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Love & Romance Collections
The Lost Loves of World War II Collection: Three Novels of Mysteries Unsolved Since World War II
A spirited American journalist and a reminiscing professor are on journeys to see the past rectified. Follow the two-part story of Madeline McAllister as she records the life of an elderly German woman that leads her to her own grandmother’s tragic story of concentration camps and lost children. Then meet Professor Fritz Miller, who can’t forget the day when he was twelve and he discovered a Jewish baby along the railroad tracks. Will destinies change as the past is finally revealed?
480 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2014
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254 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
May 4, 2014
Madeline is a young American journalist just finishing up school in Berlin. She gets a phone call that opens up the perfect opportunity to stay and work in Germany. She will be interviewing and writing the memoirs of a WWII survivor. But what Madeline finds when she meets Katia is more than she bargained for.
For Maria
(Judisch)
When Madeline finished Katia's memoir she sets off in search of the relatives that are still missing. She hopes to reunite all of the family members. But trying to juggle her career, family and marriage is taking a bit more than she can handle. What can she give up and what will happen when some of the family members aren't as eager for this reunion as she is?
The Train Baby's Mother
(Smith)
Hadassah and her husband make the ultimate sacrifice when they throw their baby from the train on the way to the concentration camps. They hope that the young children playing by the train will rescue their daughter. Fritz and his cousin find the baby and set off events that will effect the entire village.
My thoughts
All of these books were well written. But each of them were so completely different that I felt the need to write a review that was sort of separate. The first book had a slow start and took a bit to grab my attention. But once it got started, I couldn't put it down. The author was able to bring the reader into the emotions and hardships surrounding the residents of Germany during the war and after the wall went up.
The second book by Judisch felt more like an epilogue than an actual book. It seemed to tie up loose ends and focus more on the main character and her marriage than it did on the reunion. I liked the way that the author portrayed the challenges and resolutions in a marriage, but felt the book was lacking something.
The third book was outstanding, riveting, heartbreaking, and redeeming. It had some moments that seemed a bit clique or cheesy, but they were momentary. The heartbreak, anguish and utter horror that the Jews went through during the Holocaust was gut wrenching. This author has done her homework and brought those feelings of despair and terror into the writing. I truly felt like I was there and it wasn't a good feeling. But the story ends, while sad, with redemption and healing. So I finished with tears, but with a great feeling about God and his children.
I received this book free of charge from Barbour Publishing in exchange for my honest review.
For Maria
(Judisch)
When Madeline finished Katia's memoir she sets off in search of the relatives that are still missing. She hopes to reunite all of the family members. But trying to juggle her career, family and marriage is taking a bit more than she can handle. What can she give up and what will happen when some of the family members aren't as eager for this reunion as she is?
The Train Baby's Mother
(Smith)
Hadassah and her husband make the ultimate sacrifice when they throw their baby from the train on the way to the concentration camps. They hope that the young children playing by the train will rescue their daughter. Fritz and his cousin find the baby and set off events that will effect the entire village.
My thoughts
All of these books were well written. But each of them were so completely different that I felt the need to write a review that was sort of separate. The first book had a slow start and took a bit to grab my attention. But once it got started, I couldn't put it down. The author was able to bring the reader into the emotions and hardships surrounding the residents of Germany during the war and after the wall went up.
The second book by Judisch felt more like an epilogue than an actual book. It seemed to tie up loose ends and focus more on the main character and her marriage than it did on the reunion. I liked the way that the author portrayed the challenges and resolutions in a marriage, but felt the book was lacking something.
The third book was outstanding, riveting, heartbreaking, and redeeming. It had some moments that seemed a bit clique or cheesy, but they were momentary. The heartbreak, anguish and utter horror that the Jews went through during the Holocaust was gut wrenching. This author has done her homework and brought those feelings of despair and terror into the writing. I truly felt like I was there and it wasn't a good feeling. But the story ends, while sad, with redemption and healing. So I finished with tears, but with a great feeling about God and his children.
