Mario Escabar"s Children Of the Stars, tells the story of brothers, Jacob and Moses Stein, 12 and 10 yo respectively. The story begins, with the boy's parents leaving them under the care of their aunt, Judith, while they themselves leave Paris to try to find a new home for the family. Before Eleazar and Janna Stein leave they make Jacob promise to look after the welfare of his baby brother Moses, and Jacob promises them that he will. This responsibility becomes real when the brothers are, accidentally, (according to them), "rounded up" and taken to Vel D'Hiv (velodrome), for the mass deportationof Jews from Paris to work camps. The boys journey begins that day, and it will span several years, and take them across 2 countries and oceans. Along the way, they are helped by many people, who understand and sympathize with the plight of the brothers, who are, in reality, two innocent children, suffering as a result of the mass spread of hatred across France, a country that went by the motto: liberty, equality, and fraternity, until it was occupied by the #nazis.
Although the story of the brothers is fiction, some of the characters who they meet were real. The town of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, in the south of France, was a place that harboured refugees during the war. The Protestant pastor Andre Trocme, his wife Magda, and most of the Le Chambon characters are real. Jacob and Moseseven meet Albert Camus in Chambon. He, like Andre Trocme and many others believed in the dignity of each and every human being. Finally, Escabar's Children of the Stars, tells of Argentina, as a haven for the victims of WW2, as well for the Nazis.
In the end, there is so much to learn from Mario Escabar's latest book, #childrenofthestars, #5stars Thank you #netgalley for this e-ARC edition in return for my honest review. @escobar7788

https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/From-Albert-Camuss-Plague-to-the-coronavirus-618273
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/2019-11-01/cure-plague-decency

This. is The story about two Young jewish Boys during Ww2 and their Journey to reunite with their parents. It was. an ok book for me. Just ok. why? compared to fiction books from this era it was tame. It. did not touch my heart. with that being said I did appreciate that The book showed us that Even under The darkest times there are heroesthat Will stand up for you. There are always sunrays shining through Even in The darkest time. and the book reminds us. to always fight evil. never let evil win. Thank you to Netgalley for this digital copy in exchange for an honest review

2.5 stars. A light, hopeful wartime story.

Moses and Jacob Stein are two young Jewish brothers who flee their aunts’ home in war-torn Paris in search of their parents who left to find safety. Moses and Jacob encounter many strangers along their journey.

My biggest issue with this novel was how unrealistic the boys journey seemed. For me, there were far too many close calls and coincidental opportunities. While I do believe there were countless situations where people were saved by the kindness of strangers during these devastating times, this felt over the top. Additionally, although I generally love stories revolving around children, I did not feel a connection or investment in Moses and Jacob. The story lacked emotional depth.

I believe my high expectations also negatively affected my enjoyment of this novel. After loving the authors heart-wrenching, powerful previous WWII novel, The Auschwitz Lullaby, I expected the same caliber of emotional connection and intensity with this. For me, this didn’t even come close. This was more of an easy, light, hopeful, feel-good exploration into wartimes.

Overall, this novel wasn’t for me. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to read a lighter, feel-good wartime story without getting into the true devastation and reality of war.

Thank you to NetGalley for my review copy!

A good story about 2 brothers that escape the Nazis. The story was a good story and that's pretty much all it was. No fact checked history to be found here and not even a believable story. Every time the boys get in trouble or need help someone magically appears to help them on their way. It's a read in a day book that does flow quickly. Nice poolside read.

What a touching story about two young boys during the Nazi invasion. This saga is full of survival, love, loss, sacrifice, fear, and bravery. While I might question the ability of two boys to travel from Paris to Argentina, the story is still amazing. There were people along the way who were willing to resist the evil Hitler spread during his reign to help these young boys to find their parents.

I love books based during WWII and having read "Auschwitz Lullaby" by the author, I knew this would be a well-researched and heartbreaking book. Though the two boys, Jacob and Moses, are fictional characters, many of the characters and the situations described throughout the pages are based on fact.

The relationship between the brothers was precious. And the connection they shared with so many people was touching.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Publishers for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. I was honored to have an opportunity to read such an amazing book!

I loved Children of the Stars. It kept my attention throughout. I had it read in one day. I am giving it five plus stars and highly recommend it.

A story of two young boys on the run from the Nazis. Will they find their way to safety or will others fight to keep the alive and help them on their way. A touching story that will leave you hoping you can be as brave as Jacob and Moses as they search for their family.

4.5 first impression review

There are so many WWII books out that focus on female relationships and bonds during the war. Often it’s a sister or two best friends who grew close during the war. I haven’t seen any books featuring two boys, in this case brothers, during the war for quite some time which is why this book stood out to me.

