Review: "Lilac Girls" by Martha Hall Kelly

Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly ***** 01/24/16

I found this book to be a page turner!! I couldn’t put it down and was sorry when I was finished. This is the story of three separate women during World War II who, although strangers, touched each other’s lives. Caroline Ferriday is a former Broadway actress who now donates her time to the French Consulate trying to help displaced French citizens. Kasia Kuzmerick is a young Polish girl living in Lubin when the Germans invade. She is arrested on false pretenses, along with her sister and mother and sent to Ravensbrück, the only major concentration camp exclusively for women where everyone is forced to endure untenable circumstances and unbelievable cruelty. Herta Oberheuser is the only female German doctor who is assigned to Ravensbrück where she must decide if she will be the problem or the solution for the female prisoners.

The writing style chosen by the author enhances the story and makes it very riveting. Each woman tells her account and experiences in her own voice which allows you to feel as though you are there and enduring everyone’s drama and pain. You are compelled to keep reading to not only ease your mind that all the characters survive but also how their lives eventually intertwine.

I highly recommend this book. It is loosely based on Caroline’s and Herta’s lives with the character of Kasia based on a compilation of different women and their time at Ravensbrück. It is a moving account of all the characters. It enlightened me to a part of history that I knew nothing about but am now bound to research more. I would not recommend this book for preteen readers because some of the situations are disturbing.