I received this book free of charge from Barbour Publishing in exchange for my honest review.
April 11, 2014
First, I highly recommend you read this in the paper book form and not on Kindle. There are some things that you might want to go back and reread or to check, but it is difficult to do with an eReader.
Other than that, I found this a most enjoyable read, quite interesting, and intriguing. This is probably more appropriate for younger readers than readers who grew up during the Depression or even whose parents grew up in the Depression. The beginning story is written from the view point of Madeline McAllister, a rather passionate journalism college student. Then we see her story expand as she marries and lands a job writing a column. (Personal experience: writing columns are a privilege for seasoned journalists and not for green just out of college kids -- but aside from that, the story works.)
Other than that, I found this a most enjoyable read, quite interesting, and intriguing. This is probably more appropriate for younger readers than readers who grew up during the Depression or even whose parents grew up in the Depression. The beginning story is written from the view point of Madeline McAllister, a rather passionate journalism college student. Then we see her story expand as she marries and lands a job writing a column. (Personal experience: writing columns are a privilege for seasoned journalists and not for green just out of college kids -- but aside from that, the story works.)
August 5, 2014
I don't normally care for novellas, but I like WWII books and opted to try this one. I'm glad I did. Countless thousands of families were torn apart in the war and afterward when the Iron Curtain came down. Here is an East Berlin family where dad, brother, and mother disappear until only Katia, crippled by polio, is left; Katia's Aunt Maria survived the concentration camps and despairs of ever finding her 3-month-old twins; other babies were tossed off trains heading for the camps, their desperate parents hoping someone would keep them safe. Decades pass before the mysteries are solved, and they are the precious few.
September 15, 2014
I ended up not finishing the books. I just didn't like the writing enough to keep going. I didn't really like Katia as a character either.
August 12, 2023
Brings to life how much suffering was done in World War 2. A good reminder to not forget what happened and the things God’s people had to endure.
January 11, 2017
Good clean holocaust stories
These stories were so touching so sad I cried through reading. The characters were fine and easy to connect with. We need to keep what happened to God's chosen people in our minds and never stand by again. To the authors thank you. Thank you for keeping God in the characters lives.
These stories were so touching so sad I cried through reading. The characters were fine and easy to connect with. We need to keep what happened to God's chosen people in our minds and never stand by again. To the authors thank you. Thank you for keeping God in the characters lives.
January 12, 2015
Any book that can make me cry a whole day when trying to finish it is a 5 star! I was a waterfall of tears!
August 30, 2014
Good book. It tugs at the heartstrings for sure. I know I cried a few times reading some of the stuff. I like all the history, though.
February 24, 2015
very good
October 11, 2014
Excellent!
July 27, 2015
5 star +!!
June 3, 2024
There were 3 separate stories in this book. #1 - Katia. In 2004, Maddie is an American exchange student studying journalism in at Freie Universitat in Berlin, Germany. At the end of her studies, she is offered the chance to live with an elderly German lady and write her memoirs. She learns much about Katia Mahler, her early life, the war years, the loss of her brother, her aunt, uncle, twin infant cousins and the cold war in Berlin. It takes some time for her to realize that Katia Mahler is really a long lost relative. #2 - For Maria. Maddie is now married with 2 children and is finally publishing the story of Katia's life. She is contacted by a woman who has information to share about her mother and how she came to the states during WW2. She thinks her mother may be one of the lost twins. #3 - The Train Baby's Mother. The horror of the holocaust is the basis of the story of a young couple and their two children forced on a train bound for one of Hitler's concentration camps. In a desperate attempt to save their infant daughter, Avram and Hadassah see some children along the tracks and toss the baby out into a snowbank. They can only hope she is saved. When the war is over and the prisoners are freed, Hadassah is told her husband and son perished. She is saved by an American soldier who marries her and brings her to the US. She has another child but never forgets her other children. She is terminally ill when she finds that her daughter did survive.
