I was pleased to receive a review copy directly from the publisher as a major fan of the author's first book. The Daughter's Tale is based on a true story. This was a well done, but heartbreaking tale of a young Jewish mother's desperate attempt to save her two daughters. After Amanda Sternberg's husband is taken off to a concentration camp, she manages to escape 1939 Berlin for what she hopes is a safe haven in southern France with the widow her husband's old friend & colleague. Amanda's husband has left her instructions to put both their young daughters on a ship sailing to Cuba, where they could be safe with Amanda's brother. Amanda has second thoughts and makes a tough decision to send only the older daughter. Will she forever regret this decision? The author captured me from the opening chapter set in present day New York, when two woman show up at the home of Elise Duval, a French Catholic who arrived in the city who arrived just after WWII. The women come bearing letters purported to be written by Elise's mother in German, written to a daughter in Cuba and a daughter she left behind in France, before being taken by the German SS. #TheDaughtersTale #NetGalley

Reading this precious book hurt my heart. Beautifully written but devastatingly heartbreaking and based on actual events that happened during World War II so prepare yourself before reading.

World War II fiction is an immensely crowded field, and while this was an interesting story, particularly the part inspired by a real massacre at Oradour- Sur- Glane, it did little else to stand out from the pack.

The first half of the book was far more compelling. There was real emotion tied up in the “what would a mother do for her child?” trope. After the transition, I found myself not really caring. Barring The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, I find WWII books with children as the main character to be remarkably devoid of impact. This was not an exception. The writing was flat, the areas that should’ve been high impact were sanitized, and the ending was given away by the beginning and it was not a satisfying one at that.

3.5 stars.

A book about the lengths a mother will go to to save her children during the second world war, The Daughter's Tale should be an emotional and memorable book. Unfortunately, for me, I found the writing uninspiring and somewhat flat, lacking the power or emotion I hoped for. I never felt fully invested in the story being told. I was initially drawn to the book because the tragic story of Oradour- Sur- Glane, the site of a horrific massacre by German occupying forces during the war, and the publishers information mentioned that part of the book was set there. The book tells the story of Andrea Sternberg and her family. At the onset of the war they are living in Berlin where she runs a book shop and her husband is a respected doctor. However as a jew , he is soon arrested and imprisoned, so Andrea and their two daughters are forced to flee. Facing an impossible choice, Andrea separates her children, sending her older daughter, Viera, to a brother in Cuba while going into hiding in France with her youngest daughter , Lina. As the war spreads to France they eventually find themselves imprisoned in a camp and Andrea must fight with every fiber of her being to help her child escape.
The story of the family's separation is of course a sad one, but I did not feel the emotional connection with the characters that I had hoped to. I also wish that the author had told us more of both daughter's stories , but really the focus was almost entirely on Andrea and Lina's story. This is a shame, as Viera's story would have brought an interesting extra dimension and added a more unusual setting to the book . I did appreciate the historical notes included at the end of the book.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

I just finished this book and know I will remember it for a long time. It a very beautifully written heart wrenching story of a German Jewish family torn apart by the Nazis in WWII. It is based on true events and examines the agony of a mother forced to part with one of her daughters. I appreciate books like this that help to expose and force us to remember the atrocities committed in this war. I was captivated by this story from the very beginning and felt connected to the characters. My thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for an advance copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
#Thedaughterstale #NetGalley

I have been consumed by WWII Historical Fiction in the past few years andI really enjoying the German Girl by Armando Lucas Correa. When I learned of his next book, The Daughter’s Tale, I was thrilled to receive an advanced reader’s copy from the publisher and NetGalley. I was not disappointed. Armando Lucas Correa is an excellent writer. I was captivated from the first chapter and I highly recommend this book to any WWII historical fiction fans. What happened to the Jewish community in WWII was unthinkable and horrific. This book focuses on a specific Jewish family and the commitment to survival a mother has to protect her children. The author’s research into these atrocities mixed with his gift for bringing these events to life made this book a five star review from me. I look forward to his future books.

