Book: The Girl in the Striped Dress
Author: Ellie Midwood
Pub Day: August 9th 2021
My Rating: 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟
About the Book:
Auschwitz, 1942: This unforgettable novel, based on a true story, brings to life history’s most powerful tale of forbidden love. Set within the barbed wire of Auschwitz, a man and a woman fall in love against unimaginable odds. What happens next will restore your faith in humanity, and make you believe in hope even where hope should not exist. “I won’t let anything happen to you,” he whispered, pressing a note into her hand. Her entire body trembled when she read it: I am in love with you. Helena steps off the cattle train onto the frozen grounds of Auschwitz. She has twenty-four hours to live. Scheduled to be killed tomorrow, she is not even tattooed with a prison number. As the snow falls around her, she shivers, knowing that she has been sentenced to death for a crime she didn’t commit. When a gray-clad officer marches towards Helena and pulls her away, she fears the worst. Instead, he tells her that it’s one of the guard’s birthdays and orders her to serenade him. Inside the SS barracks the air is warm, thick with cigarette smoke and boisterous conversation. After she sings to the guard, Franz, he presses a piece of cake into her hands––the first thing she has eaten in days. On the spot, he orders her life to be saved, forever changing the course of her fate. What follows is a love story that was forbidden, that should have been impossible, and yet saved both of their lives––and hundreds of others––in more ways than one. Fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, The Choice, and The Orphan Train will be utterly entranced by this unputdownable page-turner. This completely heartbreaking yet beautifully hopeful novel shows that love can survive anything and grow anywhere. *Previously titled: Auschwitz Syndrome
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'The Girl In The Striped Dress' by Ellie Midwood.
Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Ellie Midwood, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous
Publication date 9th August 2021.
This is the third book I have read by this author. I have previously read 'The Girl Who Escaped Auschwitz' and 'The Violinist Of Aushcwitz' which I also recommend. This book was previously titled 'Auschwitz Syndrome'.
I was originally drawn to this book by its beautiful eye catching cover, its intriguing synopsis and title and its extremely talented author. The synopsis stated that 'Fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, The Choice, and The Orphan Train will be utterly gripped by this unputdownable page-turner.' I am a huge fan of 'The Tattooist Of Aushcwitz' so am looking forward to seeing if this lives up to this statement. I am also a huge fan of Nicole Trope and if this is half as good as' The Girl Who Escaped From Auschwitz' and 'The Violinist Of Aushcwitz ' it is sure to be a page turning read. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).
This novel consists of an Introduction and 32 chapters. The chapters are short to medium in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!
This book is set in Auschwitz, Kraków, Poland 🇵🇱.
This book is written in first person perspective and the main protagonists is Helena Citrónová and Franz Dahler. The benefits of books written in first person perspective are as long as they are well written it makes you feel that you are being spoken to by the protagonist and it can create more of a bond between yourselves and them. If there are several protagonists you also get to see more of what is going on.
'The Girl In The Striped Dress' discusses some topics that may trigger some readers or may not be suitable for others. I like to point this out ahead of time in my reviews so you can judge if this book is for you or not. In this book Ellie discusses/includes the Holocaust.
It is set over multiple time lines. When books show what has happened in the past and what is happening in the present I find it really helps the reader (if it is well done) understand why things are happening and what has lead to the present activities and decisions. It also shows the bigger picture.
Well, what can I say but wow!!! This story is definitely not going to leave my head anytime soon. Firstly I must congratulate Ellie Midwood for yet another extraordinary novel that seriously needs to be made into a movie which I assure would be best selling!!!
This book is very powerful and extremely well written. It is devastatingly heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time. The storyline of this book is based on a true story which is another thing that drew me to read it. It is absolutely rammed with emotions that will make you smile, cry and laugh on the roller-coaster ride to hell that is Aushcwitz. Nothing is left out and the author has done an immense amount of research and brings Helena and Franz's story to life. Helena and even Franz in his own right are such powerful, strong and kind hearted heroes and I am looking forward to reading more about them. I had never heard of either before reading this but have read 'The Violinist Of Aushcwitz', 'Celia' s Journey', 'The tattooist of Aushcwitz', 'The Girl Who Escaped From Auschwitz' and 'The librarian of Aushcwitz', all of which I enjoyed so when I seen this I was intrigued to discover the ongoing of Aushcwitz through another person's eyes. I have now also added many books to my wish list thanks to Ellie, her own and ones that she recommends at the end of this story. This story is particularly unique as it is not one I have ever come across before when a Nazi working in Auschwitz and a victim of Auschwitz fall in love, it is absolutely intriguing.
This book did not disappoint. Some people believe that these stories should not be written but I am a strong believer that these victims earned the right for their stories to be told and to not be forgotten and this book does just that. I loved discovering not just Helena and Franz stories but those who surrounded them also. I also loved reading more about characters I met in 'The Violinist Of Auschwitz' and 'The Girl Who Escaped Auschwitz' . This amazing group of people who supported and lifted each other up during these dark times and helping them see the light are absolutely... Words can't really describe but I will go with angelic. This book was very hard to read as a whole but there were certain parts that will stay with me for a very long time and that we're soul destroying. What the Nazi's did to these innocent people makes me absolutely sick to my soul. The poor children and parents watching each other suffering especially. I really liked that the story started in a courtroom and then went back to tell what happened.
Again congratulations Ellie Midwood on all your research and for writing this amazing story of both Mala and Edek who deserved to have their stories told in a way that did them justice and you have done that. I would say this book is on par with the likes of 'The' diary of Anne Frank' which left me with the same feelings your novel has of not even more emotional.
Overall a heart wrenching, absolutely beautifully devastating story of two lesser known heroes of Aushcwitz.
Genres covered in this novel include War Story, Romance Novel and Jewish History amongst others.
I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of Ellie Midwood, The Tattooist of Aushcwitz, The Librarian of Aushcwitz, 'Celia's Journey', 'The Diary of Anne Frank' and anyone interested in Auschwitz and its history.
364 pages.
This book is just £1.99 to purchase on kindle via Amazon or free on kindle unlimited which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!
Rated 5 /5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.
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@EllieMidwood @Bookouture @Bookworm1986 @bookworm86
Author Bio
Ellie Midwood is a USA Today bestselling and award-winning historical fiction author. She owes her interest in the history of the Second World War to her grandfather, Junior Sergeant in the 2nd Guards Tank Army of the First Belorussian Front, who began telling her about his experiences on the frontline when she was a young girl. Growing up, her interest in history only deepened and transformed from reading about the war to writing about it. After obtaining her BA in Linguistics, Ellie decided to make writing her full-time career and began working on her first full-length historical novel, The Girl from Berlin.' Ellie is continuously enriching her library with new research material and feeds her passion for WWII and Holocaust history by collecting rare memorabilia and documents. In her free time, Ellie is a health-obsessed yoga enthusiast, neat freak, adventurer, Nazi Germany history expert, polyglot, philosopher, a proud Jew, and a doggie mama. Ellie lives in New York with her fiancé and their Chihuahua named Shark Bait. Social Media
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/EllieMidwood/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elliemidwood/
Website: http://elliemidwood.com/
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