Magical. You can never go wrong with an Alice Hoffman book. This book is somber and plays into her delicate & powerful writing. I liked that it was something different than her typical books.

Just when you think you’ve read all the stories about WWII a book like this comes along. I loved this story for the magical realism, the well drawn characters and the acts of bravery. I especially liked learning about all of the efforts made during the war to save Jewish children. Overall this is a book about love: a mother’s love, a couple’s love across the miles, and the selfless love and sacrifice shown by so many during this terrible war. Hoffman’s language is beautiful and I highly recommend this book.

The World That We Knew is a hauntingly beautiful story. History mixed with a mystical realm. At first, I thought this book was completely out there, but as I read more I got pulled into the tragedy and the horror that was the Nazi regime and WWII. The characters were so well written and the reader is pulled into each one's tragedy, grit, and perseverance. While this book had some mystical elements the story was beautiful and gut-wrenching.

Thank you to the author, the publishing house, and Netgalley for allowing me to read this story.

In Berlin, at the time when the world changed, Hanni Kohn knows she must send her twelve-year-old daughter away to save her from the Nazi regime.

Let me just say, that Alice Hoffman can do no wrong in my eyes! I love all her writing, all her characters, everything she does is magic! The World That We Knew was a heartbreakingly beautiful book.

Absolutely loved this book! My first Alice Hoffman book and I went out to get a few more.

The story weaves several different plots but they all cross one another's path. To read about the lives during the Holocaust is always interesting to me. I love learning more and more about the importance of a Ginni in the Jewish culture. I loved the role the Heron played. I can't say I didn't cry at the end.

Very well written and a great balance of the stories. I would love definitely recommend this one!

Alice Hoffman and I have a love-hate relationship. I want to love her books, but most of the time I either do not finish them or finish them under duress. However, with The World That We Knew, I found an Alice Hoffman novel I love. Even though it occurs during World War II, her exploration of what makes us human resonates in today's fractious environment.

While World War II is the backdrop of the story, The World That We Knew is not a World War II novel. Rather, it is a novel that explores love and sacrifice as key aspects of one's humanity. Told through various narrators, we get an understanding of what it feels like to be prey among a country of predators, always watchful, always anxious. We also get a glimpse of how people survive in such impossible situations, fighting through action, survival, and love. Never pontific, Ms. Hoffman allows her characters to show the integrity and fortitude required to keep going after horrific losses and the love that binds past to present.

The World That We Knew is an unassuming story with a quiet message. That message, however, loudly resonates within a world in which overt displays of hatred and bigotry become more commonplace and society becomes increasingly ideologically and politically divided. As we enter a new presidential era, The World That We Knew brings a reminder that hope and love will always win.

This was a gorgeous book! I loved the blend of magical realism with historical fiction and felt quite attached to the characters by the end of the book.

"If you are loved, you never lose the person who loved you. You carry them with you all your life."

"Love was the thing that lasted, no matter where fate would take them."

"She had thought she would never know why humans fought so hard to stay alive, but now she understood. It was love everlasting. It was the thing that could never be erased."

Okay Alice Hoffman, you win.

From beginning to end you tore out my heart and made me cry, but this was probably one of the most climatic and beautiful endings I have ever read. This is the kind of book that makes you say "how can the world be this cruel and unfair?" throughout the story but in the end you think, "we are so lucky to be alive, pain and love is what makes life beautiful."

At first I wasn't sure if this book was for me, but now I think this is a book for everyone. I truly want to thank you for not only writing so well about the human experience (as you always do) but for also giving more voices to World War II and placing attention on the many innocent lives that were lost and the families that were broken.

This looked like such a good book, but I never got to it this year!
Can't give an review at all since I never read it.

