The Girl Who Rode the White Lion

by Yishay Ishi Ron, Yardenne Greenspan (Translator)

298 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication June 16, 2026

Reviews

[JulieChristine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eerie, mesmerizing and based on true stories. Yishay Ishi Ron hooks readers from the very first page in this WWII novel featuring an SS officer's cruel obsession, a mystical circus and a zookeeper who tries to uncover the history behind a long-lost ring. The nook alternates between decades during and after the war, unraveling the mystery of THE GIRL WHO RODE THE WHITE LION piece by captivating piece. The writing does feel stilted at times, likely due to the translation, but it's nothing that the intrigue of the story doesn't forgive. Chapters switch POVs to offer powerful insights into the mindsets around the atrocities faced, including not just the victims' perspectives but (horrifyingly) members of the Nazi party's as well - a move that broadcasts a sharp contrast between their depraved mental fragility and the courage and strength of the survivors. This book celebrates those survivors who looked fear in the eye and kept going and spotlights the real circus allies who sheltered them.

[Laura Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

A literary fiction based on a true story deepens the involvement a reader has with the characters and overall outcome of the book. I found this to be especially true when reading the novel, The Girl Who Rode the White Lion, by Yishay Ishi Ron.

Yishay Ishi Ron is the son of a Holocaust survivor and an Israeli writer. His story is based on the true story of the Althoff family who ran a circus and used their unique opportunity to safeguard Jews during the Holocaust. Yishay Ishi Ron took the reality of the horror of war and created a story of love, survival and well served justice. True heroes chose to protect the persecuted through "Moral Charity" (as stated in the acknowledgements portion of his book).

Set in Germany, 1938, Sarah Frank a young Jewish girl and her family are routed from their home through the obsession of an SS. officer, Hauptsturmfűhrer Hubert Zimmer of the Third Reich they had thought was a friend. Separated from her husband, Ruth Frank is on the run with her young daughter to hide from the evil. Needing refuge and respite for a few hours Ruth finds that Adolf Frei's Magical Circus is in town and a perfect location to hide from the Nazi's while giving her young daughter a bit of joy. Ruth finds her persecutor in the crowd and sends Sarah to the circus manager, Adolf Frei for refuge. Thus sets the stage for a life of hiding as a part of the circus. Next we meet Dr. Mark Spencer, a veterinarian for the New York Central Park Zoo in 1957. Dr. Spencer is called in to perform an autopsy on an aged white lion, named Christmas. While teaching a younger veterinarian, Dr. Spencer discovers an odd item within the white lion's intestines. A Nazi SS officer's silver skull ring. From this time forth, the reader is taken on a journey of survival for Sarah Frank and a mystery to solve for Dr. Mark Spencer.

Yishay Ishi Ron does a masterful job of weaving the two timelines together to create both intrigue in the mystery as well as fear for the life of young Sarah. War is ugly and the reader feels this truth within the book, The Girl Who Rode the White Lion. I began reading the story assuming it was a purely fiction based tale. It wasn't until the end of the book that I found in the acknowledgement section that the story was based on truth. This made it so much more powerful.

I sincerely hope that Yishay Ishi Ron's book soars in popularity so many may revisit the tragedy of evil and how it effects many. We must remember and not repeat. I have included a web source below to further educate the source of the story.

The Girl Who Rode the White Lion by Yishay Ishi Ron and translated from the Hebrew by Yardenne Greenspan will publish June 16, 2026 through Soncata Press. Please take the time to read this wonderful novel. I received an Advanced Reader's Copy of The Girl Who Rode the White Lion through NetGalley in exchange for an honest reivew. Thank you again NetGalley for the opportunity to discover diverse voices in literature.

https://www.yadvashem.org/righteous/s...

