A truly amazing novel of the Holocaust. A very powerful and riveting read. Almost impossible to put down. A compelling account of the atrocities of WWII.

Phenomenal read.!!!

The Child of Auschwitz is a emotional historical novel loosely based on a true story. It is well written and a must read.

This book, though based on apparently true events, does not ring true at all. This is a Holocaust novel you should avoid. There are so many more out there that give a more realistic portrayal.

Based loosely around the true story of a woman who gave birth in Auschwitz, it is a beautiful story of love, heartbreak and hope.

If you enjoy WWII fiction this highlights the terrors men and women endured in Auschwitz, but he characters are likeable and Eva's hopeful outlook makes it an enjoyable and emotional read.

I received this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

It’s difficult to describe how beautiful and how heartbreaking this book is.

We all know about the horrors of Auschwitz, but this makes it so much more real, as we get to experience it through the eyes of the characters of this book. Although the characters are fictional, they feel so real, and of course, they reflect the true stories of Auschwitz.

The story is so compelling, and I loved the way it flicked back and forth between the characters’ lives before and during their time in Auschwitz. These were just ordinary people living their lives, who were thrown into this living hell.

The descriptive passages are very evocative and the whole novel feels so authentic. It’s so well written and flows so well, I couldn’t put it down.

This is a book that will stay with me for a long time, it’s an absolute must-read.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Emotionally raw new about the hortos experienced in a concentration camp. The characters are well-written and relatable. I loved the ending.

I received this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This was a quick read and a pretty good story. It took a little time to get into and there were a few times when I kept mixing up Eva and Sofie, but overall worth the time to read it.

"I was born into a world that had forbidden my existence.

The simple fact of me, had any of the authorities known, would have been enough to end my life before it had even begun. Still, I came. Small, and half-starved, yet determined to be alive, on one of the coldest nights in one of the darkest places in human history"

Could a baby been born in Auschwitz and survive? It seems impossible and yet it is true. Generally babies were routinely killed in the camps for they could do no work...in fact they kept their mothers from working. So to both be born and to survive is an incredible tale worth telling. Though fictionalised, THE CHILD OF AUSCHWITZ is a heartbreaking yet brave story based on that of Vera Bein, who gave birth to her daughter Angela on the top bunk in her barracks at Auschwtiz in December 1944.

"I barely made a sound, my underdeveloped lungs unable to allow me to cry. It would make my life hard, a price I would pay for all my years, but it is why I survived.
You see, there were children born in Auschwitz.
And I was one of them."

The story begins in the present day in Prague. An elderly woman is sifting through letters written in another time, another place. Letters her mother had written, telling the story of a story that began long before she was born. It was time. She had put it off for far too long waiting for the right moment to tell this story - her mother's story.

"She put her glasses back on her nose, and turned over a fresh sheet of paper. Then she touched the photograph in its gilt frame that was always on her desk, of a young, thin woman with very short dark hair and a baby in her arms.
She had one last story to tell.
Theirs.
And it began in hell on earth."

Prague, 1938. Eva was a young aspiring artist when she met Michal. She would listen to him play his violin each day and leave him a little something in return. He was a violinist in a symphony orchestra and one day he reciprocated the gift with two tickets to see him play. Michal affectionately called her "peach girl" because of the first gift she had left him was a peach.

It wasn't long before Eva knew she was in love and that they would be married. But there was unrest in Czechoslovakia in light of the Nazi occupation in Austria with Jews being stripped of their basic human rights. But Eva's uncle declared them to be safe and should it come to that they could make their escape.

Amidst all the unrest, Eva and Michal married, taking residence in his little flat, while he played in his symphony and she studied art. But then the Nazis came...and Jews were forbidden to attend school, to own a business, a house - anything.

Prague, 1942. Eva Adami had only been married for twelve months when the Nazis took Michal away. He was sent to Jewish ghetto Terezin, a concentration camp just north of Prague. A few short months later, Eva and her parents followed and she was delighted to be reunited with Michal, and although still separated they were able to see one another frequently. But it wasn't long before Michal was sent to Auschwitz...and Eva was devastated. So when the opportunity arose Eva volunteered to be sent there also...in order to find her husband.