October 23, 2018
I only read a couple hundred pages in this collection of novels focused on World War II from a Christian viewpoint. The first story was well-written, but has an air of unbelievability. Of course, it is fiction, but the characters in a novel or short story need to feel like real people and the stories have to feel as if they could have happened (or could in the future for sci-fi). Judisch misses by creating too neat a world with characters who are too much like characters from a play or movie. They're not stereotypes or stick figures, but they feel like actors playing the roles Judisch has assigned them. Had my reading not been interrupted by a two-week trip, I might have read more, but now my stack of books has gotten tall once again, including library books and book club books. So deadlines and my own writing interfere. If it sounds interesting, try it. You may like it.
February 10, 2018
This was an emotional read all thru this book. The chapter “The train baby’s mother” was the most emotions I was feeling thru the whole chapter. This book your reading about holocaust survivors. It’s a historical fiction worth reading
December 30, 2018
Gives a new perspective of WWII with love, heartache, lost family, survival and healing all glorifying God's love and Jesus' hope for us all. Beautifully written collection that is easy to read and a warm, intriguing book for the holidays.
January 5, 2020
Spellbinding
The stories of people who survived Hitler’s madness during the 1940s has been somewhat of an obsession to me. This collection of 3 stories has been masterfully written and is nothing less than spellbinding. Highly recommended!
The stories of people who survived Hitler’s madness during the 1940s has been somewhat of an obsession to me. This collection of 3 stories has been masterfully written and is nothing less than spellbinding. Highly recommended!
September 27, 2023
Just finished this amazing book. Three stories, lots of tears and some smiles too. Started with Katia,
next For Maria and ending with The Train Baby's Mother. I can't stop thinking about these three stories. This is a must read!!!
next For Maria and ending with The Train Baby's Mother. I can't stop thinking about these three stories. This is a must read!!!
September 3, 2022
One of my all time favorite books to date. It has a phenomenal story line and i would highly recommend to anyone interested in ww2 history and multiple perspectives in terms of the story telling
January 25, 2016
This book would definitely appeal to readers of Christian literature. Stories of faith are slanted towards tales of the sacrifices of good Christians who tried to save Jews, or Jewish survivors who found peace through the love and faith of Christians. Having read only the outside jacket before purchasing, the book was not quite what I thought I'd be reading. (Note: I read a lot of WWII literature and was hoping for some really unique and inspirational stories.)
Considering both authors are neither professional writers nor English majors,they did an okay job. Both connected recountings of WWII events with modern-day reunions for the emotionally war-scarred survivors, with lots of "God is miraculous" moments. Both authors researched, basing their story off some actual account from WWII. Both had amazing reunions that are miraculously pulled together just before the protagonist dies.
Bruce's first story had four intertwining lines, separated into the interviewer's (Maddy) conversations home (italics) and her impressions of the interview,and Katia's moment by moment experience during WII (italics) versus her telling of the story to Maddy. I could see what Bruce was trying to do but found it awkward to be jumping so frequently back and forth between four story lines. It was like trying to pick up the gist of a story on TV while someone is channel-surfing. I preferred his second story, "Katia," where he stayed in one viewpoint for longer periods, allowing the reader at least the chance to get caught up in the story. Bruce tried to use creative descriptions but some were very awkward, making me stop and grimace.
Sharon was the smoother writer of the two, and while the two held to a similar format, her story did not jump back and forth in a manner that interrupted the flow. Sharon leaned much heavier on Jews turning from God after what they had experienced in the war, and the healing power of Jesus. I think I would have preferred to see the Mother Teresa approach and seen Jews rediscover the God of their own faith, through the love and support of good Christians.
Are any of these three stories amazing tales that will stick with me long after I have put the book down? No. Despite the research, these stories offered little new information, and no unusual slant in the telling. I did read the book quickly, so it was not a total disappointment. Perhaps I just had my hopes too high.
