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They Went Left
A tour de force historical mystery from Monica Hesse, the bestselling and award-winning author of Girl in the Blue Coat.
Germany, 1945. The soldiers who liberated the Gross-Rosen concentration camp said the war was over, but nothing feels over to eighteen-year-old Zofia Lederman. Her body has barely begun to heal; her mind feels broken. And her life is completely shattered: Three years ago, she and her younger brother, Abek, were the only members of their family to be sent to the right, away from the gas chambers of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Everyone else--her parents, her grandmother, radiant Aunt Maja--they went left.
Zofia's last words to her brother were a promise: Abek to Zofia, A to Z. When I find you again, we will fill our alphabet. Now her journey to fulfill that vow takes her through Poland and Germany, and into a displaced persons camp where everyone she meets is trying to piece together a future from a painful past: Miriam, desperately searching for the twin she was separated from after they survived medical experimentation. Breine, a former heiress, who now longs only for a simple wedding with her new fiancé. And Josef, who guards his past behind a wall of secrets, and is beautiful and strange and magnetic all at once.
But the deeper Zofia digs, the more impossible her search seems. How can she find one boy in a sea of the missing? In the rubble of a broken continent, Zofia must delve into a mystery whose answers could break her--or help her rebuild her world.
Germany, 1945. The soldiers who liberated the Gross-Rosen concentration camp said the war was over, but nothing feels over to eighteen-year-old Zofia Lederman. Her body has barely begun to heal; her mind feels broken. And her life is completely shattered: Three years ago, she and her younger brother, Abek, were the only members of their family to be sent to the right, away from the gas chambers of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Everyone else--her parents, her grandmother, radiant Aunt Maja--they went left.
Zofia's last words to her brother were a promise: Abek to Zofia, A to Z. When I find you again, we will fill our alphabet. Now her journey to fulfill that vow takes her through Poland and Germany, and into a displaced persons camp where everyone she meets is trying to piece together a future from a painful past: Miriam, desperately searching for the twin she was separated from after they survived medical experimentation. Breine, a former heiress, who now longs only for a simple wedding with her new fiancé. And Josef, who guards his past behind a wall of secrets, and is beautiful and strange and magnetic all at once.
But the deeper Zofia digs, the more impossible her search seems. How can she find one boy in a sea of the missing? In the rubble of a broken continent, Zofia must delve into a mystery whose answers could break her--or help her rebuild her world.
384 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 7, 2020
1260 people are currently reading
39544 people want to read
About the author
Monica Hesse
10 books1,262 followersMonica Hesse is the national bestselling author of the true crime love story American Fire, and the historical mystery novel Girl in the Blue Coat, which has been translated into a dozen languages and won the 2017 Edgar award in the Young Adult category. She is a feature writer for the Washington Post, where she has been a winner of the Society for Feature Journalism's Narrative Storytelling award, and a finalist for a Livingston Award and a James Beard Award. Monica lives in Maryland. with her husband and a brainiac dog.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,248 reviews
May 9, 2021
Choose to love.
When everything seems hopeless, when you're coming out of something that seemed unsurvivable, when you're overwhelmed beyond belief, you can still choose to love.
They Went Left is one of those books that ties your stomach in knots, and makes you want to shout out in anger, but when you're done, you know you have changed. Your heart is crying out to your senses of decency, kindness and compassion, telling you how necessary it is to let these guide your daily actions.
Most WWII genocide stories start before the war, or while European Jews were being sent to the concentration camps. This well-researched and realistic novel, much like Cilka's Journey, shows us the baffling and heartbreaking aftermath. We learn just how difficult it can be to survive the unthinkable and to endure the continuing hell of putting together a family and a life torn apart by such evil as the Holocaust.
When everything seems hopeless, when you're coming out of something that seemed unsurvivable, when you're overwhelmed beyond belief, you can still choose to love.
They Went Left is one of those books that ties your stomach in knots, and makes you want to shout out in anger, but when you're done, you know you have changed. Your heart is crying out to your senses of decency, kindness and compassion, telling you how necessary it is to let these guide your daily actions.
Most WWII genocide stories start before the war, or while European Jews were being sent to the concentration camps. This well-researched and realistic novel, much like Cilka's Journey, shows us the baffling and heartbreaking aftermath. We learn just how difficult it can be to survive the unthinkable and to endure the continuing hell of putting together a family and a life torn apart by such evil as the Holocaust.
February 3, 2020
Thank you Edelweiss for this phenomenal e-galley!
I cannot stress this enough: I am a sucker for punishment and will read every WW2 book out there no matter how heart-wrenching, gut-punching, how completely soul-destroying it is.
THEY WENT LEFT tells the unique story of what happened AFTER the concentration camps were liberated. Zofia, who has lost her entire family, holds onto hope that her little brother, Abek is alive. Accompanied first by a Russian soldier, she arrives back home only to find it utterly changed. In an effort to track her brother's whereabouts, she travels far and ends up in Germany where she joins a group of people, displaced and lost, but also hopeful. It's there that she finds a future for herself.
Zofia is an unreliable narrator. She's traumatized by her time in concentration camps, as anyone would be. It is through her memories that we experience the brutality of what happened and the atrocities that she had witnessed. This book made me uncomfortable, but it should. this stuff HAPPENED and it should not be forgotten because you feel uneasy. The war did not end for a lot of people even after they were liberated and this book is a testament to that.
