MY THOUGHTS:
Germany 1942, Adeline and Jozef arrive at Auschwitz together but as soon as the train stops they are immediately separated from each other. They feel as if life as they know it to be has ended. They wonder if they will ever see each other again. Ten years later in South Carolina, when a horrible summer storm goes through the area, the body of a young girl is found on the shore of a lake. Some of the local residents are at the lake to see what is happening. Thirteen year old Alice is among the crowd at the lake, when she notices an on-looker hiding in the trees. He is new in town and a German refugee named Jozef. The townspeople tell Alice that Jozef couldn’t be trusted and that she should stay away from him. Alice wonders why he is there at the lake and if he is somehow linked to what is happening. Alice confronts Jozef and he begins to open up to her and telling her stories of the horrible things that he endured at Auschwitz. He was a survivor but so many others were not. Soon Alice discovers why Jozef was at the lake.
This story was so moving and heartbreaking at the same time. It was a beautifully written story and I found myself crying, mesmerized and totally lost among the pages. This story was one that lingered with me, and my mind was wondering back to it for days after I finished the book. The author made such a wonderful and personal connection between the reader and the characters. I loved the author’s notes at the end of the book…well done. This story of friendships, love and loss is just what I needed. I absolutely loved everything about this book from cover to cover and I highly recommend this book. This author is definitely an auto buy, auto read for me.
Thank you Carly Schabowski for a such wonderful, moving and phenomenal story. I was completely enthralled in your book and found myself to be captivated from the very beginning until the end. I highly recommend this book.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
DESCRIPTION:
Publisher: Bookouture
Publication Date: March 28, 2022
Pages: 300
Buy on Amazon
The wooden slats of the cart block out all light, and the train’s wheels scream. At some stations, they are given bread, some water, but nowhere near enough. A man nearby says they are going to a camp—he doesn’t know what it will be like, but he’s sure that it will be better than this. Jozef holds Adeline’s hand and watches her sleep, her eyelashes fluttering. He hopes she’s dreaming happy dreams…
Auschwitz, 1942. Adeline and Jozef cling to each other as they are directed off the train and pulled apart by Nazi guards at the gates of Auschwitz. Stripped of their belongings, their arms are inked with prison numbers. In the death camp, their days are numbered––will they ever see each other again?
South Carolina, ten years later. As a summer storm sweeps in, shocked townspeople gather at the edge of a forest lake. The body of a local girl had been found on the bank that morning. As thirteen-year-old Alice stands in the crowd, she catches sight of a figure, hidden in the trees, watching. She knows who he is—a newcomer in town, a German refugee named Jozef. Her neighbors whisper that he can’t be trusted—that he saw terrible things in the war. But what, Alice wonders, is he doing here now? And could he possibly be connected to what has just happened?
When Alice confronts the man, Jozef opens ups about his painful past. Hearing about the desperate choices people were forced to make in Auschwitz, and the hunt for freedom amongst so much heartbreak, Alice starts to see her own life—and the death of her friend—in a new light. And, as their bond deepens, Alice finally uncovers why Jozef was at the lake that day. When the long-awaited storm breaks the suffocating heatwave, the terrible truth finally comes out, and Alice’s life will never be the same again…
ABOUT CARLY SCHABOWSKI
Carly Schabowski worked as a journalist in both North Cyprus and Australia before returning to Oxford, where she studied for an MA and then a PhD in creative writing at Oxford Brookes University. Carly now teaches at Oxford Brookes University as an associate lecturer in Creative Writing for first and second-year English literature students.
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