A novel of one person’s hope and perseverance in the middle of devastating loss, abuse and pain. Cilka will not let her past define her but rather pull her out of the he’ll she has fallen into.
Based on true events, this proves that if the spirit is strong enough it can overcome anything.
Thanks to Netgalley for this prepub ebook.

For those who loved Tattooist of Auschwitz, this is wonderful next read. We follow Cilka through being imprisoned for aiding the Nazis...but did she? A beautifully told story that leaves you wanting more!

Thank you, NetGalley and the author Heather Morris for the opportunity to read the ARC of Cilka's Journey.

I was unaware that the "Tattooist of Auschwitz" ( on my TBR list) was a prequel to this book. While it is not a requirement to have read the "Tattooist of Auschwitz" first, I have heard from other readers that it may enhance the historical perspective of the story.

While this is a novel based on historical events it is such an impactful and incredible story of survival that the book reads like a memoir. This topic is about such a dark time in history--but the author has made us aware of the amazing show of endurance, relationships, and the human condition.

This book will stay with you long after you finish the last page.

I went into this book expecting one thing, but got another. Perhaps it is my fault for not reading the description closely enough, but I was expecting more about Cilka's stay in Auschwitz. However, this book mainly deals with what came after her stay in the German concentration camp, when she was moved to a Russian-controlled gulag in Siberia. While it wasn't what I was anticipating, this does not mean it's a bad thing. I still really enjoyed this book.

Knowing that this book is based on a true story makes it all the more powerful. Cilka truly did go on a journey, both in a literal and metaphorical sense. Though she was forced into horrendous circumstances in Auschwitz, she internalized and blamed herself, leading to her growing sense of shame and relentless pursuit of atonement.

I did not care for the writing style, which prevents it from being a 5 star. I can't quite put my finger on it, but something just felt "off" about it.

This book covers themes of shame, redemption, family, friendship, war, and rebuilding. I definitely recommend it.

This is a wonderful and heart-wrenching story. Cilka is sent to Siberia to serve 15 years after being judged to be a collaborator with the Germans after her release from the concentration camp. Cilka was sent to Auschwitz Birkenau when she was sixteen and, because she was beautiful and intelligent, she was forced to be a mistress to a German officer and was given the position of officer in the barracks that was the last stop before women and children went to the gas chore chambers. This is the story of her survival not only in the concentration camps but also in the Siberian Prison, where she tried to hide her role in the war. Her determination and courage kept her alive. She lived by her principles and at times bore terrible consequences for her decisions.
Morris based this novel on Cilka Klein and used as much factual knowledge as was available to tell Cilka's story. It is a must read for anyone interested in this terrible period in history and the individuals who survived against brutal conditions and inhumane treatment. And yet in the midst of all the brutality, there were individuals who helped Cilka. These individuals recognized a light in her that could not be extinguished by the cruelty of others. Cilka's story is one of inspiration and courage and should be read by everyone.

I had just finished reading (and loving) the Tattooist of Auschwitz when I found out that Heather Morris had written this book. I haven’t been this exited about a book in a long time and it did not disappoint.

After surviving Auschwitz it is almost unthinkable that Cilka is sentenced to 15 years in a Gulag for her “war crime” of sleeping with the enemy. She is sent to Siberia to work and this book is a story of how she survives and even begins to realize maybe one day she will thrive and life won’t be a series of horrors.

Heather Morris is a master at weaving real events and fiction together to create a believable world that pulls the reader in. Like the Tattooist of Auschwitz, the subject matter here is very tough, but it is beautifully written and hard to put down.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

Cilka’s Journey is a follow up to the Tattooist of Auschwitz, however I read it as a stand-alone book. Cilka was a prisoner at Auschwitz and after the camp was liberated, Cilka was found guilty of helping the enemy and sentenced to another camp, very close to the Arctic Circle. There she spent several years trying to forget what she had done at Auschwitz while at the same time do what she needed to do in order to survive. It was heartbreaking to know camps like this existed. I felt for Cilka because even as she struggled, she always put someone else before her. She always looked for ways to help others. The story was fiction but based in facts. One of my favorite sections was at the end of the book where the author tells the real life details of Cilka. I think it is very important to tell stories such as Cilka’s.

I loved this book. It tells Cilka’s story beautifully and focuses on the human element of these times.

Rating (on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being excellent)
Quality of writing: 5
Pace: 5
Plot development: 5
Characters: 5
Enjoyability: 5
Ease of Reading: 5

Overall rating: 5 out of 5

Amazing historical fiction! This story follows Cilka as she is released from Auschwitz, put on trial and sent to Siberia to serve her sentence. The guilt and shame of the women prisoners for things they had no control over is heartbreaking. This is a very realistic journey of Cilka's life in Siberia with flashbacks of her past. Highly recommended!!

