Play Book Tag discussion

After being thrown out of her parents' home at the age of 16, Noa, who became pregnant by a German soldier, gives birth to a son who is immediately taken from her to be raised with other children in the Nazi regime. Noa finds a pitiful job at a railway station where she cleans and a small room above the station in which to live. One day she hears a crying sound coming from a boxcar and she stealthily pries open the doors and, to her horror, she sees dozens of infants lying in the cold. Impulsively she snatches a baby boy and flees the station. Facing freezing temperatures and near starvation, Noa happens upon a traveling German circus. She is given shelter but is told she must earn her keep and that of her baby 'brother' she has named Theo. A beautiful aerialist, Astrid, tells Noa she will train her on the trapeze. Initially terrified, Noa becomes adept at flying and she and Astrid quickly become rivals. As threats from Nazi soldiers begin to affect the circus, Astrid and Noa find themselves becoming close, the two realizing they would do anything to protect one another and Theo.

I enjoyed the setting for this World War II novel: a circus. The two women are strong characters who have certainly faced unbelievable hardships in their short lives. The slowly evolving friendship is lovely and their dedication to one another is heartening. This is certainly not a happy book and the ending will cause a few tears to flow but I recommend it.

I thought this one was extremely well done!