Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for an advanced readers copy of the book for my honest opinion. This book has been published for some time and is available and definitely worth the read!

This is the heartbreaking, based on a real person story if Citka who we met in "The Tattooist of Auschwitz.". This is her story after being liberated from Auschwitz.. Citka is amazingly strong and the fact that she was a real person, a teenager dealing with the unimaginable makes this book a fascinating, compelling, unputdownable read.

I highly recommend both books in this series.

Working through backlist and not going to read this one after reading criticism about this series from Jewish people and the critiques done by the Auschwitz Memorial Research Center.

I have previously enjoyed reading historical fiction focused on the Holocaust so took this widget, but later on read about how problematic this book (and the series is). The fact that Heather Morris took someone's real story and fictionalized it for her own financial benefit without compensation for the real people is not okay. The series has been highlighted by the Auschwitz Memorial and Museum for being "dangerous and disrespectful to history" as well as factually incorrect. So I refuse to read this book, and will not be providing any real feedback on it. Instead, I will spend my time reading a memoir by a Holocaust survivor who's voice deserves to be told.

If you like The Tattooist of Auschwitz, you'll like Cilka's Journey. My challenge with both books is that, paradoxically, they both have a "rose-colored glasses" feel to them. Cilka's Journey doesn't carry the weight that I expect from a book about such atrocities. That's not to say that the book doesn't have emotion, but it reads like a book written by someone who read a book about the holocaust. I wanted to feel a deeper connection. Three stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, for this free copy.

I loved this second book in the series, and loved learning more about Cilka. Heather Morris knows how to write a great story, that keeps you entertained and wanting more.

Such a wonderful book. Heartbreaking and riveting. The characters were very well developed and the storyline was fantastic. Thank you for letting me read this book.

What a moving story. I really appreciated the change to review this, the first book was so memorable and the story of Cilka was too. What a journey.

I loved this book so much. It's gritty in its honesty and doesn't let the reader think there are any avenues that a human being won't consider for survival. It truly made me feel humble. I loved how it kept hope alive for me even as hope was dying all around.

I'm so glad I read it. We all have our battles to fight, though every journey is different. Here's to everyone's struggle and whether we win or lose isn't really that important. It's how we played the game.

To think not only being in one unimaginable place but two. Cilka’s Journey is gut wrenching.

This is the story of a brave young 16 year old Jewish girl who grew up too fast in Auschwitz concentration camp. A story of survival and guilt for doing so.

After the end of hell for many people, Cilka’s continued. She was sent to Gulag for sleeping (being raped) by upper officers while held prisoner. She preserved, was trained medically and continued to serve others.

The words are hard to read, the reality unimaginable. Heather Morris did this story great justice.

Such a heavy book. And recently I have had a harder and harder time reading such heavy books. Not only the topic but the emotional toll it takes while reading. This is why I am careful which Holocaust books I read. Had I know the actual story of this book, I probably would not have requested it. Just too much of an emotional toll that I don’t have the capacity for. Such trauma that happened to the people involved in the Holocaust, sadly on pretty much every side. So while I found the story intriguing, it was also disgusting. Parts made me nauseous, and while it should make any human feel l that way, it isn’t entertainment for me. You know.
I have read these books backwards, therefore I haven’t read “Tattooist” yet, and I’m not sure if i will.
Also. I think the controversy of the reality of this book and Cilka’s story is kind of ridiculous. It is clear in the author’s note that while it is based on true story and real people that she took liberties. That’s what historical fiction is. And I’m always surprised that people cannot separate the history from the fiction. Anytime I see “based on” a true story, I assume the majority of it is fictionalized. That’s just common sense.

I have friends who loved this book, but I had several issues with the writing and tone.

First, for me this book smacked to hard of the "not like other girls" trope, where Cilka is a supernaturally kind, beautiful soul who has not let her trauma change her, and every other woman in her same situation is a backstabbing harpy who has lost her humanity. She was just a little too good to be true, and I would have like a little more complexity to her.

Second, despite that traumatic and intense subject matter, the author writes in such a way that I make no emotional connection to the story. I'm a very empathetic reader and I could not connect to this book at all. Not sure I would read any more from this author.

A raw story set in WWII describing the horrors of the Nazis from a point of view I never anticipated. MUST READ.

I have had this book on my shelf for over a year both in paperback and ebook. I don’t know why I’ve put it off. Maybe I knew it wouldn’t be an easy breezy read. I decided I was picking it up as I wanted to take part in @netgalleynovember and this would be a great big #tickoffthetbr for me. I couldn’t put this book down. I found this a much easier book to read than the tattooist of Auschwitz. It was every bit as hard hitting and made me feel all the emotions but didn’t seem just as graphic when it came to the events that took place. Cilka was one very brave and courageous lady and did everything she possibly could to get by but most importantly to make a difference and help others. I felt like the whole way through this book I went from sad to filled with hope. This book really packed a punch for me and I’m glad I finally picked it up.

Great story. Love how it diverts a little from a typical WWII novel. I learned a lot that a tragedy that I had never even heard about - the Russian Gulag. I read this book in a day. It was so good. Kept my interest well. I did wish there was a little more descriptive language around the camp so I could get a better picture in my head. But aside from that the story was so well written.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. I was in no way required to write a positive review. All thoughts are my own.

3.5 stars. Thought this one was ok but even after a long break of WWII books, I'm still burned out on the topic, I think. Cilka's ability to survive and improve her situation as well as those around her was impressive. Most of the other supporting characters didn't have much depth.

This book is one I hope to come back and read sometime but right now I am very deep into fantasy and romance and this is a book that is just not captivating me at the time.

5 stars*.
I'm outrageously late with this review. I had lost a number of the books in my netgalley queue when I got heavy handed requesting books and didn't realize I had a number of books languishing on a second page! This was one that I was so excited to read but thought I had lost the chance to review because it came out almost 2 years ago. I was so excited to see that it had not archived.

Heather Morris is a stunning writer. She has a way of writing emotional historical moments without the heavy-handedness that renders some books overly wraught or maudlin. The Tattooist of Auschwitz was a book that I could not stop thinking about. When I saw that she had written another book, this one the story of Lale's wife Gita, best friend Cilka's story....I was intrigued and knew I had to read it.

Cilka is so incredibly human-flawed, yet inspirational. One of the best books I've read in 2021.

*with thanks to NetGalley for the Digital Arc in exchange. for this honest review.

After reading Heather Morris’ book The Tattooist of Auschwitz I could wait to read more about the elusive Cilka. A beautifully heartbreaking novel about a little known part of WWII.

Thank your to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

This is my second book by this author. Her writing is just so easily readable even though the content itself is hard. This is another book about an amazing female during World War II. Clka’s fortitude and bravery is commendable, Books like this really make me think about what it would be like to be in that position and if I could do what they did to survive. I am grateful to be able to have read the story to tell others about it.

I really enjoyed this book. It did feel a little long at times.....but there were so many years to cover, and I'm not sure any of story could have been cut out and make it still feel complete. Cilka had QUITE the incredible journey.....I completely appreciate the time and research Heather Morris put into this book. I love reading about the years surrounding WWII and especially the role women played in the war and in the years after. Absolutely incredible. I'm looking forward to reading more from Heather Morris!