#NetGalley #TheGirlWhoRoadtheWhiteLion

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truth is often more amazing and shocking horrific than fiction. "The Girl Who Rode the White Lion" by Yishay Ishi Ron is based on a true story of how the Althoff family circus troupe opened their hearts and tents, offering disguise and hope to jewess Sarah Frank.
A young girl who had lost her father to a concentration camp and witnessed the murder of her mother lives in1938 Germany, which is a brutal time for any jew. Previous friendships with Germans are now forgotten, as those same people are now SS officers, hungry (and often crazy) for the power they previously lacked. Hauptsurmfuher Hubert Zimmer's obsession with the Frank family is all encompassing.
Amongst an unlikely mix of outsiders working as lion trainers, elephant mahoots and acrobats, Sarah enjoys anonymity and is able to rally the courage she never knew she possessed, when her new family of humans and animals is obliterated.
A dual timeline story finds Mark Spencer, a vet in 1957 New York City, discovering a silver SS skull ring, within a deceased white lions body. And so we are taken on his journey of truth to discover the lions origin in postwar Paris and Tel Aviv.
This is a holocaust story not set in death camps (for a change). It is the suspenseful survival story of a young girl and her older self navigating her shattered altered self when history comes searching for her.
I loved how the ring came to be inside the lion and I loved the last chapter.....revenge being sweet, but in a twist I suspected but was ultimately surprised by.
Thanks to NetGalley and Sonata Press for my copy.

[Teresia Fredriksson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of the book is based on a true story of how a young girl escapes the Holocaust with the help of a traveling circus.
In 1938 during the onslaught of the persecution of the Jewish community in Germany, the reader is introduced to an SS officer in charge of interrogation of suspected Jewish. As his view of his longtime friends is reshaped into hatred and anger, he seeks out and initiates prosecution of his Jewish doctor who is now in the search light of the SS. A warped sense of justice and lust for what is not his nor allowed by the party, he scares his friends wife and her daughter Sarah into escaping with a circus. This ignites an anger in the SS officer, that will last a life time.

In 1957 an SS ring is found in the stomach of a white lion from the zoo. As the veterinarian is pulled into a twisted tale of finding the origins of the ring, the reader is tossed between 1957 and 1938 and invited on a journey of discovery. How did the ring end up in the stomach of the lion? What happened to Sarah? What happened to the SS officer? What will the veterinarian find out? The outcome is not certain until the very last.

This was a captivating and thrilling read that kept me glued to the pages and eager to know the outcome of the next page and the next chapter.

Thank you Soncata Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[Brittny Lange · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️This book was such a cool take on World War 2. I really enjoyed the premise of the story and it was back and forth between the past and the future for multiple different characters. This made it feel like you got a more well rounded story.

This is a bit of a sexually disturbing story. There is talk of rap but no actual rap is described. The main Nazi character is really creepy and gross which just makes you hate him more. I honestly almost stopped reading it because of how nasty it got.

Also, I wasn’t a fan of the love story. It seemed to go to unrealistically fast and was also a bit sex based which isn’t my style.

It is based in a true story of circus people who would hid Jew’s which was really cool.

[Tamara · Rating 3 out of 5]

The overall story was good. But the writing was choppy and scattered. Maybe it was related to the translation. The story is baseed on a true story. The author is the son of a holocaust survivor. Definitely worth reading.

Thank you Netgalley and Soncata Press for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Expected release date June 16 2026

[Jill Emens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book! This book wound the magic of the circus into the horror of war beautifully. The descriptions of the characters and places were so well done it was like a movie playing out in my head as I read. I do wish the ending had tied up more loose ends. I’d have liked to know what became of Sarah and Mark.

[Rae Payette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a beautifully poignant story of survival, resilience, and perseverance in the face of a tragic event - the Holocaust. It’s inspired by a true story of a rescue of Jews hidden within a circus in Germany.

The author really was able to write this story in a way that created an angst - real gut wrenching emotion for the characters. The compassion and suspense are palpable.

I loved the dual POV of Sarah’s story and Mark’s search for the owner of the ring.

I caught myself reading faster so I could get to the next timeline and find out the outcome of each story; and, the epic intertwining of the story made for the perfect conclusion.

5 🌟 stars!!!!!!

Thanks NetGalley for the advanced reader copy!

[Jeanne]

Received an ARC from netgalley of this book and unfortunately it just didn’t work for me and I did not finish. Bad timing to try reading it perhaps.

[Kristina Pauls (ARC Reviewer)]

PUBLISH DATE: June 16, 2026
BOOK TITLE: The Girl Who Rode the White Lion
AUTHOR: Yishay Ishi Ron
PUBLISHER: Soncata Press| Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)
FORMAT: ebook
PAGES: 272
I received a complimentary digital ARC [Advanced Readers Copy] of this book via NetGalley. Thank you to the Publisher and the Author for the opportunity to read and review this title prior to publication. As always, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.