“What you’re doing, Cilka, is the only form of resistance you have – staying alive”
——
When I read the Tattooist of Auschwitz in May, I found a new genre for myself that I never thought I would fall in love with – Historical Fiction. I jumped at the opportunity to get an ARC from @netgalley for Heather Morris’s new book, Clika’s Journey. This book is an emotional read about a young girl who had just spent years in Auschwitz, only to end up at a Siberian prison camp for sleeping with the enemy. CIlka’s one of the strongest and selfless women I’ve ever read about and always putting other’s needs before herself, even in the heartbreaking conditions where she’s trying to survive herself. Read this gem come October!

This book is the follow up to The Tattooist of Auschwitz and follows Cilka who played a role in the story of Lale and Gita. Cilka’s character is based on the life events of a real person. Honestly, I’ve struggled with how many stars to give this. It’s better than 3 but not as good as a 4, so I have to go with 3.5. I liked it and Cilka’s story is one of amazing courage and selflessness. I think it let me down as it seemed to be missing something that The Tattooist of Auschwitz had. And I feel like it’s fair to compare them to each other since this is the sequel. Also, it started to drag for me in the last 30% of the book. Still, if you like historical fiction, you’ll probably like this book.

What would you do to stay alive when virtually nothing is in your control? This book explores this notion.

It's difficult to say I "enjoyed" this book, since it's about such a hard life, but it was definitely a page-turner for me. "Cilka's Journey" explores life in a Soviet labor camp in Siberia, as well as difficult memories of Cilka's experience in the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi concentration camp. I learned a lot about how the Soviet labor camps functioned. (Many years ago, I read Solzhenitsyn's masterpiece, "Gulag Archipelago", but that was a VERY different kind of book.)

I didn't realize at first that this is a companion piece to another book that I've had on my "want to read" list for a while: "The Tatooist of Auschwitz". Having now read "Cilka's Journey", I believe you can read this as a standalone book.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book in advance of publication.

Kristina Morris's sophomore novel, Cilka's Journey, follows a brave young Czech woman from Auschwitz-Birkenau to the gulag at Vorkuta, a Siberian prison labor camp. When the Soviets liberate Birkenau, they sentence 18 year old Cilka Klein to 15 years hard labor for prostitution and espionage, though she was repeatedly raped by a German officer. En route to Siberia by cattle train, Cilka is fortunate to befriend Josie, thereafter protecting her like a sister. Cilka endures bitter cold conditions, very little provisions, repeated rape, and humiliation, but forms a rag-tag family with the 20 women of Hut 29. Offered a job in the hospital, she trains as a nurse under the tutelage of compassionate Georgian volunteer, Dr. Yelena. As Cilka’s responsibility grows, from the maternity ward, the infectious disease ward and the ambulance, she feels purpose and contentment despite the unpleasantries of the gulag where she will spend 8 years. After saving the Kommandant's child twice, she is offered freedom, but selflessly gives it to Josie and her child. Fans of Pam Jenoff will enjoy Cilka’s incredible story of bravery and love. Cilka was a side character in Morris's debut novel, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, and now readers are very lucky to get the full story of Cilka's remarkable life.

At only 16 years old, Cilka Klein was taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp, where she clung to life for three years. Cilka’s beauty and distinctive hair catch the eye of a senior officer, Commander Schwarzhuber. As a child, she becomes a pawn to powerful men and realizes her only chance of survival is to do as she’s told.

Upon Cilka’s release from the Nazis, she is charged with colluding with the enemy by her Russian liberators. After three years of watching her people, and even family, being murdered, Cilka is sent to another place of imprisonment - the Vorkuta Gulag in Siberia. In this new confinement, she quickly learns that not much is different, with unwanted attention from both men and guards. However, she finds friendship and purpose in the hospital ward - and even a possible spark of romance.

Cilka’s Journey - from the best-selling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz Heather Morris - continues Cilka Klein’s story of survival, the strength of character, and bravery through some of the worst times of human history. It reveals the atrocities committed against women in particular and explores themes of shame and sexual violence which are still relevant today. This work of historical fiction will open your eyes to the realities women in these camps faced and the resiliency of the will to live.

The world at large is still learning about the atrocities that occurred under the Nazi regime in the mid-20th century. The events occurred decades ago, but healing is always necessary before facing the memories of some injuries and injustices can be faced. How many survivors passed away without ever fully describing what they went through? We will likely never know the full depth and breadth of what happened.



As Morris expresses at the end of Cilka's Journey, one facet that is so often shied away from is the weapon of rape under the Nazi regime - and many others. Though perhaps not "officially" sanctioned, abusive people in positions of power quite frequently employ sexual abuse as a means to exert power and control. For Cilka, her beauty and her youth - that special vibrancy we have when we are young and begin to realize our whole lives are before us - caught the attention of Nazi officers. Those officers used their power of position to trap Cilka in impossible situations.



She was forced repeatedly to endure unspeakable things. She must watch countless people be abused, be taken to their deaths. Members of her own family are ripped away from her. She is put in positions of authority over her own people - only as a means of isolating her so that she is more "available" for those who would use her body for their own pleasure. She is ostracized as a "co-conspirator," and ultimately sentenced to 15 years in a Siberian gulag for her "crimes." At 19 years old, Cilka has been deemed a criminal and sentenced to nearly double her life in a prison work camp at the end of the world.