Although the historical fiction shelves are certainly crowded right now with books on World War 2, The Daughter's Tale is a standout. Most war stories deal with abandonment and loss in some form, but The Daughter's Tale puts a slightly different twist on the story. Told from multiple perspectives the reader examines the ties that bind us and the values that define us. This book captured my attention from the first page and even after finishing reading it, I am still reflecting on it.

3.5 Stars* (rounded down)

A Story of Heartbreak, Loss and Family.

Amanda Sternberg is crushed when her husband is taken into custody by the Nazi’s. His fate is sealed. Amanda is left to care for her two children, Viera and Lina. Her husband left strict instructions for her to send them on a refugee ship (The St. Louis) to Havana. Amanda cannot bear the thought of losing both her girls. Viera is old enough to take care of herself, Lina is not, thus Amanda makes an impossible choice, sending Viera on her own to Cuba.

Amanda and Lina are then taken by the Nazi’s into a Labor Camp, where Amanda endures and sacrifices for her daughter, until the day Lina can escape to a French Village. There, Lina, now known as Elise, learns what it means to survive, to exist, to persist and to love.

“The Daughter’s Tale” is a novel that grapples with the relationship between mothers and daughters and sisters and the family you make in the most difficult of times. I had previously read Armando Lucas Correa’s “The German Girl” and loved it and while I liked “The Daughter’s Tale” I was not left with quite the same feeling after reading it. It lacked the same emotional bandwidth. Throughout the novel I desperately wanted to know more about little Viera’s story and unfortunately that story was never told and I felt that was a missed opportunity as Lina/Elise’s story didn’t captivate me. Armando Lucas Correa’s writing is however lyrical and lovely and I think this novel is to be enjoyed by lovers of historical fiction.

Thank you to Mirtha Pena at Atria, NetGalley and Armando Lucas Correa for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Published on NetGalley and Goodreads on 5.1.19.
*Will be published on Amazon on 5.7.19.

The Daughter's Tale was an excellent read - probably one of my favorites so far this year.

Elise Duval is a French woman nearing the end of her life in 2015 when two strangers show up with letters found in Cuba that are meant for her. Through these letters, she faces a past she has kept hidden for almost 70 years.

Amanda Sternberg was a Jewish woman living in Berlin with her husband and two daughters before the outbreak of WWII. After her husband is killed by the Nazis, she tries to save her daughters from the Nazis at all costs. After sending her older daughter to Cuba on the ill fated St. Louis, she ends up in France with her youngest daughter and has to find a way to save her life.

Through the retelling of true life events, we see the lengths anyone may have to go to in order to save the ones they love. This story is gripping and moving. I felt for Amanda as she made seemingly impossible decisions in order to keep her children safe. Things most of us would never consider under normal circumstances are the hard choices the people in this book had to make.

The atrocities committed by the Nazis are nothing new to readers who regularly read books set in this time period, like me, but the massacre at Oradour-Sur-Glane, in Haute-Vienne, France was not a story I had read before,

If you enjoyed the German Girl (which is linked to this book by a family connection), you will love the Daughter's Tale. (I hope we get another book on the daughter sent to Cuba - I'd love to read that as well!)

Thanks to Atria Books, NetGalley and to the author Armando Lucas Correa for allowing me the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book!

This was a sad story but also one of survival and courage. It is a book that will stay with you.

I would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

I’ve read quite a few books set during World War II and always seem to come across a piece of history that I didn’t know much about. With this novel it was a mix of events I was aware of and some events that I had heard of only in the vaguest sense.

The story centers around a young mother and her two daughters and begins at the start of World War II. The mother, Amanda Sternberg, was to place her two daughters alone on a ship bound for Cuba, then she was to go to the home of a family friend in France to wait out the war until the family could be re-united. Shockingly, Amanda decides to send the older daughter alone at the last moment.

I was a bit surprised that readers were not privy to the older daughter’s journey. Instead, the author focused on Amanda and the younger daughter named Lina or Elise. The story begins and ends in 2015, but delves back into the past to chronicle the events that occurred during the war.

Most notable was the horrific act the Nazis carried out on the small small French village of Oradour-sur-Glane. From here on, the story centers around young Lina/Elise and what ends up happening to her.