I recommend this book for all ages because we should not censor our kids. The past is very much real and should be discussed and read and seen. This book is beautifully written and raw and powerful.
I cannot stress this enough: I am a sucker for punishment and will read every WW2 book out there no matter how heart-wrenching, gut-punching, how completely soul-destroying it is.
THEY WENT LEFT tells the unique story of what happened AFTER the concentration camps were liberated. Zofia, who has lost her entire family, holds onto hope that her little brother, Abek is alive. Accompanied first by a Russian soldier, she arrives back home only to find it utterly changed. In an effort to track her brother's whereabouts, she travels far and ends up in Germany where she joins a group of people, displaced and lost, but also hopeful. It's there that she finds a future for herself.
Zofia is an unreliable narrator. She's traumatized by her time in concentration camps, as anyone would be. It is through her memories that we experience the brutality of what happened and the atrocities that she had witnessed. This book made me uncomfortable, but it should. this stuff HAPPENED and it should not be forgotten because you feel uneasy. The war did not end for a lot of people even after they were liberated and this book is a testament to that.
I recommend this book for all ages because we should not censor our kids. The past is very much real and should be discussed and read and seen. This book is beautifully written and raw and powerful.
February 9, 2023
They Went Left by Monica Hesse is a novel during the WW2 era. It spoke of after the war. What the survivors had to face, expect and adjust to. It was about how some deceived in order to get what they wanted/needed. Somethings were not as they appeared. It was emotionally impacting. Heart breaking sad. Full of insecurities and continued need to survive. Lots of psychological damage, repair and brokenness. Wonderfully written story.
April 5, 2020
Heartwrenching, haunting, and hopeful!
They Went Left is a poignant, compelling tale that sweeps you away to post-war Germany and into the life of Zofia Lederman, a young Jewish girl who after being liberated from a Nazi concentration camp and with a mind traumatized by cruelty and violence travels from her home town in Poland to the Foehrenwald Displaced Persons Camp to search for the one family member who may not be lost forever and that she swore to protect, her younger brother, Abek.
The prose is raw and tense. The characters are vulnerable, tortured, and resilient. And the plot is a moving tale about life, love, bravery, strength, loss, deception, hope, survival, and the enduring aftereffects of war.
Overall, They Went Left is a lovely blend of historical facts, realistic fiction, and palpable emotion that does a beautiful job of reminding us that even after suffering the most unimaginable cruelty and wickedness humanity still has an innate ability to want to love and be loved.
Thank you to HBG Canada for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
They Went Left is a poignant, compelling tale that sweeps you away to post-war Germany and into the life of Zofia Lederman, a young Jewish girl who after being liberated from a Nazi concentration camp and with a mind traumatized by cruelty and violence travels from her home town in Poland to the Foehrenwald Displaced Persons Camp to search for the one family member who may not be lost forever and that she swore to protect, her younger brother, Abek.
The prose is raw and tense. The characters are vulnerable, tortured, and resilient. And the plot is a moving tale about life, love, bravery, strength, loss, deception, hope, survival, and the enduring aftereffects of war.
Overall, They Went Left is a lovely blend of historical facts, realistic fiction, and palpable emotion that does a beautiful job of reminding us that even after suffering the most unimaginable cruelty and wickedness humanity still has an innate ability to want to love and be loved.
Thank you to HBG Canada for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
April 11, 2020
I admit, I’m not exactly in the right mood for Holocaust fiction at this point in 2020, but I went into this book for a specific reason: I wanted something hopeful. Something about finding light at the end of a tunnel and holding onto it, despite how easier it might be to turn and walk right back in. Nothing blindingly happy. Just reaffirming.
And that’s what I got. A story set right after the end of WW2, during its first few months of tentative chaos, with people trying to pick up the pieces of their lives. It’s not a healing story, exactly, but it is a story about healing and the complications that come with such a journey. Zofia's mental state--her looping thoughts and fears, her gaps in memory, her disassociation-- are presented with such great care and lyricism. There just aren't a lot of WW2 stories out there that focus on the camp survivors after they're liberated, and I really appreciate Hesse for shining a light on the topic. Because while there's strength in surviving, I think there's even greater strength in living. In moving forward with your life, carrying all the horrors you experienced, and choosing to embrace love and laughter in spite of the pain. It's a kind of courage that deserves to be highlighted more in narratives.
I was also anticipating a good mystery, though (I mean, the blurbs and synopsis lean heavily on it) but that I didn't get at all. What little mystery there is predictable and rushed and its conclusion left me feeling underwhelmed. And "rushed" is more or less my biggest complaint about the whole thing. The story throws a handful of plot threads at you--a slice-of-life story focusing on the refugees in the displaced person camp; a romantic subplot between Zofia and Josef; a search for Zofia's brother--and while their skeletal structure is interesting, the execution needs a lot more fleshing out. More development of the characters at the camp, better exploration of the romance.
Right now it feels more like an abridged book, and while I really liked the prose and the themes presented, I can't help but dream longingly for the unabridged version that never existed.
~
Review copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
And that’s what I got. A story set right after the end of WW2, during its first few months of tentative chaos, with people trying to pick up the pieces of their lives. It’s not a healing story, exactly, but it is a story about healing and the complications that come with such a journey. Zofia's mental state--her looping thoughts and fears, her gaps in memory, her disassociation-- are presented with such great care and lyricism. There just aren't a lot of WW2 stories out there that focus on the camp survivors after they're liberated, and I really appreciate Hesse for shining a light on the topic. Because while there's strength in surviving, I think there's even greater strength in living. In moving forward with your life, carrying all the horrors you experienced, and choosing to embrace love and laughter in spite of the pain. It's a kind of courage that deserves to be highlighted more in narratives.
