then unpublished manuscript. She has since gone on to win nineteen awards for her work; these include: The Royal Palm Literary Award, the FPA President’s Book Award Gold Medal, Reader’s Favorite Award Gold Medal, and the Reviewer’s Choice Award.
USA Today Bestselling Author - Bette Lee Crosby
Scroll Through Stories by Bette Lee Crosby
