Writing historical fiction based on actual characters is a tough business. No matter how impeccably researched, a book will find detractors in one camp or another – and Cilka’s Journey is a case in point.

Author Heather Morris (of The Tattooist of Auschwitz) makes it clear that both books are fiction, but they’re solidly based on fact – in the form of interviews with Lale, who had been imprisoned as a young man in Aushwitz and forced to tattoo the identifying numbers on his fellow Jews. Cilka (Cecilia Klein) is introduced in the first book, as a friend of Lale and Gita, a fellow prisoner.

In Cilka’s Journey, Lale and Gita become the secondary characters. When, in 1945, they are freed by Allied troops, they marry and try to reconstruct their lives. Cilka, however, undergoes a second horror: She is convicted as a collaborator with the Nazis – because she had been forced, at 16, to sleep with a camp commander.

Some other readers and critics have nit-picked at factual points. Some prospective readers might fear that the subject matter is dark and depressing. Let me assure you: the truth of the story shines through, and Cilka’s indomitable and buoyant spirit dispels the darkness. I loved this book – it was optimistic without being sappy. It was horrifying and yet uplifting.

And for those purists and the simply curious: the author in an afterword details how she researched the book and precisely where she departed from the historical record. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance readers copy.

Excellently done. This was a really great installment in the series. I really enjoyed Cilka as a character and the story of her surviving the Vorkuta Gulag. It was just so so well done. I’m entirely impressed. The detail and history provided both within the story and afterwards is amazing.

3.5/5 stars.

This was much better than The Tattooist, but this still didn't work for me. I don't like Heather Morris' writing style, it's very cold and distant. But Cilka is such a beautiful soul. She's a true hero and I'm glad I got to read her about her life!

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review. This story was outstanding. The book follows the story of “The Tattooist of Auschwitz”, even though both are stand alone books. The story follows Cilka thru the horrors ofAuschwitz-Birkenau , and her transfer to Vorkuta Gulag in Siberia . She was a political prisoner in the gulag for 10 years because she was charged with collaboration. Cilka was a very brave and caring young lady who was sent to the concentration camp at 16 years old. The story is based on real facts and real people.

Hauntingly beautiful. In her research for the book The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Heather Morris first hears of Cilka and starts researching her story. Cilka’s Journey is powerful and tells more of the stories people faced both during and after Hitler’s Germany. Well researched and powerfully written, Cilka and her friends come alive in each page. This book is a definite must read!! I cannot give this book enough stars!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this advanced reader edition and hearing my honest review. Looking forward to reading more with you
#partner

History was never my favorite subject in school, but I do believe I've learned a lot more by reading memoirs and books of fiction based on historical events. My interest in World War II and the Holocaust began with The Diary of Anne Frank when I was a teenager. I admire all the authors who have tackled this very difficult part of our history. It amazes me that I continue to learn about aspects of that tragic time that I don't recall learning in a history textbook. In Cilka's Journey, the author Heather Morris has introduced me to the horrors of the Russian Gulag. She had to have done an incredible amount of research to bring this true story to life for her readers. Cilka Klein did whatever she had to in order to survive Auschwitz and was then sentenced to fifteen years in a Siberian prison camp. Somehow she was able to find the strength in herself to carry on day after day. Even though this type of book is tough to read, it is good that authors continue to remind us of what has happened in history. Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and the author for the opportunity to read and review Cilka's Journey.

As a lover of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, I was looking forward to reading the newest by Heather Morris and I must say it did not disappoint.

Cilka is a 16 year old girl when she enters Auschwitz. Three years later, when it is liberated, she is a survivor, due to her constant rape by SS officers and her determination to make it through the horrors. Unfortunately, her punishment is not over, because her rape qualifies her as a "collaborator" she is sentenced to 15 years hard labor in Siberia. Once again, she is forced in a cattle car and lead further away from home.

Cilka's Journey takes us through Cilka's survival and internal battle, as she relives the horrors she has once survived. She is determined to survive, and begins to face her demons with the help of her fellow prisoners, her new family.

Devastating and beautiful at the same time, Cilka's Journey is an amazing work of historical fiction. I was brought to tears and I couldn't put it down. A must read.


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this novel.

"There have to be more ways to stay alive than to be witness to so much death."

Based upon a true story, Cilka's Journey tells that tale of Cilka who was sixteen years old when she is taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp, in 1942. There she gained the attention of the Commandant, and is kept separate from the other women, she is allowed to have her hair long, to have "nice" things.... but nothing is free, everything has a cost. Wanting to survive she does what she can, all the while trying to help others.

At the end of the war, she believes she is free, it is over, she can pick up the pieces of her life, but life is not kind, sometimes it is quite cruel, and she is found to be a collaborator for "sleeping" with the enemy, plus she had the gift of language and spoke several languages, certainly she is a spy (as well as a whore). Oh, how that made my blood boil. Her sentence is being sent to a Siberian prison/work camp. Yet again, she cannot escape the unwanted attention (rape) from men. Seriously, let's be real "sleeping with the enemy" and "unwanted attention" are rape, which the women were subjected to time and time again. Her only solace is finding a place in the hospital, where she falls under the wing of a female doctor and finds purpose helping others, giving them solace and saving lives.