"Today I am choosing to love the person in front of me. Do you understand? Because he's here, I'm here, and we're ready to not be lonely together."
I was also anticipating a good mystery, though (I mean, the blurbs and synopsis lean heavily on it) but that I didn't get at all. What little mystery there is predictable and rushed and its conclusion left me feeling underwhelmed. And "rushed" is more or less my biggest complaint about the whole thing. The story throws a handful of plot threads at you--a slice-of-life story focusing on the refugees in the displaced person camp; a romantic subplot between Zofia and Josef; a search for Zofia's brother--and while their skeletal structure is interesting, the execution needs a lot more fleshing out. More development of the characters at the camp, better exploration of the romance.
Right now it feels more like an abridged book, and while I really liked the prose and the themes presented, I can't help but dream longingly for the unabridged version that never existed.
~
Review copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
July 24, 2020
"Today I am choosing to love the person in front of me."
I'm an avid reader of WWII stories, but it does tend to end either heartbreaking or with a happily ever after ending. This book shows us another part of the story, what happened when the horror ended? What happened when the thousands of prisoners realized that their lives weren't magically going to restore to normality?
This book changed my perspective of love and forgiveness. I don't know if there's a better praising you can ever give to a book.
Yes, love is a decision.
You decide who to love.
And what better learning you can take of stories? Love. Love hard. Make sure they know we love them, because sometimes, life takes your loved ones away, and there's no bigger regret than knowing your love was quiet.
May 13, 2020
A bit like Cilka's Journey, this book takes place in the aftermath of Nazi concentration camps. Zofia has been rescued by a Russian soldier named Dima who brings her back to her home in Poland, where she yearns to be reunited with her younger brother, Abek. The rest of her family "went left" into the showers, where they were killed by poisonous gas. Rather than wait for him, Zofia heads off to Germany to find Abek in desperation for something to keep her tethered to this world. She ends up in a refugee camp for displaced people, eventually falling for a distant man named Josef, who seems to have his own dark secrets. One of the ways that Zofia survives is by reciting the alphabet from A (Abek) to Z (Zofia), each letter with a connection to family or home. She makes friends, who choose to make the best of their surroundings, when her world is turned upside down not once or twice, but thrice. Well done.
October 4, 2024
"𝙄𝙛 𝙢𝙮 𝙤𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙮 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙤𝙧 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙞𝙢, 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙄 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙨𝙚? 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙢𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙢𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙧?
𝘿𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙛𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙨𝙮? 𝙊𝙧 𝙙𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙣?"
This book follows Zofia Lederman, a concentration camp survivor searching for her younger brother, Abek.
It's a sad yet hopeful story. This book was such a roller coaster of emotions. It gives you an up-close and personal look at what it's like to be uprooted from everything familiar: family, friends, and home. I found myself drawn into the story from the beginning.
The author did an excellent job portraying what life was like after World War II and how the Holocaust affected those who survived it.
Overall, this book was well-written and engaging with great characters that will stay with me for a long time.
𝘿𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙛𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙨𝙮? 𝙊𝙧 𝙙𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙣?"
This book follows Zofia Lederman, a concentration camp survivor searching for her younger brother, Abek.
It's a sad yet hopeful story. This book was such a roller coaster of emotions. It gives you an up-close and personal look at what it's like to be uprooted from everything familiar: family, friends, and home. I found myself drawn into the story from the beginning.
The author did an excellent job portraying what life was like after World War II and how the Holocaust affected those who survived it.
Overall, this book was well-written and engaging with great characters that will stay with me for a long time.
May 1, 2024
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
It's another Holocaust book that holds so much promise but fell short to my taste. You know that feeling of eating your favorite food that needs, say, more salt? That's what I felt after reading this book.
It tells the story of Zofia and her journey to find her brother Abek after war has ended in Europe. I fell in love with the plot. I've read a lot of Holocoaust novels set during the war, but not so much about stories after. But Zofia's journey is not as promising as what I was led to be. The narrative is bland, and some of the important characters that I'd love to get to know more just faded into the background (like Dima and Miriam). The romantic side overwhelmed what could have been a raw and authentic plot of the story (Zofia's journey of finding Abek), and I was presented with a cute, tolerable love story. The romance plot is predictable, the climax is underwhelming and overall, I felt short-changed.
It's another Holocaust book that holds so much promise but fell short to my taste. You know that feeling of eating your favorite food that needs, say, more salt? That's what I felt after reading this book.
It tells the story of Zofia and her journey to find her brother Abek after war has ended in Europe. I fell in love with the plot. I've read a lot of Holocoaust novels set during the war, but not so much about stories after. But Zofia's journey is not as promising as what I was led to be. The narrative is bland, and some of the important characters that I'd love to get to know more just faded into the background (like Dima and Miriam). The romantic side overwhelmed what could have been a raw and authentic plot of the story (Zofia's journey of finding Abek), and I was presented with a cute, tolerable love story. The romance plot is predictable, the climax is underwhelming and overall, I felt short-changed.
