In the shadow of the Nazi regime, one woman fights to shield her daughter from the talons of evil.
Paris, 1941. Sarah, a Jewish woman, finds herself trapped in the city with her five-year-old daughter, Rebecca, as World War II rages on. Desperate to escape the tightening grip of Nazi oppression, they attempt to flee to neutral Spain. However, their hopes are shattered as they are captured by the French police and sent to the Drancy internment camp, located north of Paris, where French Jews are being ruthlessly rounded up by the Nazi authorities.
Within the confines of the camp, surrounded by a bleak reality, Sarah strives to preserve Rebecca’s innocence through enchanting tales of a bear and the good hunters who watch over it. Yet, even as she weaves these tales of hope, Sarah must also teach her daughter the harsh lessons of survival and how to defend herself against those who seek to harm them.
As time slips away, it becomes increasingly clear that the Germans are determined to send all the Jews in the camp to a single, horrifying destination – a notorious camp in the East, only whispered about in fearful tones.
With the fate of the trains looming ever closer, Sarah faces an impossible choice. Will she find a way to keep Rebecca safe from the iron grasp of the Nazis, or will their fates be sealed by the cruelty of war?
This powerful women’s fictional novel tells the story of a mother’s unwavering love, a testament to the unbreakable bond between parent and child in the face of unimaginable adversity. This book will grip your heart and linger in your mind long after the final page is turned.
Alex Amit is a historical fiction writer and author of the novel The Girl Under the Flag.
After dedicating more than a decade to learning the history of WW2 and armed with a BSc in Psychology, Alex's writing focuses on woman's bravery during those dark days. Today he is writing his second novel, The Girl in the White Uniform . When Alex was a child, he would lie in his bed at night, reading history books, imagining himself traveling in a time machine to all those great moments. Many years have passed, and finally, he built his time machine, using his words and imagination.
At first I didn't know if I would like this book. It was written as though the character Sarah Bloch was telling the story. It seemed to be a slow build. The story starts in August 1941. Somewhere near the book’s middle I felt myself being lifted up into the story. All the facts seemed to be historically correct. The mother Sarah is concerned for her five year old daughter Rebecca. Sarah is in a situation that she hasn’t any control over. The Nazi soldiers and French police have the control over everyone’s life in Paris. Both Mother and Daughter were separated from Ervin Bloch , husband and father when he went to Spain on business. He had planned to for them to join him in Spain after a month but those plans never came to pass. Nazi soldiers overtook France and Sarah and Rebecca were left in Paris to defend themselves against the Nazi’s hatred for the Jewish people.
WW2 fiction is one of my favorite genres. What I like is that most of the books are based on true historical events. The endings are always happy since we all know the course of history. In this book people do die because of the forced labor and starvation. But those who are fortunate enough to survive the holocaust gain their freedom and began to search for lost loved ones. A special thanks to citizens who risked their own life to help the Jews. This book became a page turner and I’m glad I stuck with it to the end.
I highly recommend this book to readers of WW2 fiction . Alex Amit is a new to me Author and I will be looking for his books in the future. This book is a standalone . It is scheduled for release on 6/14/24
I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions expressed here in this review are entirely my own. #SavingRebeccaAWW2historicalnovelaboutamothersdevotion #NetGalley
The strength of this story is its unique way of touching a readers emotions with powerful characters.
The underlying theme is undying hope for freedom and unity. Rebecca was so easy to fall in love with and her mother determined desire was truly remarkable.
I truly enjoyed the book and highly recommend it to all.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
2.5-3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Slight spoilers to follow.
The premise of this book was promising and could’ve been a very powerful story, however the execution fell a bit flat and I found myself skimming through certain paragraphs and almost DNF’d the book.
There tended to be some repetition of phrases back to back in the book (ex: mentioning the same summer breeze) without the addition of new details or swapping up the descriptive words utilized to help really set the scene. While we learned a bit about Sarah & Rebecca’s background the lack of details made it hard for me to connect with them on a deeper level.
There were some circumstances where I felt like I was going to be drawn into the characters a bit more, for example when we read about Rebecca not being able to play with other children for a year and then being bullied when they arrived at Drancy, but again, after the scene or chapter had ended, I didn’t feel much more of a connection to them.