For two days, Eva endured the long train journey with her new friend Sofie Weis, whom she met in Terezin, being treated like nothing short of an animal. She is tired, hungry, thirsty and in shock. For Eva, Sofie and thousands of Jews, nothing could prepare them for the horrors that await them at Auschwitz. They are sorted into groups - right to work, left to the gas chambers - then are told to remove their clothes, standing naked before the guards, their heads are shaved and numbers are tattooed on their arms. Like starving animals they then scramble through a pile of dirty clothing to cover themselves. The nightmare has begun.

Eva and Sofie find comfort in their friendship as life in Auschwitz begins. They have both been separated from loved ones with plans to find them...and they both came to Auschwitz for that purpose. Eva to find her beloved Michal, and Sofie to find her cousin Lotte who betrayed her when she informed the Germans that she and her family were feeling the country, therefore separating Sofie from her baby son Tomas. Lotte had placed Tomas somewhere safe while she was sent here to Auschwitz. And Sofie was determined to find her.

In Auschwitz, Eva and Sofie meet Helga and Vanda, sharing a bunk together in their awful accommodation, with their days spent being lined up and counted twice daily, standing in the freezing cold rain and snow. The guards are cruel, taking great pleasure in humiliating them, making them stand in the cold for hours. But like any prison, there are favours to be had and currency in the form of anything to gain them that favour. Even for the smallest request. Eva and Sofie soon learn the system and how to best take advantage of it to survive. Sofie has caught the eye of one of the guards, Meier, and she uses that to her advantage. So when Eva discovers Michal is in the camp hospital, after months of searching for him, Sofie makes a choice to succumb to Meier's demands so that Eva can spend half an hour with her husband.

Soon the target of an especially nasty guard, Hinterschloss, who takes enormous pleasure in humiliating her, Eva is forced to into doing hard labour on a railway which is a 3km walk away. She is being worked to death, is thin with starvation and malnutrition, and barely has the strength to remain standing. She is then told the distressing news that Michal has been moved to a factory camp where they build airplanes for the Nazis. While Eva would prefer him to be here with her, she knows he is much safer there. And then, not thinking that it was remotely possible, Eva soon discovers that she is pregnant. Eva knows she must hide her pregnancy from the guards, as killing pregnant women had been known to occur.

Then one night, in January 1945, after receiving the most devastating news, Eva goes into labour...and her baby daughter is born on the top bunk of their barracks, her existence hidden from the guards. But she is small, her lungs are under developed and they are sure she will not survive.

Eva and Sofie know that they cannot last much longer in Auschwitz. The conditions are appalling, the food inedible (what there is of it), and if the war doesn't end soon, the are sure they will die there if they cannot get out alive. The two women make a promise to each other that they WILL survive this together, and in the event that they don't that they look after each other's children - to find baby Tomas and to keep Eva's baby safe.

When I started THE CHILD OF AUSCHWITZ, I thought it was going to be primarily about a child growing up in Auschwitz but it was more about the friendships of the women there. Together, they helped each other survive the harsh conditions, offering comfort and words of encouragement. The friendship between Eva and Sofie is one of loyalty as they continually put their lives on the line for each other again and again. It is a story of love, of friendship, of selflessness, extending beyond the confines of the camp and its horrifying conditions.

Told in varying timelines, THE CHILD OF AUSCHWITZ is a novel, not a memoir. Beginning in the present day, the story then unfolds in the dual time of 1938 and 1942 with heartbreaking realism. The flow between the timelines is seamless and is woven together magnificently with such precise detail.

THE CHILD OF AUSCHWITZ is a beautifully written, harrowing tale of unimaginable horrors and abuse that is both heartwrenching and touching. In the midst of the abhorrent conditions this is also a story of hope.

When I began THE CHILD OF AUSCHWITZ I really wasn't sure what to expect, but it left me in tears as I read the final chapters.

A compelling read that is so beautifully written of a harrowing time, THE CHILD OF AUSCHWITZ is both heartbreaking and uplifting...and unforgettable. The best story of Auschwitz I have read and my first by Lily Graham.