In Siberia, her beauty once again catches the attention of those in charge. By this point, she has learned to use what she has as a way to maintain some control in her life. She acknowledges her choice to either fight and be forcibly raped and beaten, or not fight, and allow her abusers to foster a delusion of caring between them and her. Cilka chooses to stay in control of herself, to gather resources as she is able, and to use those resources to better the lives of those around her. Even those who continue to condemn her for making impossible choices.



I am astounded by Cilka's bravery. I whole-heartedly agree with Lale's assessment that she is the bravest person I've ever known. I wish I could have met her in person. Spent time in her presence.



The amount of strength contained in this woman is breathtaking. She survived so much, endured so much, and she kept her humanity. I am so inspired by her, even as my heart sobs over what she experienced throughout her life.



Thank you so very, very much to Heather Morris for thoroughly researching and expertly preserving Cilka's story as she has. This is a book I will treasure forever and will encourage my children to read as they get older.

Thank you St. Martin's Press for a physical advance copy and netgalley for an eARC of this incredible story.

Cilka's Journey was honestly a hard read for me. I can't imagine anyone leaving a concentration camp just to get put into a prison camp and still have the resilience Cilka does to survive. It breaks my heart reading about her journey, but it is her story of survival is incredible and remarkable.

I appreciate that Heather Morris states in that this is still a work of fiction. In my option- if a work of fiction can make me feel all the feels: it is a book worth reading.

Though it is a sequel following the Tattooist of Auschwitz, I feel this can also be read as a standalone. Although, I would recommending reading both as they tell an incredible story of survival and what love and hope can endure.

Another great novel by Heather Morris. A fictional portrayal of Cilka Klein’s journey after her brutal stay in Auschwitz. Heart wrenching; a story of survival, friendship, and love. Highly recommend to anyone - but be warned, get your Kleenex ready.

I loved The Tattooist of Auschwitz and was very excited to read this second book and I was not disappointed!, it is based on an incredible true story which is thought provoking and heartbreaking in equal measures.

Cilka a young innocent girl endures the horror of the Auschwitz Birkenau Concentration Camp, her only chance of survival is to numb out her feelings and surrender to the unimaginable treatment her captors enforce on her.

After liberation Cilka is charged with aiding and sleeping with the enemy and is sent to a Siberian prison camp, to serve fifteen years of hard labour for her alleged crimes.

Cilka is a remarkable woman. Her bravery and selflessness shines throughout the story. When a woman doctor takes her under her wing Cilka finds her true calling helping the sick and injured, risking her own life to save others. She meets a young man called Ivan who allows her to find happiness and feel love again.

The horrors of War especially the Holocaust stories are ones we should never forget, and this story portrays a time in history which is unimaginable. The suffering imposed on countless innocent people can sometimes feel unreal but when you read a personal story like this it puts the atrocities in focus highlighting mans inhumanity to man.

Although this is a book which is devastating and brutal it is also one of hope, strength and courage. The skills of Heather Morris as a storyteller is simply stunning. Her knowledge and the historical research put into this novel shines through putting it in a league of its own! Definitely one book everyone should read and remember .

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for my chance to read this unforgettable book.

What a fantastic book! Heather Morris’ sequel to the Tattooist of Auschwitz, Cilka’s Journey will not let you go. It is very hard to put down! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy!

”Memories of her old life have faded, become blurred. At some point it became too painful to remember that life with her family, in Bardejov, existed.”

When faced with the choice between blind obedience to those in charge or death, Cilka chooses life, but never really fully commits to either choice, as physically, emotionally and mentally drained as she is. Still, there is something inside her that fights to live even when she seems to have nothing left to give.

”The rules change day to day here, she thinks. And though this camp has a different purpose—to get them to work for Russia, rather than killing them for being Jewish—in these conditions, and with constant rape, always the threat of violence and the “hole,” Cilka can see that she has gone from one cruel, inhuman place to another.”

Still a teenager when she was taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp in 1942, where she was first used as a tool for the pleasure of men for the three years she was there. And then released from the Nazis, she ends up in Siberia. In the Vorkutlag or Vorkuta Gulag labor camp located in Siberia, where she’s been charged with collusion – for doing what she had been forced to do by the men in Auschwitz-Birkenau. Men and women worked hard to avoid the punishment meted out to ones who dared pause in their labor, working to the point of collapsing, occasionally dropping dead from the work, or lack of food.

”What you are doing, Cilka, is the only form of resistance you have—staying alive.”

Cilka’s story is a somewhat fictionalized account of Cilka, a real woman who befriended Lale Sokolov, also a real person, in the author’s The Tattooist of Auschwitz. I am in awe of Cilka, her story, her persistence and inner strength that helped her survive what seems at every twist and turn to be unendurable – and yet – survive she must.



Pub Date: 01 Oct 2019


Many thanks for the ARC provided by St. Martin’s Press