Overall, it could’ve benefitted from some adjustments to the writing style to help readers feel a bit more attached to the characters and immersed in their world and the situations they were navigating.
Saving Rebecca by Alex Amit starts out in 1941. It is told through Sarah Bloch. Sarah is trying to get out of Paris with her daughter Rebecca. Sarah's husband has gone away to Spain on business. He had planned for Sarah and Rebecca to join him in a month. However, Nazi soldiers took over Paris leaving them separated.
Will Sarah find a way to keep her daughter safe? What lengths will she go to in order to make sure that happens? Will she be able to defend against the Nazis who hate her and Rebecca just because they are Jews?
If you like WW2 historical fiction, then I would definitely recommend Saving Rebecca by Alex Amit. This book had me feeling all the feels. I'm not going to say much else because you just need to read this book and experience it for yourself. Saving Rebecca is such an amazing story about a mother's love, hope, unity, and freedom. Sometimes you just might find a good thing among the wreckage.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Saving Rebecca.
I have read a lot of books on the Holocaust, World War 2 is one of my favourite genres. This book was a joy to read, it was written with compassion and although a harrowing subject it was written without the usual horrific descriptions. I loved the storyline and the ending was totally unexpected. Thanks to the author and BookSirens for giving me the opportunity to read this wonderful book.
I love books about the Holocaust and this one did not disappoint. I loved the strength and determination of Sarah and many of the other women that she met during her experience. Hearing about the way the French Jews and German Jews interacted while in the concentration camp in France was eye opening. No spoilers, but ending was not what I expected. Still processing if I wish it had gone the other way with the family. Overall, I enjoyed reading and look forward to reading other books by this author. SavingRebeccaAWW2historicalnovelaboutamothersdevotion #netgalley
WW2 historical fiction is one of my favorite genres to read. This book seems very historically accurate and while the beginning was a tad slow, it really pulled me in around the 20% mark. I couldn't get enough of this story about a mother's devotion to her daughter during the Holocaust. The characters were easy to connect with, there were a few "twists" I didn't see coming, and I felt the whole range of emotion while reading this.
The only con for me was the beginning - a little slow and very simple writing at times (but a lot is dialogue with a 5 year old, so I just had to accept it).
Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher, BooksGoSocial, for allowing me to read this story.
I am drawn to this genre and have read too many to count. This was a different take on the Holocaust but a good story. The treatment of the prisoners was written in the story but not as graphic as some other books. In the author’s notes at the end, he said that the character, Charlotte Salomon was a real person. I looked her up and was amazed by her artwork. Google her.
This is a powerful story about Sarah and her daughter Rebecca. They are in wartime France trying to get to Spain where Sarahs husband is. But they never make it to Spain, they are arrested by the Police and placed in Drancy internment camp.
In Drancy you have to fend for yourself. Sarah tries her best to keep Rebeccas innocent. Making up stories, sending her to school and trying her best to keep a routine. But Sarah and Rebecca are German Jews, and they are not welcomed to the internment camp. Rebecca must learn to fend for herself and try to speak more French. The other children wont play with her and she is being picked on.
Everyday they see people deported from the internment camp, forced to go to the East. Nobody knows much about what happens when people are sent to the East. They just hear the rumours and know that ending up in the East is bad, very bad.
This is a powerful story, one that really makes you think. The love a mother has for her child, willing to do anything to save her. I loved Sarah as a character. Watching her grow as a women, learning to be independent and taking her own choices. She cant wait for her husband, and needs to take control.
Overall i liked the book. The story was good and i liked the characters. But i felt like the ending was a bit rushed. I was left with a lot of questions about some of the characters that i felt like could have been in the book.
Other than that it was a great read and i would recommend the book.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC for a honest review.
Although I don’t often read historical fiction, the premise of this book interested me and I am glad I read it.
The plot is paced well and I finished this story very quickly. The writing style is simple and easy to read without having to focus too hard, yet I did not feel as though I was being spoon-fed.
I enjoyed the ending in particular, and the route the author chose to take with this. However, the last few chapters felt a little rushed and some moments which should have pulled at my heartstrings fell a bit flat. Many characters were interesting, and I felt quite attached to Sarah, Charlotte (who was a real person) and Rebecca, but with a few tweaks to the writing style, I feel that the dialogue could have been more effective, giving the characters more unique voices.