April 28, 2020
Originally published on The Nerd Daily | Review by Nathalie DeFelice
Long after I finished this book, I remained in awe of what I read. The melancholic tone of this story is hauntingly memorable, and offers an insight into an aspect of war that I don’t get to read too often in stories: what happens in the aftermath. Unpacking trauma as well as figuring out how to continue on in a world that no longer contains those we hold most dear. My heart clenched as I went through each page, desperate to cling to hope for these characters even when everything seems so bleak. I feel that this story gives voice to what it might look like for a character to return to normal after suffering unspeakable horrors, and navigating what is real vs. what was imagined in order to survive.
Zofia Lederman is 18, and recently been liberated from the Gross-Rosen concentration camp. Despite being told the war is over, it doesn’t seem that way to Zofia. She feels broken in mind, body, and spirit. Three years prior, she witnessed as her all of her family were sent to die while she and her brother survived. With a promise to find each other and fill the alphabet from Abek to Zofia, A to Z, Zofia sets off from Poland into Germany to seek her brother. However, everyone she meets at the displacement camp she is at is also looking for someone. She meets people just as forever changed by the horrors of what they experienced as she was, and a young man who hides his past behind a wall of secrets. As her search continues, it seems nearly impossible. How will she find a single boy in a sea of missing people? Will the answers she finds during her search help heal her or finally break her for good?
Friends, this story is beautiful, but it is also incredibly heartbreaking. You might be thinking: “Well, duh, it’s historical fiction.”…but this book is something entirely different. I wasn’t imagining that I would relate to the anguish that Zofia feels throughout this book. From the start, it pulls you in. Throughout this book you’ll see Zofia’s memories, as she remembers them. At first, it all feels real. Vivid, raw memories that serve as both a reminder and a glimmer of hope. There’s no doubt that she’s experienced some tragic things. Then, things become a little distorted. Zofia’s memories become a little more unstable. There’s something riveting about having a somewhat unreliable narrator.
Along the way, Zofia meets so many people with stories similar to hers. With the same fervent hopes that they’ll be reunited with their loved ones. Each character is so memorable. You’ll remember something about each one. Miriam, who seeks her twin sister after they went through horrible experimentation. Breine, a former heiress who now just wants a simple wedding and quiet life. There’s also Inge. I don’t want to say much about her because of spoilers, but she’s the one that really stuck with me.
There are many small joys scattered throughout this story that are lifelines for all of these characters. Telling stories, hobbies, and reclaiming pieces of the past that were thought lost forever. Romance is another joy…mostly. Zofia’s romantic partner was problematic, and for once I feel like the ending of this type of relationship was completely appropriate.
This story has a perfect ending, at least, in the realm of everything that has happened. It’s not this overtly happy thing that is full of hope, but rather takes a very realistic approach to what’s next for the characters. I have to say, this book truly resonated with me in a way that I didn’t think possible. Truly, all of Monica Hesse’s books have had this effect on me. Her books look into parts of history that most don’t think about. Her author’s notes are worth reading for the historical relevance to the places Monica chooses to focus on. There’s so much respect in her research, and it reflects into her writing. I look forward to her next book, wherever that journey takes us.
This book is undoubtedly a 10/10 for me. It’s powerful, and I hope that this story will resonate with many others. Definitely add this book to your TBR.
Long after I finished this book, I remained in awe of what I read. The melancholic tone of this story is hauntingly memorable, and offers an insight into an aspect of war that I don’t get to read too often in stories: what happens in the aftermath. Unpacking trauma as well as figuring out how to continue on in a world that no longer contains those we hold most dear. My heart clenched as I went through each page, desperate to cling to hope for these characters even when everything seems so bleak. I feel that this story gives voice to what it might look like for a character to return to normal after suffering unspeakable horrors, and navigating what is real vs. what was imagined in order to survive.
Zofia Lederman is 18, and recently been liberated from the Gross-Rosen concentration camp. Despite being told the war is over, it doesn’t seem that way to Zofia. She feels broken in mind, body, and spirit. Three years prior, she witnessed as her all of her family were sent to die while she and her brother survived. With a promise to find each other and fill the alphabet from Abek to Zofia, A to Z, Zofia sets off from Poland into Germany to seek her brother. However, everyone she meets at the displacement camp she is at is also looking for someone. She meets people just as forever changed by the horrors of what they experienced as she was, and a young man who hides his past behind a wall of secrets. As her search continues, it seems nearly impossible. How will she find a single boy in a sea of missing people? Will the answers she finds during her search help heal her or finally break her for good?
Friends, this story is beautiful, but it is also incredibly heartbreaking. You might be thinking: “Well, duh, it’s historical fiction.”…but this book is something entirely different. I wasn’t imagining that I would relate to the anguish that Zofia feels throughout this book. From the start, it pulls you in. Throughout this book you’ll see Zofia’s memories, as she remembers them. At first, it all feels real. Vivid, raw memories that serve as both a reminder and a glimmer of hope. There’s no doubt that she’s experienced some tragic things. Then, things become a little distorted. Zofia’s memories become a little more unstable. There’s something riveting about having a somewhat unreliable narrator.
Along the way, Zofia meets so many people with stories similar to hers. With the same fervent hopes that they’ll be reunited with their loved ones. Each character is so memorable. You’ll remember something about each one. Miriam, who seeks her twin sister after they went through horrible experimentation. Breine, a former heiress who now just wants a simple wedding and quiet life. There’s also Inge. I don’t want to say much about her because of spoilers, but she’s the one that really stuck with me.
