The Woman with the Blue Star by Pam Jenoff


It's 1942 and 18-year-old Sadie Gault and her parents are trapped within the walls of the Krakow ghetto. When the Nazis begin to liquidate, Sadie and her pregnant mother have to make a split second decision. Pam Jenoff's portrayal of this life or death moment will make you feel as though you are the one staring into the hole beneath the toilet as you come to the realization that the sewage pipe is your only option for survival. 

Once Sadie discovers they are meant to live in the sewer, she is forced to adapt to an even more horrifying existence as the war rages on in the streets above. When she is seen peering out of the grate by a young Polish girl in the market, a friendship is forged that gives them each hope and purpose to survive the war. Both girls will have to make dangerous decisions in order to help each other, leading to a climax that will leave you stunned. 

"You need to do better," Pan Rosenberg said before I could speak. He pointed upward. "Up there, almost no more Jews live.... We are the last of our kind and down here we are alive. You owe it to your parents to go on."

Based on true stories from survivors of the Holocaust, Pam Jenoff will transport you to life under the Nazi Regime, both above and below ground. 


Leave a comment