I think avid historical fiction or World War II enthusiasts will not find this book holds anything new, but others who aren’t as well read in these areas will be captivated by the story. I felt that most of it revolved around the plight of the displaced children and from reading the book, it had me wondering just how many people survived the war with no family and possibly not even knowing who they really were or even who their parents had been.

Many thanks to Net-Galley and Atria Books for allowing me to read an advance copy of offer an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the providing me with a free ARC of this novel.

While not quite as gripping as The German Girl, the author’s previous novel, The Daughter’s Tale is nevertheless worth reading. The format of the novel is bookended with the first and last chapters taking place in the present while the bulk of the novel centers during the years 1938-1945.

Forced to make difficult decisions to ensure the safety of her two daughters, Amanda makes various choices, some wise and some not. One daughter, Viera, ends up in Cuba and we don’t find out anything more about her in this novel (although her story and her connection to Elise are provided in The German Girl.) The younger daughter ends up in France and experiences tragedies and loss after loss of those she loves or comes to depend upon. I felt that her time in France ends rather abruptly and leaves too many unanswered questions that are not fully resolved.

The chapters that take place in the present seem disjointed and don’t satisfactorily address Elise’s story. It’s not easy to distinguish the actual facts of her life from her imaginings of what might have been.

I give this novel 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 stars.

This book follows the lives of a Jewish girl, Lina Sternberg, and her mother Amanda who must flee from France during WWII. While there is a lot of heartbreak and loss in this book, I did enjoy the beautiful friendships Lina and Amanda were able to make in the midst of such terrible times. Also, watching Amanda make choices in life to protect her children made me ponder the lengths I would go to as a parent to protect my children. Fans of WWII who like books that give them circumstances to ponder should find this to be an interesting read.

"Where they burn books, they will also end up burning people," is quoted in this marvellous novel based on two real events during WWII.
Firstly the massacre by Nazis of over 600 people in the village of Oradour-sur-Glane in the Limoges region of France on June 10 1944 and the failed attempt to rescue the majority of German Jewish refugees on MS St Louis who were heading for safety in Cuba in May 1939 who were rejected and returned to Germany.
Into these scenarios the best selling author of 'The German Girl' tells us of Elise Duval in New York in 2015 who is visited by echoes of her past life and childhood when a woman and her daughter arrive with a box of letters. They had been originally sent to a girl Viera, by her mother who had risked her own life and collaborated with the enemy on many occasions to save her two daughters - one of whom is Elise.
From the early years of Berlin being taken over by the Nazis as Amanda Sternberg, who runs the 'The Garden of Letters' bookshop and her husband Julius, a talented heart surgeon to the growing retreat from France by the German army we follow Amanda and her two daughters, Viera and Lina as they try to escape death and despair with the tiny remnants of their happy Jewish lives.
The dye is cast when Amanda and Julius return to find all the books taken from their shop and burnt under the instruction of 'Twelve Theses' pamphlet (echoing the real incident in Openplatz where 20,000 books were lost in flames) and the family and their lives at school, work or even walking down the nearby streets is under surveillance.
At every turn, especially when Amanda is forced to make an impossible choice at the dock as the ship leaves for Cuba, the mother and daughter find only temporary safety with friends and later members of the French Resistance
Through the words of the letters haunting Amanda as Mama to lost Viera to the temporary reprieve of safety in an Abbey and the wonderful character of Father Marcel the story evolves with extraordinary hope despite the backdrop of cruelty and despair.
Wonderful characters, sympathetic plot development using horrendous research against the innocence of childhood being shaken to the core I loved this novel and learnt so much alongside being immersed into a story which although needing hope and happiness showed the optimism of lives wrecked by life events of which we today can never understand.

Choices, we make them every day. I made a choice to read The Daughter's Tale by Armando Lucas Correa and you are reading my choice to review this book. Let's start at the beginning: In 2015, Elise Duval gets a packet hand-delivered by a blue-eyed girl from Cuba that contains letters written by her mother. Then we flash back to a bookshop owner named Amanda and her cardiologist husband, Julius, as Nazis are taking over Germany. We follow along as they deal with issues of being Jews in 1930's Germany and raising two young daughters, Viera & Lina.