There are many small joys scattered throughout this story that are lifelines for all of these characters. Telling stories, hobbies, and reclaiming pieces of the past that were thought lost forever. Romance is another joy…mostly. Zofia’s romantic partner was problematic, and for once I feel like the ending of this type of relationship was completely appropriate.
This story has a perfect ending, at least, in the realm of everything that has happened. It’s not this overtly happy thing that is full of hope, but rather takes a very realistic approach to what’s next for the characters. I have to say, this book truly resonated with me in a way that I didn’t think possible. Truly, all of Monica Hesse’s books have had this effect on me. Her books look into parts of history that most don’t think about. Her author’s notes are worth reading for the historical relevance to the places Monica chooses to focus on. There’s so much respect in her research, and it reflects into her writing. I look forward to her next book, wherever that journey takes us.
This book is undoubtedly a 10/10 for me. It’s powerful, and I hope that this story will resonate with many others. Definitely add this book to your TBR.
May 15, 2020
What a phenomenal read! My heart!
Heart wrenching, thoughtful, informative, hope filled book! This author did not pull any punches!
I love a book that covers all bases! You can tell the author took the time (a lot of time) to research this subject, to really recreate the time and places described in the book. You can taste the food, smell the air, touch the fabric of the clothes, imagine yourself in the protagonists shoes.
This book is a well executed masterpiece! Moral: to have hope in the darkest of places. To find and create your own happiness, when it seems nonexistent!
Truly a heart wrenching read! I really felt like I was walking beside Zofia, Abek, Josef, the other characters in this story, etc. everyone was important!
Ps. This book discusses and showed forms of mental health/ mental illness, trauma, anxiety, etc. (Defined in respect and well researched; represented in good form; explained through clear language.)
Also, for German studies this would be a great read! 100% recommend!
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Quotes:
“Choose to Love.” -pg. 242 (she was choosing to love the person in front of her.)
“The absence of pain is not the same as the presence of happiness. -Pg. 198
The absence of the truth is not the presence of a lie.” -Pg. 199
Heart wrenching, thoughtful, informative, hope filled book! This author did not pull any punches!
I love a book that covers all bases! You can tell the author took the time (a lot of time) to research this subject, to really recreate the time and places described in the book. You can taste the food, smell the air, touch the fabric of the clothes, imagine yourself in the protagonists shoes.
This book is a well executed masterpiece! Moral: to have hope in the darkest of places. To find and create your own happiness, when it seems nonexistent!
Truly a heart wrenching read! I really felt like I was walking beside Zofia, Abek, Josef, the other characters in this story, etc. everyone was important!
Ps. This book discusses and showed forms of mental health/ mental illness, trauma, anxiety, etc. (Defined in respect and well researched; represented in good form; explained through clear language.)
Also, for German studies this would be a great read! 100% recommend!
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Quotes:
“Choose to Love.” -pg. 242 (she was choosing to love the person in front of her.)
“The absence of pain is not the same as the presence of happiness. -Pg. 198
The absence of the truth is not the presence of a lie.” -Pg. 199
April 8, 2021
Very depressing book about a girl trying to find her brother after the end of the holocaust. I wasn't really in the right mental space to read this and didn't enjoy it as much as I could have. I appreciate the unique setting, as most books either focus on the prelude to WWII or the "thick of it" so it was really refreshing to see a book set in the reconstruction period directly following the end of the war. It's good and well written and I thought it was decent, but I feel that I have been over-glutted on WWII historical fics.
July 25, 2020
Reading Rush: Day 5
Fulfilled the genre prompt.
Fulfilled the genre prompt.
April 20, 2021
This book was heartbreakingly good. Enjoyed the writing.
December 23, 2023
My heart is still recovering from this...
But oh my gosh was it an absolutely amazing story. The characters, the twists and turns were awesome! I would've never guessed, it wasn't blatantly obvious which I enjoyed. Again, another side of the war that people wouldn't know. I know this is fictional but Zofia's story seemed so real, and her struggles have really stuck with me. And I hope they'll stick with every reader. I never expected for another book to shatter my heart into a million pieces like The Paper Girl of Paris by: Jordyn Taylor did, but this almost hurt worse. This book didn't have a boring patch like Girl in the Blue Coat did for me, I would re-read this any day unlike that one. Please read this! This is the end of the non-spoilers so others who have read this can continue from here :)
But oh my gosh was it an absolutely amazing story. The characters, the twists and turns were awesome! I would've never guessed, it wasn't blatantly obvious which I enjoyed. Again, another side of the war that people wouldn't know. I know this is fictional but Zofia's story seemed so real, and her struggles have really stuck with me. And I hope they'll stick with every reader. I never expected for another book to shatter my heart into a million pieces like The Paper Girl of Paris by: Jordyn Taylor did, but this almost hurt worse. This book didn't have a boring patch like Girl in the Blue Coat did for me, I would re-read this any day unlike that one. Please read this! This is the end of the non-spoilers so others who have read this can continue from here :)
February 20, 2020
A gorgeous, heartbreaking tale about the life of a young woman after the liberation of the Gross-Rosen concentration camp, THEY WENT LEFT asks how we move forward after the unimaginable. This book haunted me for weeks; it’s the kind of novel that has the power to change you, forever, for the better.
I particularly appreciated the way THEY WENT LEFT spun its memory tale, probing the depths of the human psyche after trauma. I hope everyone finds their way to this story at some time or other. Ultimately, it’s a study of how hope might be born, even from the ruins of unthinkable destruction.