"To forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time."- Elie Wiesel

I found this book to be well written, well researched, thought provoking, moving, captivating and heartbreaking. I love books based on true stories and people. This book was no exception. There are some scenes which may make some people uncomfortable, but I feel they are also necessary for the telling of Cilka's story. There was a scene in the book where one character showed sacrifice and gave a "gift to another character. I couldn't help but think of Holocaust Survivor Gerda Weissman Klein who told the story of her friend, Isle, who found a raspberry on a leaf in a Nazi labor camp and instead of eating it, saved it and gave it to Gerda at the end of the day. Gerta said “Can you conceive of a world in which your entire possession becomes one raspberry, and to give this treasure to your friend?” Cilka does not give a raspberry, but she gives an even greater gift in this book.

I thought about MA (Grandmother) a lot during reading this book. She was fifteen when she entered Auschwitz and also received "unwanted attention" and had every single one of her teeth punched out by a Nazi. Strongest woman I ever had the privilege and pleasure of knowing and loving.

This is an emotional tale which gives a glimpse into one woman's life and experiences in both Auschwitz and a Siberian Labor Camp. The cold and snow also become characters in this desolate landscape where the only warmth comes from the close friendships the characters have with others.

This is a story of survival, courage, friendship, love, caring, hatred, rape, racism and cruelty. It is equally inspiring and heartbreaking. I suggest reading The Tattooist of Auschwitz prior to reading this book. Cilka is first introduced in that book as a minor character. Due to interest in her, Morris began to research her life.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Sixteen-year-old Cilka’s arrival at Auschwitz-Birkenau was followed by three years of heartbreak, torture and loss. It was also where she lost her innocence; where she met Gita, who was to be her best friend, and Lale the tattooist who marked her, and everyone else, with the number that identified her. At the time of liberation, in 1945, Cilka was interrogated and charged as a collaborator. Her punishment was to be 15 years in the notorious Vorkuta Gulag in the icy wastes of Siberia. Cilka’s life would change once more…

The hut that the women were housed in, where Cilka eventually formed friendships, was cold and miserable. Working in the mines was debilitating, exhausting work, but when Cilka met a compassionate woman doctor at the hospital and was asked to work there as her caring nature would be an asset, Cilka was grateful. Conditions were a little better but each night she returned to her hut after being confronted with death and shocking injuries. The fortitude and strength that Cilka held inside rarely faltered, but more was to come to test her. What was to be the outcome of this horror for Cilka? Would she ever know peace?

Cilka’s Journey by Aussie author Heather Morris is the sequel to The Tattooist of Auschwitz where we met Lale as he told his story. Once again, the author has based her new story on fact, with Cilka being a real person, set in history; the settings are horribly authentic; the bravery and courage of Cilka mentioned to the author by Lale when she interviewed him. The artistry of the author as she blended fact with fiction shows a great amount of research – her mention of that research and how much time was devoted to it, is at the end of the book. Cilka’s Journey takes us back to a shocking time in history, a time I hope is never repeated. It is also a historical novel I highly recommend.

With thanks to Allen & Unwin AU and associated publishers for my ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

Based on the life of a real person, CILKA’S JOURNEY is intense, horrifying, and compelling. Sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp, in 1942, when she was 16, she faced unspeakable horrors as she fought for her survival. When the camp is liberated by the Russians, the horrors she endured and survived are held against her and she is sentenced to a gulag for 15 years as a conspirator. What fresh horrors await her and how can she survive more time in conditions so horrible? Cilka struggles to survive, again, while also dealing with her own guilt and shame for the part she played while in Auschwitz-Birkenau, as well as her guilt in being the only one in her family to make it out alive. While in the prison, Cilka finds her place working in the hospital, and finds friends and respect, and, finally, a bit of hope. It makes you question how any of this could have happened and marvel at the resilience of those that are subjected to such cruelty.
Heather Morris has done an amazing job researching the historical details and weaving them into an account that was compelling and heartbreaking. This is a sequel to THE TATOOIST OF AUSCHWITZ, but can be read as a stand-alone novel, which is good, since this is the first novel I have read by Morris. This is one not to miss, whether or not you have read THE TATOOIST OF AUSCHWITZ.
#CilkasJourney #StMartinsPress #HeatherMorris

Inspired by information gathered while preparing to write The Tattooist of Auschwitz: A Novel, this is the story of Cecilie Klein, a young Jewish girl who survived Auschwitz, only to be declared an enemy of Russia because of the unimaginable activities that she was forced to perform for the Germans. Sent to a gulag in Russia, she is once again forced into jobs she doesn't want and subjected to unthinkable cruelties. Relying only on her tenable spirit, she survives her imprisonment and helps countless women to also make it thru this Hell on earth.