Overall, this was a decent story centring around a heartbreaking part of history. I rated it 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.
I received an advance reader copy of this book, which in no way affects my review. This review is voluntary.
A mother that is willing to do anything to save her daughter. We are in France during WWII, and the evil that has been threatening Europe has started rounding up people of Jewish faith. War pulls families apart, and some never return, some lost forever. A mother and her daughter are sent to the Drancy internment camp. We live with this young mother and her daughter, 5, 6, or 7 year old, she has a birthday as we read, but without much food, is rather malnourished, but oh, so loveable. We see her playing with the head commandant's two daughters, and the author shows how they probably treated this young prisoner. I was surprised how the prisoners treated one another, how some will turn on another, sad. There are also a few of those in control whom have compassion. This is a story that really needs to keep being told, we need never forget. Thank you Alex Amit. I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher BooksGoSocial, and was not required to give a positive review.
Some books really grasp your heart and this book is one of them. What do you do when the rules of society change around you and your husband is off in a world untouched by war, deportations, hunger and fear? And when you are separated from your child? This is a time when civility has to be cast aside if one is to survive. Who do you trust? Who will help and at what price?
I received this advance review copy for free, which in no way alters my opinion. This was so good, it stays on my kindle. Because of the harsh reality, though clean and moderately free from bad language, the events are more appropriate for older teens and above. I highly recommend this as a study in the human spirit, both good and bad, but not as a dry and stuffy lecture but as an engaging, and for lack of a better word, entertaining read.
I really enjoyed this story of hardship, terror and finally joy. The way the story all fitted together made it a gripping read. Sarah, Rebecca’s mother is a strong woman who does everything she can to make life for her daughter bearable.
It is also set well in terms of historical accuracy and this made me want to read more. Like most books of this genre, a box of hankies is required as this story has many ups and downs for the heart to deal with. The author made it easy to fall in love with the characters who rise to reality from the pages of the book.
Thank you for bring these people to life so vividly and for giving it a credible ending.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This is a captivating but harrowing WW11 tale about a Jewish woman who is desperate to get to Spain and join her husband, where she hopes she and her daughter will be safe. As Jews, they are stripped of all their human rights, and then later they are imprisoned in France, and escaping to Spain becomes an impossibility. The woman meets a French policeman, who is sympathetic to her plight, but he he willing to risk execution and the child out of the prison? Like so many WW11 novels, we come across individuals who at great risk to themselves are willing to try and save the life of a young child. The author has done his research well and the book is beautifully written. Highly recommended
I always enjoy reading WW2 Holocaust books. I am intrigued how the Nazis got away with killing 6 million Jewish people before the rest of the world stepped into help them.
This one was very similar to others I have read: the sounds, the smells, the shaved heads, the horror and then finally trying to bring life back to normal after the occupation ended in France.
Sadly for most there was never normalcy again. But hopefully we people keep publishing books and we keep reading then we will be able to fight against discrimination when and wherever we find it. Especially against to Israelites.
After watching the series on Miep Gies about Anne Frank’s family, a holocaust story really cannot be less than five stars. I love the personal feel the author gave to the characters, it really brought the story higher than I could’ve imagined it. Every detail was there. All of the T’s were crossed, and all of the I’s were dotted. This was my first book. I’ve read from this author and I hope that they have written more just like this because I’m not done with this story. The characters may have finished their jobs, but I want more.
A very nice book. Well written, excellent grammar!
I was so disappointed when the book ended. I wanted more! I'm sure I'll find more when I am ready to begin reading another WW2 story! My father was killed in action in Okinawa during WW2 when I was two years old, so stories from that era are very important to me. I'm certain I'll be reading more stories from that period.
This book is SO good!!! I don't know the words to express how well written it is! It made me feel like I was actually there; in that time period, at that place! I can't thank this author enough for this book!
Even though I have warned about the errors please don't let that stop you from missing out on an intriguing WW2 story that will stay with you long after you turn the last page.
I enjoyed this book from the start to the finish! It was an interesting and fresh look about a subject that has been written about many times. I felt I was an unseen observer and living through those treacherous and heartbreaking events as they occurred.