BOOK NOOK REVIEWS: Irma Joubert

 

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Title: The Girl From The Train
Authors: Irma Joubert
Publisher: Harper Collins Christian Publishing
Ages: Adult

Synopsis:

 

Six-year-old Gretl Schmidt is on a train bound for Auschwitz. Jakób Kowalski is planting a bomb on the tracks. Gretl escapes the train only to find herself lost in a country that hates her Jewish ancestry. Hurt and alone, Jakob discovers her and guilt prompts him to help her. For the next three years the two form a bond over the secrets they hide from his family.

Eventually Gretl is sent to South Africa, where German war orphans are promised bright futures with adoptive Protestant families—so long as Gretl’s Jewish roots, Catholic education, and connections to communist Poland are never discovered.
Saying goodbye to the only friend she has, Gretl is fearful they will never see each other again. But the events they have both survived have laid a foundation of love that even being separated by politics, religion, language, and years can’t undo.

Why I think you should read it:

 

From the very first moment when I’m falling from the train with Gretl and trying to defend myself against the cuts and bruises of rolling down the hillside, I was on a literary journey like no other. Gretl’s fears were my own as I wondered how she would survive hiding from the German search dogs or even find shelter in a country who despised her Jewish heritage?

Ms. Joubert is a magical storyteller who weaves gripping suspense with heart wrenching emotion into a story based on true events about a little orphan fighting to survive the effects of the Nazi war effort. Little Gretl can’t even relax her guard when she finds herself adopted by Protestant parents because one slip of her tongue could reveal her past and seal her doom. I was on the edge of my seat until the very last page. An absolute MUST read!

Like-o-meter Rating scale **:  5 out of 5…grab it!

5 out of 5…grab it!

4 out of 5…think about it.

3 out of 5…take it or leave it.

2 out of 5…maybe not for you.

1 out of 5…forget about it!

Donna L

Hybrid award winning author; aspiring sketch artist; and 4th Degree Senior Certified Taekwondo Instructor. Host of BOOK NOOK REVIEWS. Member of SCBWI. Mom to fabulous son and adventurer delving into the tricky world of indie-publishing.

One thought on “BOOK NOOK REVIEWS: Irma Joubert

  • May 8, 2019 at 6:11 pm
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    I read this book and I loved it.

    Reply

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