This is a very heartrending but moving tome. It is inconceivable to me what the men and women had to endure during and after World War II. Chilka’s tenacious attitude would not let her give up even in the bleakest of situations. She persevered and because of her, countless women also lived. Even in the harshest conditions, she was selfless and brave. She was and is an inspiration to all who read her story. Although the story has you on the edge of your seat with anxious dread, I couldn’t put it down. I had to keep reading afraid that with each page, Chilka would come to a sorrowful end. I highly recommend it.

I was thrilled to receive Cilka’s Journey from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. Cilka’s Journey is the follow-up novel to one of my favorite reads of 2019, The Tattooist of Auschwitz. It does not follow the same characters, but focuses on the life of one character, Cilka. Admittedly, at the onset of Cilka’s Journey I wondered if I would enjoy this novel, because I had been so heavily invested in the protagonists from The Tattooist of Auschwitz. This story is every bit as compelling as The Tattooist. As the story progressed, I quickly understood the importance of the historical fiction depicted. Author Heather Morris illustrates the heartbreaking life of an Auschwitz survivor sentenced to fifteen years in a Gulag in Siberia. If you are looking for the happy ending after Auschwitz, this book is not that. In fact, this story is every bit as horrific as it’s predecessor. This history is one that is rarely heard, and yet it is also one that deserves to be known and understood. Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to review this advanced reader’s copy. Additionally, thank you to St. Martin’s Press for another beautiful, yet tragic read.

Have you ever read a book that shook you to your core and you knew your review would never do it justice? That's how I feel about Cilka's Journey. As I tried to imagine myself living through what Cilka did, it's unimaginable. Add in the fact this is based off of a true story and you can't help the fact you'll shed tears. Cilka's Journey is about a girl who refused to let the evil in this world break her. She held on all the compliments, love, and encouragement her family gave her in the first sixteen years of her life to survive Birkenau and then the Gulag in Vorkuta. Once she was liberated she exchanged one prison for another and survived longer than I ever could have. This book is about one girl's desire to live despite all of the obstacles in her life. She found a way to create a family of her own and to love again when she though it was no longer possible.

If you enjoy historical fiction, you should definitely pick this book up. You don't have to read The Tattooist of Auschwitz to understand what's going on, but it would give you a little more history of her time in the concentration camps. This is one I highly reccomend you read.

Thank you to the publishers for a copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and a positive review was not required.

This book did not grab me as "Tattooist" did; I was reading an arc of "Cilka" but the writing seemed choppy and juvenile. I will say that the author's note at the end was very interesting. Thanks, Netgalley, for this arc.

In a follow up to the Tattooist of Auschwitz we follow Cilkas journey as she is sent to prison for crimes she committed to survive. Cilkas story is one of bravery and resilience. Her steadfast devotion to her friends and women in her hut gives them all the best possible Chance for survival, while saving her own life. Beautifully written. Be sure to read the epilogue and authors notes.

This was not a cheery book to read. The topic, the sadness, To me was just more of the same. As well written as it was, I got tired of reading about the new ways she was treated poorly. I can't say it was a book that I enjoyed reading.

Read the prior book, The Tattooist of Auschwitz~Loved It! Knew that I had to read this and it was just as GOOD!!!

Excellent writing and character development. An overall incredible story worth sharing.

This one and the prior story are must reads.
Thanks NetGalley & St. Martins Press for the ARC of the book.

Oh what a lovely but sad journey we go on with Cilka. We first hear of her in The Tattooist of Auschwitz and this book will take us through Cilka's life once she is punished for her "crimes". I don't want to reveal too much, because honestly, at times, this book was hard to take. Not from the writing, or the characters, or the story, but how horrible and truthful this story is. To know that a time in history (and even currently) we have allowed other humans to be treated like Cilka and so many others, is beyond what humanity should be.

Cilka progresses and heals and has her life, despite these atrocious things happening to her. And she, like so many others, is able to overcome evil. As crazy as that sounds, I know you know what I mean. Like in The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Morris lets us feel everything the characters experience. The hate, the fear, the torture, but also love. And that's what really matters, right?

I'm not on a soapbox, I promise. I just loved this book, and I hope you will too.

5/5 Stars

I typically enjoy reading historical fiction and have lately "jumped on the boat" for World War II stories, so I was pretty sure I would enjoy Cilka's Journey.

Following the story told in "The Tattooist of Auschwitz", "Cilka's Journey" chronicles what happens to Cilka after Auschwitz is liberated. She is accused of being a spy for the Germans and sentenced to 15 years in a Russian work camp in Siberia. The story of what she endured is told through her eyes with several flashbacks to her time Auschwitz.

This book brought me to tears thinking about all the horrible things that Cilka and other women like her had to face. It was a very well-written story with characters that I both loved and admired for their courage and tenacity.

I loved this book! It’s just as good as Morris’s first novel and beautifully tells the story of Cilka post WWII. Highly recommend