I would like to thank #LilyGraham, #NetGalley and #Bookouture> for an ARC of #TheChildOfAuschwitz in exchange for an honest review.

Set in 1942 and Eva Adami has boarded a train to Auschwitz. Separated from her husband Michal, who was sent there six months earlier she is hoping to be reunited with him there but when she arrives at Auschwitz, there is no sign of Michal. . When Eva realises she is pregnant she fears she has endangered both the lives of herself and a friend. The women promise to protect each other’s children, should the worst occur.

I found this a heart-breaking story of survival, where life or death relies on the smallest chance and happiness can be found in the darkest times. This book held me captive till the end which I was not expecting and which moved me to heaving sobs at the end of the book. If a book can do that through words the the writer obviously knows how to write and get through to their readers.

This book....wow. So moving, so hard to read, such a sweet sweet story of family, friendship, love, all in the midst of the worst circumstances on earth. Thank you thank you for allowing me the opportunity to review this incredible book!

If I had to sum up this book in one word, it would be hope. Eva survived on hope, as did her daughter. And though the author did an amazing job of describing the horror that Eva and the other women endured, there is no way I could ever even comprehend the conditions at Auschwitz. The most astounding part of this story was that the main character actually gave birth to a daughter and she survived!! I always hesitate to say that books like these are good, because of the subject, but this was a really good book!!

I received this book from Netgalley and Bookouture for my honest review.

The Child of Auschwitz by Lily Graham was a heart breaking story of death, despair, survival and hope. It's set in a Auschwitz concentration camp in the second world war. You will need tissues for this one.
It follows the story of Sophie and Eva who were prisoners in a concentration camp. How they became friends, as they struggled to survived in the Auschwitz concentration camp.

In 1942, Eva Adami boarded a train to Auschwitz. She is exhausted from standing for two days and is pressed against so many bodies within the carriage, she is finding it hard to breathe. She is thinking and hoping to find her beloved husband Michal who was sent there six months earlier. When Eva arrives at Auschwitz, she does not find Michal, she is shocked on what she see's in front of her. Eva becomes friends with Sophie, who is her bunkmate within her unit she has been put in. Days pass into months and they both learn from each other. Eva's dream and hope was to find her beloved husband Michal but hopes of finding him are becoming slim. Sofie is hoping she will be reunited with her son Tomas who is over the border in an orphanage in Austria.
Eva, realises and fears she is pregnant and she knows she is putting all their lives endangers. Their friendship becomes stronger and they both promise to protect both of their children if the worst may happen. (don't forget your tissues - You will need them)

Eva's has the baby. OMG She is so tiny and does not make a sound. She has not cried! But she is breathing but, only just.

Does she survive?

Does Eva find her beloved Husband Michal?

Does Sofie get reunited with her sonTomas?

OMG What a Book (Sniff Sniff)

Well, You will need to read this book!

I highly Recommend The Child Of Auschwitz.

This book was inspired by a true story. A young girl called Vera Bein gave birth to her daughter in concentration camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau in December 1944. The baby only weighed just 1kg and was too weak to cry. Records show over 680 children were born in Auschwitz-Birkenau and to date only a handful of them are known to have survived. This book was a great read and an emotional ride to learn how one small child born so tiny survived.


Massive Thank You to NetGalley, Bookoture and Lily Graham for my copy of her new book: The Child Of Auschwitz.

timeline, netgalley, romance, ww-ii

This is a heartwrenching story of the horrors, abuse and terrors of the lives of Jews at both Terezin and Auschwitz concentration camps. The main characters are two young Jewish women Eva and Sophie. It is written in a split-time format beginning and ending with the elderly daughter of Eva, one time period covers Eva's meeting, romance, and early marriage with her husband Michal, and the last and most prominent is the time in the concentration camps.

Graham paints an excellent picture of life in a concentration camp particularly Auschwitz, and her historical research is evident. It is notated at the beginning that the story is based on true events. I can't even begin to imagine the courage, fortitude, and determination both Eva and Sophie had to live through the horrors with which they were inflicted. The things they had to do to survive were unimaginable. The pace and manner in which Graham built the story to the beautiful ending left me with hope for those who survived and sadness for the majority who didn't.