I particularly appreciated the way THEY WENT LEFT spun its memory tale, probing the depths of the human psyche after trauma. I hope everyone finds their way to this story at some time or other. Ultimately, it’s a study of how hope might be born, even from the ruins of unthinkable destruction.
July 23, 2020
Oh so you SAD sad 😭😭. This shit HURTED but I liked that about it.
They Went Left is about a girl named Zofia who has just been liberated from a concentration camp in 1945. They said the war is over but nothing feels over to Zofia whose body has just begun to heal but her mind feels broken. Three years ago, her and her younger brother Abek were the only ones in their family sent right- away from the gas chambers. Eventually they were split up but now that they are out, Zofia wants to find him. The search for a missing boy is near impossible though as she meets new people at a refugee camp.
Quick talk about how I still dislike WWII novels and the two single books I've liked don't change that (don't @ me but you can also @ me idc.) Like really, people be like, I love historical fiction!!! and then pull out their tons of WWII YA books like bruh but a n y w a y s.
This book was an interesting one for me because it takes place after the fact, and is all about healing, recovery, and finding family. There was a romance in here that I would like to pretend never happened so I do not see it. There were moments between them that were really good but also no.
The audiobook for this was SO good but it was so wild to listen to this while I was playing a damn Spongebob Squarepants game like ??? pick literally any other audiobook to play with that game sis???
This book was so sad but also hopeful? Zofia was a strong character and to say she's been through some shit is even too lightly for what her and what actual people have gone through, not even that long ago and still go through. One of the reasons why books like this kinda ick me out like, I'm literally reading a fictional story about terrible real world suffering... for fun? Idk man but this book slapped the fuck out of me.
Part of my enjoyment was really (just like the last book by this author I liked, huh), a mystery. It is seemingly solved pretty early. But then I just made a wild guess about what it was really about and then it just kept showing further evidence to prove I was right, but I didn't want to be right. Either way, the ending to this book was so emotional and I was a mess.
I haven't really reviewed in a while so excuse my incoherence but I really liked this book. The emotional ride and journey of Zofia and these characters was very hardhitting and even after waiting a bit to review, I'm still thinking about it.
They Went Left is about a girl named Zofia who has just been liberated from a concentration camp in 1945. They said the war is over but nothing feels over to Zofia whose body has just begun to heal but her mind feels broken. Three years ago, her and her younger brother Abek were the only ones in their family sent right- away from the gas chambers. Eventually they were split up but now that they are out, Zofia wants to find him. The search for a missing boy is near impossible though as she meets new people at a refugee camp.
Quick talk about how I still dislike WWII novels and the two single books I've liked don't change that (don't @ me but you can also @ me idc.) Like really, people be like, I love historical fiction!!! and then pull out their tons of WWII YA books like bruh but a n y w a y s.
This book was an interesting one for me because it takes place after the fact, and is all about healing, recovery, and finding family. There was a romance in here that I would like to pretend never happened so I do not see it. There were moments between them that were really good but also no.
The audiobook for this was SO good but it was so wild to listen to this while I was playing a damn Spongebob Squarepants game like ??? pick literally any other audiobook to play with that game sis???
This book was so sad but also hopeful? Zofia was a strong character and to say she's been through some shit is even too lightly for what her and what actual people have gone through, not even that long ago and still go through. One of the reasons why books like this kinda ick me out like, I'm literally reading a fictional story about terrible real world suffering... for fun? Idk man but this book slapped the fuck out of me.
Part of my enjoyment was really (just like the last book by this author I liked, huh), a mystery. It is seemingly solved pretty early. But then I just made a wild guess about what it was really about and then it just kept showing further evidence to prove I was right, but I didn't want to be right. Either way, the ending to this book was so emotional and I was a mess.
I haven't really reviewed in a while so excuse my incoherence but I really liked this book. The emotional ride and journey of Zofia and these characters was very hardhitting and even after waiting a bit to review, I'm still thinking about it.
November 28, 2020
Trigger warnings: war, Holocaust, death of family members, implications of sexual assault against children, mental health, mentions of medical experimentation, grief, antisemitism, assault, PTSD.
3.75 stars.
I desperately wanted to love this because there are so few stories written about what comes after the war, what comes when the camps are freed and people have to try to find their families and start their lives again. And there are even fewer written for a young adult audience. So I really did want to love it.
And for the most part, I did. But I saw certain plot twists coming a long way away, which meant that when they finally hit, they didn't have the emotional impact for me that they were supposed to.
This did a good job of balancing the hope for the future with the harshness of reality - Zofia has spent the whole war dreaming of returning home only to find that when she does, the neighbours she's known her entire life are antisemitic and don't want her living in the building. And yet there are still people falling in love and choosing to spend their lives together despite everything they've just been through and the fact that they're living in a refugee camp with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
Zofia's mental health was well handled - she has missing memories, she disassociates, her thoughts go in loops - and I did like the overall message. But there were aspects of the story that felt rushed, and given that the book is nearly 400 pages long, there's no real reason for that to be the case.
There was also one particular moment that made me side eye the book:
Ultimately, this was a book about hope and I did enjoy (as much as one can, given the subject matter) reading it. But there were just a few elements and plot points that didn't quite work for me.
3.75 stars.
I desperately wanted to love this because there are so few stories written about what comes after the war, what comes when the camps are freed and people have to try to find their families and start their lives again. And there are even fewer written for a young adult audience. So I really did want to love it.