I am only a couple of chapters in and have yet to finish it, but the novel touches on many heavy hitting themes, especially because the two boys are Jews during the Holocaust. This book shows promise in a number of areas. The writing is solid and emotional, packing am emotional punch. But for me, it’s the historical research that has endeared this book to me.

If you are in the mood for a heartbreaking story but one that is also full of love, hope and bravery. So far I have really enjoyed this one and am looking forward to finishing it because it truly is a great story–emotional–but wonderful and the writing is great! If you love WWII and memorable stories, this is one you want on your radar for the spring! As of right now, I would rate this book 4.5 stars, a great read!

3.5 stars
Children of the Stars takes place during the Nazi occupation of France during WWII. Jacob and Moses are two young brothers who set out on a journey to locate their parents. Their parents have gone ahead looking for a safer place for their family to live. They meet a variety of people who help them along the way.

For the most part, I enjoyed the boys story. There were definitely times and circumstances in the book where I probably would have given up. So, I admired their drive to locate their parents. While the setting of the Nazi occupation and their treatment of the Jews was horrific, I never really sensed that the boys were in grave danger. There were a lot of things that seemed too easy for them. Helpful people seemed to always show up to help just at the right moment. I also felt like this was written for a much younger audience It read like a YA novel, so I'm not sure if there was something lost in the translation. I don't normally read a lot of WWII books, so I'm not sure if there are many out there from a child's point of view. Because of that, I would recommend this one to younger YA readers who are looking for starter WWII fiction. I think it would be perfect for them.

What a story!! There have been many books written about people dealing with WWII and yet this story seemed fresh and touching and heartbreaking. Heartbreaking and yet inspiring - made even more so by the fact it was based on true happenings. The characters of Jacob and Moses broke my heart in their strength. They lived through adventures that constantly threatened to go wrong, dangers that they barely escaped, and yet kindness of strangers that carried them through. It was inspiring to see the people who risked their lives to stand up for what was right and help these boys and others.

I couldn't put this book down.

A favorite quote: “Though the world is full of injustice, don’t ever give up hope. There’s a lush valley behind every new mountain.”

Children of the Stars is a historical fiction novel set in France during World War II. This touching story chronicles the twenty-eight month long journey of two young Jewish brothers Jacob and Moses Stein as they escape from confinement in war-besieged Paris and travel across German-occupied France to Spain and finally to Argentina in search of their parents who left them in Paris with an elderly aunt to go seek a safer place to live.
The plot in this compelling adventure flows at a fitting pace twisting and turning with hope then disappointment. The author skillfully blends real-life historical characters and events into the fictional plot. The characters are well developed, but at times their escapes did not seem plausible; however, that’s ok because after all this is a fictional account!
This story of perseverance and survival evokes a myriad of emotions—fear, anger, sympathy, sadness, outrage, joy, hope, and thankfulness to name a few. The World War II Era is not my favorite setting, and I was hesitant to read this book even with all the positive comments from Christian authors who I follow; however, I am glad I read it! This book captured and kept my interest from the beginning. I enjoyed the vivid descriptions and rich figurative imagery, and I especially enjoyed the segment of the story set in Le Chambon-sur-Ligon (quoting the author) “…where a village of men and women set their faces against the horror and showed that, armed with the Spirit, the noblest hearts are capable of overcoming and that the shadows of evil will finally be dispelled until light invades everything once more—for a new generation to believe it can change the world, or at least try.” I highly recommend this book.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via netgalley but am under no obligation to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.

The English title of this book, Children of the Stars, sounds bright and hopeful. And most of the time when that title has been used, it is just that. This book certainly does have its bright and shiny bits as well, although there’s plenty of parts that are not remotely so.


Yellow badge made mandatory by the Nazis in France
The thing is that the title is also a kind of a pun. At least in the gallows humor sense. Because the stars that Jacob and Moses Stein are the children of are the yellow Stars of David that the Nazis and their French collaborators, forced all Jews to sew on their clothing.

The title of this book in the original Spanish is Los Niños de la Estrella Amarilla – The Children of the Yellow Star, and so they were.

Children of the Stars takes place during the Nazi occupation of France, and Jacob and Moses begin the story wearing those yellow badges – and being rounded up and sent to horrific conditions in the Velodromo de Invierno outside Paris. A place where those same Nazis expected as many Jews as possible to die, before rounding the survivors up and sending them to concentration camps inside the Reich, where they were expected to die or be killed in the gas chambers.