Well written and I will be looking for other books by this new-to-me author.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a heartbreaking story of a young woman during WW2. Her fight for survival in Auschwitz and the hope that she will find her husband there. After the war she travels back home to look for any surviving family.
Lily Graham did a fantastic job of creating very real characters that felt true to life. It felt more like reading a memoir than a historical fiction. Her storytelling doesn't come across as dark as some other books I have read regarding this time period but has an air of hope embedded in the pages.
This is a great book that should be read by everyone.

This was a great book. Would recommend it to anyone that wants a good read. I want to thank NetGalley for the chance to read this book.

Very powerful book to read. So many books similar to this on the market today. How do you make one better than the last person? While the story is sad and no one should have been allowed to treat people in such a manor I do feel there becoming all the same

The Child of Auschwitz is a gripping, graphic and well written novel about the absolute horrors of Auschwitz. This is one of those novels that I wish i could place in the hands of Holocaust deniers and force them to read- because it so vividly describes the horrors of Auschwitz, one of the Nazi death camps. Lily Graham is an extremely talented writer, and really gets the reader to identify with Eva and Sophie and their daily nightmare of their time in Auschwitz.
It would be difficult to say I "enjoyed" this book, as its' impossible to enjoy a story about the Holocaust. However, It is an IMPORTANT book to read as it so vividly details the treacherous daily life for a prisoner in a concentration camp. I felt like i was right there with Eva as she persevered against the hatred directed at her, and the injuries she experienced in the camp while trying to find her precious husband Michal. And my heart hurt for Sophie who was forced to become a mistress to one of the Nazi's while helping Eva. And for Sophie's heartache wondering if she would ever see her beloved son after the war.
I highly recommend "The Child of Auschwitz" to readers looking to add a Holocaust based novel to their library.

What a heart-stopping opening sentence!
This story is so much more personal, being written in the ‘first person’.
A very moving book, sharing glimpses of ‘normal’ life before the horrors began; & with a bittersweet ending. The same circumstances could bring out the worst in some people, yet the best in others. Whilst we have the benefit of hindsight, being aware of what was going on in the larger picture, not everybody at that time had that knowledge. There is an innocence of behaviour, which will never be recaptured by any survivors.
Although it can be difficult to read about the Holocaust, we have a duty to inform ourselves about it, to remember these people – the few who survived, & the many who did not - & the lives they were robbed of living. We have all been cheated of their being a part of our world : who knows what they may have achieved for the general good, if given the chance to fulfil their potential.

Such tragic story about life, loss and survival. I am glad I was able to read this book, but it is definitely an easy book to read. It definitely made me think about how lucky I am to live in this era and how much my ancestors have suffered.

This is such a heart- breaking story of survival, it’s haunting but at the same time uplifting to know that there can be hope against all odds.
Could you imagine a Jewish baby being born in Auschwitz and surviving? This is an amazing story of the miracle of life. The strength and hope that the women in this story held onto to survive despite the atrocities they encountered was incredible.
The story begins in Prague, Year 1938 where families were sceptical about the rumours of the Nazis invading Czechoslovakia. They felt the invasion wouldn’t reach Prague and by the time they realised how wrong they were it was too late to escape the country.
This is a very character driven story about friendships, survival and courage amongst the horrific conditions in the concentration camps the Jewish were taken to and had to endure. Most of their survival was dependent on luck and timing. The story is centred around Eva Adami a young Jewish girl who is newly married to Michal a Jewish symphony violin player and Sofie Weis a young mother who becomes best friends with Eva at the concentration camp.

This book was inspired by the true story of Vera Bein who gave birth to her daughter in the top bunk of camp C at Auschwitz-Birkenau in December 1944. The baby weighed just 1kg and was too weak to cry. Records show that at least 700 children were born in Auschwitz-Birkenau and to date only a handful of them are known to have survived.
A beautiful story, one of my favourite holocaust stories read this year, spellbinding reading! 4.5 Stars!

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for an advanced copy