And for the most part, I did. But I saw certain plot twists coming a long way away, which meant that when they finally hit, they didn't have the emotional impact for me that they were supposed to.
This did a good job of balancing the hope for the future with the harshness of reality - Zofia has spent the whole war dreaming of returning home only to find that when she does, the neighbours she's known her entire life are antisemitic and don't want her living in the building. And yet there are still people falling in love and choosing to spend their lives together despite everything they've just been through and the fact that they're living in a refugee camp with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
Zofia's mental health was well handled - she has missing memories, she disassociates, her thoughts go in loops - and I did like the overall message. But there were aspects of the story that felt rushed, and given that the book is nearly 400 pages long, there's no real reason for that to be the case.
There was also one particular moment that made me side eye the book:
Ultimately, this was a book about hope and I did enjoy (as much as one can, given the subject matter) reading it. But there were just a few elements and plot points that didn't quite work for me.
November 8, 2020
Find this and other reviews at: https://historicalfictionreader.blogs...
If I had stopped to think, I would have saved Monica Hesse's They Went Left for another time. I do not think anyone is truly ready for a story like this, but I was not craving something intense when it fell into my lap. That said, I did not stop, and I'm not at all sorry I jumped straight into it. The world's state had me in a funk when I started this book, but there is a beauty in hard stories, an importance to embracing the themes on which they are based, and I think that reality worthy of note, even when one doesn't feel up to the material.
A traumatized and desperate eighteen-year-old, Zofia is adrift in a sea of displaced persons. Her fractured psyche breaks the heart, but her character is a moving testament to the generation who survived the chaos and atrocities of the Nazi regime. Hesse is not the first author of my experience to tackle this subject matter, but They Went Left resonates on a level few titles can match.
Though marketed as a Young Adult novel, I would have no trouble recommending this piece to anyone interested in World War II fiction. Its raw and unflinching illustration of the postwar period and the trauma of liberation is haunting, but its rendering of the oft-overlooked fortitude of Holocaust survivors makes it an absolute must-read.
If I had stopped to think, I would have saved Monica Hesse's They Went Left for another time. I do not think anyone is truly ready for a story like this, but I was not craving something intense when it fell into my lap. That said, I did not stop, and I'm not at all sorry I jumped straight into it. The world's state had me in a funk when I started this book, but there is a beauty in hard stories, an importance to embracing the themes on which they are based, and I think that reality worthy of note, even when one doesn't feel up to the material.
A traumatized and desperate eighteen-year-old, Zofia is adrift in a sea of displaced persons. Her fractured psyche breaks the heart, but her character is a moving testament to the generation who survived the chaos and atrocities of the Nazi regime. Hesse is not the first author of my experience to tackle this subject matter, but They Went Left resonates on a level few titles can match.
Though marketed as a Young Adult novel, I would have no trouble recommending this piece to anyone interested in World War II fiction. Its raw and unflinching illustration of the postwar period and the trauma of liberation is haunting, but its rendering of the oft-overlooked fortitude of Holocaust survivors makes it an absolute must-read.
September 5, 2020
A difficult book to read, because it is about the horrors of the Holocaust, and therefore filled with much sadness. A book I would categorize as a “five-hanky read”, because one would have to be made of stone not to tear up while reading it. This book is also a wonderful account of people who, despite the unspeakable atrocities they suffered at the hands of the Nazis, survived and refused to lose their very humanity.
Due to the subject matter, I would recommend this for very mature Y.A. readers and older, with adult guidance. The author’s notes at the end would make this a valuable teaching tool to use in high-school classrooms.
Due to the subject matter, I would recommend this for very mature Y.A. readers and older, with adult guidance. The author’s notes at the end would make this a valuable teaching tool to use in high-school classrooms.
December 1, 2025
Incredibly unique plot for a post WWII book. Most books focus on the trials of concentration camps. This book focuses on the pain of returning to society. I truly enjoyed reading it
June 18, 2024
3.5 - I think I did myself a disservice by listening to the audio version of this book. The narration was overly dramatic, portraying female characters as stereotypically whiny, ‘damsels in distress’ - when in reality, the protagonist was suffering PTSD, disassociation, and grief from her experience of the Holocaust. The narrator was unable to portray this nuance and it detracted from the story and the listening experience. I can only describe it as D Grade acting. I will never listen to an audio by this narrator again.
This book most likely (based on it’s GR rating and reviews) would have been four stars (at least) and I regret that I didn’t read the physical book instead.
A harrowing story of a young girl who loses her family to the Holocaust; represses memories as a coping mechanism; goes on a journey to try and find her missing brother only to finally remember, after many months, how he had perished.
I should have been absorbed and moved by this story, but the audio failed to portray it in the way it deserved.
Read the book instead - I’m sure it’s a gem.
This book most likely (based on it’s GR rating and reviews) would have been four stars (at least) and I regret that I didn’t read the physical book instead.
A harrowing story of a young girl who loses her family to the Holocaust; represses memories as a coping mechanism; goes on a journey to try and find her missing brother only to finally remember, after many months, how he had perished.
I should have been absorbed and moved by this story, but the audio failed to portray it in the way it deserved.
Read the book instead - I’m sure it’s a gem.
February 4, 2022
Os Que Ficaram Para Trás é um livro sobre tristeza e esperança, que nos conta a história de Zofia, cuja família foi morta ao chegar a Auschwitz/Birkenau. Os únicos sobreviventes são a própria Zofia e o irmão, Abek.