Instead, these boys, 13-year-old Jacob and 9-year-old Moses, escaped the Velodrome and began a trek across France that was hopeful and heartbreaking in equal turns, hunting for their missing parents. Parents they believe are somewhere south of Lyon, but are actually much, much further away.

Across the Atlantic Ocean. In Argentina.

It will be a challenge for two young boys, alone in the world, to hide from the Nazis, the gendarmes, and the collaborators, all while making their way across hostile territory to an unknown future.

They find help along the way, as well as betrayal, along with more than their share of both good and bad luck. There are enough setbacks to challenge anyone, let alone two children.

And at the end, there is triumph.

Escape Rating A-: There is more than one way to look at this story. On the one hand, it is a story about the triumph of not just the human spirit, but of humanity itself over, under and around the bootheel of oppression and tyranny. And that’s a hopeful story, celebrating those who stand up to be counted even at the cost of their own lives.

But it is also a story about those who, as one of the characters in the story says, surrendered their souls and looked the other way.” Those who gave into the lies. The ones who kept their heads down and hoped that the ax would fall on someone else.

As that same character continued, “The worst friend of the truth is silence. The worst lie in the world is that ordinary people are powerless against tyranny.” The Stein boys, and those who helped them along their perilous journey, are the ones who stood up. But it is also the story of a world gone, not mad, but silent, allowing the evil to happen – even participating in that evil out of either cowardice or complicity.

The Stein brothers are fictional. But they are also a composite of many children who undertook the same journey, or similar. Thousands of children who managed to escape and find shelter, sometimes temporarily, sometimes long enough to outlast the war, and sometimes to escape it outright, as they did. And just as many who failed.

While the details of this journey are the product of the author’s imagination, the historical events that underlie it happened in history; both the horrors of the Velodromo de Invierno and the heroism of the town of Le Chambon Sur Lignon.

In the end, Children of the Stars is both a triumph of the human spirit, and a condemnation of the conditions that required it. And it is a story guaranteed to haunt any reader who lets it into their heart.

Title: Children of the Stars
Author: Mario Escobar
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Paris, 1942.

Jacob and Moses Stein are staying with their aunt amidst the Nazi occupation, while their parents search for a safe place for the family to be reunited. Before they can, the French gendarmes round up the Jews and detain them in the massive Vélodrome d’Hiver. Jacob and Moses are determined to escape and find their parents, but all they have is a handful of letters to lead them across the Nazi-filled countryside. Along the way they cross paths with many people who are determined to help them find their parents—no matter the cost.

Children of the Stars was a good historical read, but it was a little too…nice to be believable for me. Despite the harrowing time period, I never felt the boys were truly in danger, and I always knew they would find their parents in the end. Don’t get me wrong, I like happy endings, but this tone felt wrong for the story. These boys are alone in the midst of atrocities and horror, but those stakes never seemed to touch them, making this much less believable for me, although I enjoyed the characters themselves. This felt like a book aimed at a younger audience, with its characters who were never truly in danger.

Mario Escobar loves history. Children of the Stars is his new novel.

(Galley courtesy of Thomas Nelson in exchange for an honest review.)

Mario Escobar's Children of the Stars is a compelling work of historical fiction that focuses on two young Jewish brothers, Jacob and Moses Stein, who become separated from their parents when the Nazis invaded France during WWII. They are staying with their aunt until their parents can find a safe place out of the country for them all to live. Things don't go according to plan, however, and the Jacob and Moses end up on their own. Determined to reunite with their parents, the boys end up in a secluded town in the mountains of France and have to rely on the kindness of strangers to escape being rounded up by the Nazis.

I found this story absolutely riveting. It's an inspiring tale of determination, strength, faith, and resiliency. I was in awe of how brave the boys were and I loved seeing the French resistance in action as they helped the boys travel through France and hopefully to safety.

If you're interested in WWII historical fiction, Children of the Stars is definitely worth reading.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3195971384 I received this outstanding book from NetGalley as an ARC for an honest review. This was a very moving story about two young brothers , Jacob (13) and Moses Stein. They were separated from their parents when the Nazis invaded France . They were on the run, trying to stay alive and eventually reunite with their parents. They ended up in Le Chambonsur-Lignon and managed to stay alive thanks to the residents and righteous gentiles who risked their lives to save innocent Jewish children. The story mentions a French resistance Protestant Pastor, Andre Trocome and his wife, Magda. They were real heroes and they were incorporated into this novel. The story was well written and gave the reader an understanding of life in France between 1941 and 1943. The brothers had many frightening experiences , but, came across many good and caring Christians who all helped get them to safety and eventually reunite with their parents.