In The World that we Knew” by Alice Hoffman, the story is set during World War II. Hanni and Lea her daughter live in Berlin, Hanni knows she must send her daughter away from Berlin for her safety. She arranges for Lea to be protected by Ava, a golem. Ava is created by Ettie, the daughter of their rabbi. The novel follows all these characters through their individual stories. I enjoyed the book with rich characterizations and intricate stories that intertwine. Thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for the opportunity to read and review the book

I'm a diehard Alice Hoffman fan, but this one was not my favorite. I found the story a bit slow, and the historical fiction aspect was not for me. I did, however, appreciate the demonstration of the lengths a Mother will go to for the child she loves.

Heartbreaking and beautiful. Alice Hoffman weaves a story like no other. Perseverance and a mother's love is the thread of this story.

What a wonderful story! Alice Hoffman does magical realism like no one else. A beautifully written WW II story that is a must read.

I really enjoyed this book! I loved learning more about WW2 and the Jewish religion. Highly recommended.

In 1941 Berlin, a woman knows she must get her daughter out of the country. She uses a somewhat unusual method, asking her rabbi to create a golem to take Lea across the border and keep her safe. The rabbi refuses, but his daughter Ettie is willing to bring the golem to life. Lea and the golem, who they name Ava, flee to France in the hope of finding safety. Ettie leaves home as well, and becomes a resistance fighter determined to avenge the deaths of her friends and family.

Alice Hoffman has a gift for combining myth with reality, and it is particularly vivid here. In a world where bombs are falling and children are murdered, does it seem impossible that a golem could come to life or a girl could communicate with birds? There is a lot going on here; readers follow several characters for years as they travel through Europe, but you will have the rare experience of wanting to stay with one character while wondering what is happening to another. Books about World War II are everywhere, but Hoffman's care for her characters and the intersection of history and fantasy, and cruelty and love make for a gripping read.

The World That We Knew
By Alice Hoffman
Simon & Schuster September 2019
384 pages
Read via Netgalley

always love Alice Hoffman. This historical fiction has great appeal. Her characters are drawn perfectly.

Compelling magical realism, devastating and lyric way into and around and through the complexities of how to remain connected, ethical, loving, in a monstrous world.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book. I have been a long time fan of Alice Hoffman. She has a way of putting words together and building characters that is just so powerful. I am also a huge fan of WWII Historical Fiction. This was such a unique take on that genre. I loved the fantasy and mystical elements of this story and the juxtaposition against history. Incredibly moving book.

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In Berlin, at the time when the world changed, Hanni Kohn knows she must send her twelve-year-old daughter away to save her from the Nazi regime. She finds her way to a renowned rabbi, but it’s his daughter, Ettie, who offers hope of salvation when she creates a mystical Jewish creature, a rare and unusual golem, who is sworn to protect Lea. Once Ava is brought to life, she and Lea and Ettie become eternally entwined, their paths fated to cross, their fortunes linked.

Lea and Ava travel from Paris, where Lea meets her soulmate, to a convent in western France known for its silver roses; from a school in a mountaintop village where three thousand Jews were saved. Meanwhile, Ettie is in hiding, waiting to become the fighter she’s destined to be.

What does it mean to lose your mother? How much can one person sacrifice for love? In a world where evil can be found at every turn, we meet remarkable characters that take us on a stunning journey of loss and resistance, the fantastical and the mortal, in a place where all roads lead past the Angel of Death and love is never ending.

Alice does it again! Amazing story of bravery during WWII and the sacrifice of a mother to keep her daughter safe from the Nazi’s and concentration camps. The complicated relationship between Leah and the golem is the heart of this story.

I first want to say thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for allowing me to read this e-ARC.

I feel like from the synopsis that I was really going to love this book but unfortunately that was not the case. I feel like maybe I just didn't connect with this story the way others have.

I thought that the characters were well written but I couldn't connect with any of them. Which for a character driven reader makes finishing a book you aren't connecting with a real challenge.

I did find the plot was engaging enough to keep me reading despite the characters, but there were times when I felt like the plot dragged in places.

I guess this book just didn't really work for me and I hate that because I thought I was really going to like it.