Depois do fim da guerra, o único objetivo de Zofia é encontrar o irmão, a quem prometeu que nunca se separariam. Zofia lida simultaneamente com a tristeza pelo que passou e com a esperança no futuro que estava por vir.
Sensível e maravilhosamente bem escrito, lê-se num fôlego.
Depois do fim da guerra, o único objetivo de Zofia é encontrar o irmão, a quem prometeu que nunca se separariam. Zofia lida simultaneamente com a tristeza pelo que passou e com a esperança no futuro que estava por vir.
Sensível e maravilhosamente bem escrito, lê-se num fôlego.
October 11, 2022
This provided a really unique perspective to World War II that I haven’t encountered in other historical fiction books. This takes place after the war as families are trying to reunite and re-establish their lives. This was really emotional and things definitely did not go how I had expected! The writing was done really well and I felt really connected to the characters.
March 22, 2023
4 stars
emotional read about the aftermath of the holocaust. definitely pick this up.
emotional read about the aftermath of the holocaust. definitely pick this up.
April 20, 2021
Cuando pensamos en el fin de la Segunda Guerra Mundial muchas veces lo relacionamos con un final feliz pues es el fin de la guerra ¿no? Esta historia comienza con el final de este suceso, Zofia es una sobreviviente de Gross-Rosen y está en busca de su hermano, las heridas emocionales y físicas a las que fue sometida no han sanado y posiblemente nunca lo hagan, sin embargo, en esta búsqueda, que no es tarea fácil, también se descubre a sí misma y va desentrañando los misterios que pueden ayudarle o no a comenzar de nuevo.
No suelo leer estos libros porque siento que me ponen muy triste y me desesperan, sin embargo, me animé a leerla porque sentí que la idea del comienzo y el tiempo de la postguerra no siempre nos la cuentan, pensamos que todo termina con un final feliz y no siempre es así, acá Monica Hesse tiene una narración muy amena, directa y que logra engancharte de inmediato a los misterios, sin dejar de lado que es muy delicada en cómo cuenta cada cosa.
Si te gusta la novela histórica o esta temática, sí creo que es un libro que será de tu interés, porque aborda detalles que pocos mencionan.
No suelo leer estos libros porque siento que me ponen muy triste y me desesperan, sin embargo, me animé a leerla porque sentí que la idea del comienzo y el tiempo de la postguerra no siempre nos la cuentan, pensamos que todo termina con un final feliz y no siempre es así, acá Monica Hesse tiene una narración muy amena, directa y que logra engancharte de inmediato a los misterios, sin dejar de lado que es muy delicada en cómo cuenta cada cosa.
Si te gusta la novela histórica o esta temática, sí creo que es un libro que será de tu interés, porque aborda detalles que pocos mencionan.
March 6, 2021
They Went Left was a powerful and heartbreaking historical fiction novel set during the aftermath of the Second World War. For me, it was thus setting that drew me in. So many historical novels tackle WWII, but very rarely do you the story of those who survived and how they have continue on despite the trauma that they have experienced. Here, eighteen year old Zofia is alone in the days following the war's end, the majority of her family dead, and it’s only the hope that she will be reunited with her younger brother that keeps her going. Following Zofia as she adjusts to her new reality is heartbreaking - she’s lived through experiences that you can’t simply forget. But, the glimpses of hope that she encounters with those around her help her find some healing.
This was the best teen book that I’ve read in a long time. And I think there's lots of crossover appeal for adult historical fiction readers too. Highly recommended.
This was the best teen book that I’ve read in a long time. And I think there's lots of crossover appeal for adult historical fiction readers too. Highly recommended.
October 26, 2019
This book was phenomenal, and I think my favourite of Hesse's books so far.
Zofia has survived a number of concentration camps and is now beginning the work of trying to reunite with her younger brother. She is doing that through a patchwork of numerous charities - no central database and with the possibility that he has died/been mislabeled in German files/wants to move on without reuniting hanging over the process.
I thought Hesse's choice to explore the immediate post-war era was inspired - I've read a bit about this period of time, but never about how the war affected everyday displaced people, usually I've read about the government/Yalta conference macro reorganization of Europe.
The characters are richly drawn, and the unreliable narration kept me on my toes. I highly recommend this story.
Thank you to the publisher, via Edelweiss, for providing me with an e-arc for review.
Zofia has survived a number of concentration camps and is now beginning the work of trying to reunite with her younger brother. She is doing that through a patchwork of numerous charities - no central database and with the possibility that he has died/been mislabeled in German files/wants to move on without reuniting hanging over the process.
I thought Hesse's choice to explore the immediate post-war era was inspired - I've read a bit about this period of time, but never about how the war affected everyday displaced people, usually I've read about the government/Yalta conference macro reorganization of Europe.
The characters are richly drawn, and the unreliable narration kept me on my toes. I highly recommend this story.
Thank you to the publisher, via Edelweiss, for providing me with an e-arc for review.
November 19, 2020
One doesn't see as many books about the aftermath of WW2, and this story is one that needs to be told over and over. Just because the war was over doesn't mean the horror stopped. Zofia's story had a pit in my stomach the whole book, I just wanted her horror to stop, Hesse did an amazing job of bringing true emotion to this sad but hopeful time in history.
March 12, 2021
This book broke my heart. It was so beautiful but so sad and yet the end was full of hope. It is quite possibly my favorite book I've read so far this year.
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