I received a free electronic copy of the ARC of this historical novel from Netgalley, Mario Escobar, and Thomas Nelson Publisher. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. I am adding Mario Escobar to my favorite authors. He writes a brisk, compelling tale with factual historical backgrounds and sympathetic protagonists.

And Children of the Stars is an excellent WWII historical. We begin with a prolog dating back to May 23, 1941, when Jewish German immigrant parents Eleazar and Jana Stein, actors by profession, take a train from Paris to seek a safe new home for their family further south. Paris has become dangerous and non-French Jews are being returned to German workhouses. Their children, brothers Jacob and Moses are left in Paris with their Aunt Judith, the older widowed sister of Eleazar and a long-time resident of Paris who took in her brother and family six years ago when they had to flee from Germany. Judith is not registered as Jewish and the boys should be safe with her in Paris until Eleazar and Jana can establish a safer home and send for them. Their ultimate destination would eventually be in South America.

Paris, in the spring of 1942, basic supplies and foods are exhausted, scooped up by German soldiers, and even those French residents with ration cards and ready cash can find little to eat. By the summer of 1942, Paris was under direct German rule and on July 6, 1942, French police officers began a mass arrest of 13,152 Jews, whom they held at the Winter Velodrome before deportation to Auschwitz. Thousands of Jewish families, including native French Jews, were imprisoned there for days without food, water, medical assistance, or hope. Many were ill from the unrelieved heat and dehydration. All were enveloped in fear. The Stein boys were turned into the police by the doorwoman of Aunt Judith's apartment on day one while Judith was at work. They did not know if Judith was entrapped as well but were not able to find her in the Velodrome. Jacob, twelve years old, Moses, eight, team up with a youngster about Jacob's age named Joseph, also looking for family members in the crowded Velodrome. They managed to find their way into the basement area, and eventually, following the sound of water flowing in the sewer pipes, they were small enough to escape back under the streets of Paris and eventually to the apartment house of their Aunt. Finding no sign of Judith, the boys go with Joseph to his home. Joseph discovers that his family is interred at Drancy, and he chooses to join them there. First, they return to Judith's apartment, gathering necessities that will fit in their backpacks along with letters from their parents and their own passports. And find out from Margot, their downstairs neighbor, and friend, that their Aunt Judith had committed suicide, jumping from the roof of the apartment complex. Judith knew what happened to her father, taken to Dachau in 1937. She couldn't live knowing the German's had captured her nephews.

On their own, Jacob and Moses accompany Joseph as close as they can safely get to the gates of the internment camp and watch as he is reunited with his parents behind the gates of Drancy before making their way to the Gare de Lyon train station, and slipping onto the train without being stopped. In Versailles, they will be met by Margot's friend Raoul Leduc, an art restorer who is allowed to travel freely, who will help them get to their parent's last letter's address. Their next reunion destination will be a tiny town, Place de la Liberte, Valence, France, south of Lyon in unoccupied France. Or so they hope.

And thus begins their journey to find their parents. With common sense and luck, the help of strangers and the French resistance and the Catholic church, the boys work their way across France, missing their parents by weeks and then days. This is an excellent story. It will give you hope and break your heart in turn, but it is a story of courage and human goodness and will fill your heart with joy, as well.

This book was inspired by true events, but woven into an amazing historical fiction novel.

Two Jewish brothers, who have been left in the care of their Aunt who lives in Paris. Their parents have fled the country in hopes they can find a safe place to live and then send for their children. But time and time again those plans fall apart and these kids have to rely on strangers to help them get out of France.

An amazing take of strength, determination, and bravery that will leave you asking yourself, could you have done this. Would you leave your children and hope that you would one day see them again. Could you flee the only home you have ever known, depend on people you just met, and have a faith strong enough that you know you will never stop trying to find your family?

I am still asking myself those questions.

I received this book from Netgalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction in exchange for my honest review.

Children of the Stars is a harrowing tale of two Jewish boys' desperate escape from Nazi-occupied France during World War II. Mario Escobar weaves the true story of the people who lived in a secluded mountain town in France named Le Chambon-Sur-Lignon into his fictional tale when the boys arrive in the village looking for refuge. The brave men and women of this rural town risked their lives to save the people marked for destruction by the Nazi regime.
Children of the Stars was both a beautiful and terrifying story. Knowing the brutality and hatred that fueled the Nazi’s goal of eliminating the Jewish people, it was difficult to read about two young boys who were without protection or guidance from family or friends. They seemed so young, lost and vulnerable. The daily peril Jacob and Moses encountered on their journey kept me turning pages and reading one more chapter despite the dread I had at knowing the truth about the horrors they might face.
One of the reasons I love historical fiction is I like to learn about parts of history that may otherwise remain a mystery. And while I knew there were people who opposed the Nazis and fought to keep as many Jews safe as possible, I did not know about the brave community of Le Chambon-Sur-Lignon. Reading the sermons from the pastors there, and seeing the sacrifices people were willing to stand up against such evil was a beautiful tribute to the good in humanity and the heart Christ gives us.
This goodness was a common theme in the book as Jacob and Moses traveled day after day. There were plenty of ‘bad’ people along their path. There was definitely evil closing in on all sides, but they managed to find the good in people, too--the love shared between others simply because we have the same heart beating inside each of us.
The shifting point of view distracted me at first, but I quickly became accustomed to it, and it allowed the author to give us more insight into how people from different walks of life viewed the destruction happening all around them.
If you are a fan of historical fiction, especially WWII fiction, you will enjoy the unique tale of this book. I have read several fictional WWII books as well as several non-fiction books by survivors of the Holocaust, and I’d never come across a story like this. The historical details the author gives before and after the story are interesting as well. You can tell the sacrifice and bravery of the people of Le Chambon-Sur-Lignon laid heavy on the author’s heart, and I’m glad he shared their story with all of us.
I was given a copy of this book by the publisher with no expectation of a positive review. All opinions are my own.

I couldn’t put this down. I loved how it focused on the brothers’ hope & they never gave up on finding their parents.

I had hoped for an update on Joseph from Paris & Anna but it felt more realistic that they wouldn’t have known what became of them.

I loved how they used fact to embellish the fiction.

Truly great read.

Of the many stories that have ever been told, or that will be told, stories of World War II and all the atrocities associated are some of the most important ever. The reign of terror that Hitler and his Nazis inflicted upon millions of innocent men, women, and children should never be taken for granted or be forgotten. Children of the Stars by Mario Escobar is one such novel that tells the harrowing story of Jacob and his brother Moses who together embark on the wildest odyssey across occupied France during the 1940s in search of their parents. This novel is filled with twists and turns, and just when you think the boys are on the right track heartbreak and disappointment ensue. Children of the Stars is an adventure story I won’t soon forget.

While there is a lot of action in this novel, I struggled with this story. I found the pacing to be incredibly slow. In fact, this book took me ten days to read. Yes, ten days! I’ve been struggling to figure out why I had such a difficult time reading this story, and I really think it boils down to one thing — believability. I do not for one second believe that an 11-year old and an 8-year old are capable of doing half the stuff Jacob and Moses do in Children of the Stars. And, their internal monologues seem that of men, not scared, little boys. For example, at one point Jacob, who is 11, makes this astute observation: Valence was more like the country his parents had fallen in love with and where they had hoped to make a fresh start and which, since the arrival of the Nazis with their threats and lies, had become gray and prosaic, like an endless, monotonous silent film. I’m sorry, but show me an 11-year old who can make this observation and use prosaic and monotonous correctly in a sentence. Perhaps French kids in the 1940s who had been abandoned by their parents and who were actively escaping the Nazis did think and speak at such an advanced level, but I just couldn’t buy it. The intense fear from trying to constantly be two steps ahead of the Nazis alone would make even the smartest 11-year old think and react as a child naturally would. Don’t get me wrong. I know kids can rise above and often take on adult-like roles when they shouldn’t have to, but in this novel, it is just TOO much and so unbelievable.

I did appreciate the many timely themes that Escobar presents. There is a lot to mentally chew on. My most favorite food-for-thought came when two French police arrive at a woman’s house to search it for hidden Jews. The homeowner offers the two men coffee, and in a fit of guilt, one of the police officers tells the woman, “Don’t think it’s easy for us to go after innocent people. Most of them are children, or mothers and elderly folk. It breaks our hearts to arrest them, but it’s our duty.” The woman tells this man, “We must always act according to our conscience, no matter our occupation.” I love this response! I would like to believe that if I were in the cop’s shoes I would have done something noble like create an underground resistance and thwart the Nazis at every turn. I’m not cool enough to be that fearless and smart under such scary circumstances, but I pray that in a situation like this I would choose to do what honors God more than what honors men.

While I did appreciate the many thought-provoking themes and wise tidbits that occur often in this novel, the unbelievability of Jacob’s and Moses’s characters made Children of the Stars a novel I could set down. In the end, I just could not suspend my disbelief enough to accept that an 11-year old and an 8-year old could traverse all of France and Spain escaping Nazis with little experience, know-how, or resources. Even in 1942, kids were kids.

I received a review copy of this novel in eBook form from the publisher, Thomas Nelson, via NetGalley. In no way has this influenced my review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.