The biggest plot point is a choice Amanda makes on her way to hiding in the South of France. From there we see the results of the choice. How it affects Amanda and the daughter we follow and other people. The main theme is how one choice can vibrate through time and affect things in ways we could never think at the moment.

The Daughter's Tale has extreme violence as it shows conditions in a WWII labor camp and several massacres and murders. I am not sensitive to such content but it should be noted for those would find it triggering. I would compare it to Shindler's List in the content.

What I found between the suffering was the connections made with the characters. The cast of characters is widespread and yet you learn about many of them on a deeper level. Then there is the sensitive topic of survivors guilt bookending the story. What if the choice was different?

I found The Daughter's Tale to not be enjoyable per se, but; to be impactive. Especially in times like these, where we find the tinder is set even if the fire has not started just yet. War is never a pleasant topic of a story and I find myself putting down many a book that glorifies war or cleans it up for plot device. This book shows the gory details to illustrate how choices and guilt in the face of extreme circumstances change people's souls and life.

Four Stars

The Daughter's Tale will be published on May 7th, 2019.

Thank you to NetGalley & Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

Characters created with such heart they will stay with you long after the book is finished. Set in Berlin and various cities surrounding Germany during WWII, you experience the highs and lows of a family struggling with their fates, children born into war, and love that knows no limits. Beautifully written, hauntingly based on fact, and memorable in every sense! Highly recommend!!

I received an ARC copy in exchange for my honest review. I love history books and this book did not disappoint! Definitely a page turner! A sad story of a mother trying her best to keep her daughter's safe. And their sad struggles to stay alive. It also shows kindness from others trying to help them make it through their nightmare. I highly recommend this book to anyone but especially those who like historical fiction. Thank you Net Galley and the publisher for this advanced copy!

This was a wonderful tale. I won’t go back over the full description; it is very well said. We start out in 2015 with letters being delivered to an elderly lady from an unknown stranger, until she looks into the daughter’s blue eyes and her life takes a turn. Then we take off into the past in the 1930’s and meet up with Amanda, Julius, Viera and Lina as the war is ramping up. We follow the many disintegrating conditions for the Jewish population in a very well researched way.
I truly enjoyed this story, especially the way it was written, it held my attention all the way through. I fell in love with all the characters, especially Amanda, Maman, Danielle and Father Marcel. I do wish we would have switched back and forth a little bit to learn more about how Viera survived during those years, but staying with Lina (Elise) and her trials and tribulations she had to endure kept me utterly entertained.
This is a wonderful book and I highly recommend with a high 5 stars.
I was given an advanced copy from Atria Books through Net Galley for my honest review, this one gets a high 5*****’s.

3 1/2 stars

Even though we believe we are aware of the atrocities that occurred during the Holocaust. I never cease to be amazed at just how absolutely inhumane they truly were. Throughout this book the reader is reminded of what was lost during that time, the lives, the books, the humanity.

<i>“Where they burn books, they will also end up burning people”.</i>

The Daughter's Tale traces the life of a little girl from birth to death. Elise is saved throughout the book through the kindness of others who are always protecting her, Tragically, she loses almost everyone in her young life through their sacrifices. In addition, the book uses one of the horrific events of W II as part of its story. It is the unspeakable fate of the people who lived in a small French village known as Oradour-Sur-Glane where the Nazis locked the women and children in a church and set it on fire and shot all of the men. The brutality of what the French people survived during that time was heartbreaking.

At the end of the book, Elise carries so much guilt because she never felt that she deserved the life she ultimately received. I believe in the end, she was able to see that it was a gift and she could die peacefully and meet her loved ones on the other side.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I first learned about the massacre at Oradour-sur-Glane in The Alice Network, and I was excited to read The Daughter's Tale and learn a little more about it.

Unfortunately, The Daughter's Tale never really pulled me in. As a mother to two young girls, I was interested in Amanda's story, but she disappears from the book halfway through and we never hear from her again. Similarly, I would have loved to learn more about Father Marcel, the Catholic priest who loses his faith in a God who'd allow such atrocities to happen, but that thread is never really picked back up.

I really wanted to love this book, but it ultimately seemed to skate around big events and I didn't connect to the other characters enough to feel invested in their stories.