Considering both authors are neither professional writers nor English majors,they did an okay job. Both connected recountings of WWII events with modern-day reunions for the emotionally war-scarred survivors, with lots of "God is miraculous" moments. Both authors researched, basing their story off some actual account from WWII. Both had amazing reunions that are miraculously pulled together just before the protagonist dies.
Bruce's first story had four intertwining lines, separated into the interviewer's (Maddy) conversations home (italics) and her impressions of the interview,and Katia's moment by moment experience during WII (italics) versus her telling of the story to Maddy. I could see what Bruce was trying to do but found it awkward to be jumping so frequently back and forth between four story lines. It was like trying to pick up the gist of a story on TV while someone is channel-surfing. I preferred his second story, "Katia," where he stayed in one viewpoint for longer periods, allowing the reader at least the chance to get caught up in the story. Bruce tried to use creative descriptions but some were very awkward, making me stop and grimace.
Sharon was the smoother writer of the two, and while the two held to a similar format, her story did not jump back and forth in a manner that interrupted the flow. Sharon leaned much heavier on Jews turning from God after what they had experienced in the war, and the healing power of Jesus. I think I would have preferred to see the Mother Teresa approach and seen Jews rediscover the God of their own faith, through the love and support of good Christians.
Are any of these three stories amazing tales that will stick with me long after I have put the book down? No. Despite the research, these stories offered little new information, and no unusual slant in the telling. I did read the book quickly, so it was not a total disappointment. Perhaps I just had my hopes too high.
October 18, 2016
Incredible collection, but third book detracts
This is a hard collection to review. In the first two books, Judisch tells a riveting tale, using characters from multiple generations, of a family's miraculous survival in twentieth century Germany and later reunion in the US. These two books, with judisch's masterful writing, rate among the best historical fiction I've ever read!
In the third book, Smith weaves an intricate story of love lost, found, then lost again. Many of the facts are simply too fantastic to those who know the history of ww2 and the Holocaust. Besides that, the writing is simplistic, uses redundant phrasing, and does not always form complete thoughts within a sentence or paragraph.
This is a hard collection to review. In the first two books, Judisch tells a riveting tale, using characters from multiple generations, of a family's miraculous survival in twentieth century Germany and later reunion in the US. These two books, with judisch's masterful writing, rate among the best historical fiction I've ever read!
In the third book, Smith weaves an intricate story of love lost, found, then lost again. Many of the facts are simply too fantastic to those who know the history of ww2 and the Holocaust. Besides that, the writing is simplistic, uses redundant phrasing, and does not always form complete thoughts within a sentence or paragraph.
February 7, 2017
Katia: 4 stars
For Maria: 3 1/2 stars
The Train Baby's Mother: 3 stars
Overall rating: 3 1/2 stars
For Maria: 3 1/2 stars
The Train Baby's Mother: 3 stars
Overall rating: 3 1/2 stars
March 27, 2015
I totally loved this book! I find those years very interesting and love reading stories from the people that lived during that horrible time in history. So many families torn apart, I pray that there were some happy reunions like those found in this book.
July 21, 2015
It was a good book, although I found it to be a little predicable at times. The writing was medicore, the characters were under developed, so I didn't feel a deep connection to them. Maybe the World War II genre is a little over saturated and that is why I feel so coolly about this book.
Read
January 24, 2016Excellent Book. Chapters were short which makes it easy to pick up in small tidbits. Divided into 3 stories which intertwine with each other. Story line of each kept you wanting to no more. I would recommend this book.
March 15, 2016
Excellent
November 20, 2015
This book was so awesome! I wished it kept going!!!
January 30, 2016
Needed massive editing. Stories were good, writing was not.
August 15, 2016
this trio of stories are very well written and all are worth reading the last story is a bit sad but it tells so much about faith in God. something we all need to have
July 24, 2017
Loved this book! I have never really gotten into history-type books. This kept my attention and made me stay up late reading, which I rarely allow myself to do.
April 2, 2015
Very good book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews