The holocaust is a time in history I’ve always felt drawn to and I’ve read many books, both fact and fiction, about it. You know a book about this subject will always be emotional and this is no exception. Compelling, tender and poignant, this book swallowed me whole. I devoured it quickly, unable to put it down once I’d started reading. It is a story of strength and hope. Of finding light in the darkest times and the kindness that can be found in humanity even amongst the wretchedness and evil.

I hadn’t expected this to be a story mostly about the friendships between women in a death camp but it became my favourite aspect of the story. Seeing how they would help each other survive, offer comfort and words of encouragement was uplifting. Eva and Sofie had a true and loyal friendship and literally put their lives on the line for each other again and again. They were both someone I’d have wanted by my side in that situation and all the women in this book were strong, brave and inspirational. The author uses a past narrative to show us Eva and Sofie’s lives before the camp and show that they were just normal women living their lives until they were caught up in something unimaginable. The love story between Eva and Michal and the pain of Sofie’s separation from her son were vividly described in the flashbacks and made me root for them both to survive and be reunited with their loved ones. As I read I could never be completely sure which of the two women would become pregnant or how and when it would happen. I wondered how a child could possibly survive pregnancy inside a starving mother’s body, let alone the dangers of the camp, and was filled with dread even though we know from the opening pages that the child survives.

This is the first time I’ve read anything by this author but it won’t be the last as her writing was exquisite. I felt like I was transported to hell along with the characters via the author’s visceral and immersive prose that told the unvarnished truth of the holocaust. And though it made for difficult reading at times, it is told with sensitivity, with strands of hope woven through every page as we witness the endurance and resilience of the human spirit and how the miracle of a new life illuminates the darkness and despair.

All the characters in the book are well written and soon got under my skin. The author has a talent for evoking strong emotions towards the characters - be it love, sympathy, joy, despair, heartbreak or hatred. There were some formidable male characters, especially in Auschwitz, and the guards were the essence of the darkness, brutality and evil that lurks in the shadowy corners of humanity.

The Child of Auschwitz is a beautifully written, harrowing but hopeful story that I would highly recommend, especially if you’re someone who enjoys historical fiction.

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

I love World War II Historical Fiction and this book did not disappoint. This is the story of Eva Adami, her best friend Sofie Weis, Helga and Vanda who are all imprisoned in Auschwitz trying to survive the horrors of the concentration camp during World War II. It is told in a then and now format with then detailing Eva being a 21-year-old artist falling in love and eventually marrying Michal Adami, a concert violinist. This is a heartbreaking story that is a real page turner. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of this fantastic book in exchange for an honest review. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys WWII Historical Fiction as it will not disappoint you.

Received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own


I’ve read several books about the Second World War and Auschwitz that I loved but this didn’t make me feel anything. Since it a quick read there isn’t much time to actually get involved in the story. I felt detached from the story, which is kinda sad cause the story is a good one if it would only have more emotion in it. I didn’t feel drawn into the story. It doesn’t go deep into the living situation of the camp or very deep into the characters. It’s almost like it’s a superficial story, it barely scratched the surface. I was in no hurry to finish the story cause it didn’t captivate me. And I found the time line confusing, suddenly she was 4 months pregnant. Where has the time gone? I have no idea how long she has been at camp. Only bright point is that it wasn’t that long so I finished it in a few hours.

As with any story about the Holocaust, it's a story of life and loss. This one also features love and new life in one the darkest places during one of the darkest times of more modern history. This is the third book this year that I've read that has taken place fully or partially in Auschwitz and has followed someone living through that horror. Obviously, I don't "like" the Holocaust and that fact that it happened, but I am drawn to these types of books. Maybe because I know these stories could have or actually did happen just the book describes, it draws you into the story. You feel the emotion of it and that's what I felt reading The Child of Auschwitz. You get stories from several different perspectives of various characters who each experienced different tragedies and horrors in Auschwitz. I came across this book as a potential read as a reviewer and it was recommended for those who liked The Tattooist of Auschwitz. If you're interested in historic fiction, I would recommend this book. It feels hard to say you'll "enjoy" it when referencing a Holocaust book, but when I say enjoy I mean you will feel connected to the story thanks to Lily Graham's writing style and story telling. Also, there was a nice heart warming ending which feels so necessary after such a heavy read.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this heartrending account of the war years in auschwitz

prepare to be bombarded with all your emotions being tugged, this is a fictional account but has to be based on aspects of truth of what life was like in the prison camp auschwitz

i have to admit to being in tears at the end of this emotional rollercoaster of a book..they go through so much and suffer

but this is the story of a child being born in auschwitz and how through grit and determination how they survived...

gripping stuff ...it will make your blood boil and also make you cry

another author to keep an eye out for...

It’s hard to say how great this book as the topic is so harrowing.
This book was compelling and so beautifully written.
This was a complete page turner and I just couldn’t put it down at all.
There are two different time lines in this book which could be confusing at times
A great book

I received this book from a Netgalley request for an honest review.

This summer, I read many books about war fiction. However, I never thought I would read a book about World War II terrors. It is not a theme that is easy to read about. I did watch a few documentaries on Auschwitz prisoners and the stories were hearbreaking. The Child of Auschwitz by Lily Graham is a heartbreakingly beautiful story beacause of its plot, its themes and its characters.

The plot is set in a labor camp of Auschwitz, where the two protagonists Sophie and Eva have been transported to. I particularly liked how the author writes about Sophie and Eva's never ending and strong friendship. A story about friends in a labor camp is not what I expected, but the warmth of these friends' story is what emanates the horrors of the camp. The story is about hope and that is consistently and beautifully depicted in this story of friendship. However, I did not like the pace of the plot. I felt that every event in the plot was happening too fast. The fast pace did not efficiently convey the horrors covered in the story. Nonetheless, the plot was still amazing as the protagonists' tale of friendship outshone everything else.

The themes that I particularly liked from this book were of friendship, love and family. The theme of friendship is brought up in Sophie and Eva's relationship and through this theme, Graham shows how people come together in times of hardship and how they stick together no matter what. The theme of love was beautifully highlighted in Eva and her husband's relationship. I love how the author put in some flashbacks of how Eva first met her husband and she fell in love with him. Eva's determination to find her husband and to survive is what really resonates to the reader. These elements of the plot show that love can be a very powerful and beautiful emotion, and these messages appealed to me. The book mostly focuses on theme of family and that goes hand in hand with the setting of the Auschwitz camp. I felt this way because the speration and loneliness that the Jews had gone through by being sent to the camp conveyed the significance of family. All the characters missed their families and wanted to find their loved ones. Through focusing on this theme, Graham efficiently highlights the horrors of the Holocaust and World War II. Overall, the themes of friendship, love and family are beautifully addressed in this book.

I loved the characters of this book- the heroes evoked all the love in me while the villains provoked all the hate in me. I loved both Eva and Sophie becaue both of them were so loving and selfless. They are two strong women who do their best for survival and for each other and that is what I loved about them the most. There were a good amount of villains in the book as well and Graham has made them very vicious which emphasizes how cruel war can be. The characters of this book were amazing and they were well-developed throughout the plot.

Lily Graham's The Child of Auschwitz is an amazing story about suffering and friendship especially for its plot, its themes and its characters. It brings to light the horrors of the Holocaust and what many Jews suffered in the prison camps. I specifically liked this book because it highlights the Holocaust from the female point of view and it has strong female characters in  it. The Child of Auschwitz is a beautiful story and I recommend it to anyone who loves to read historical fiction.

Thanks to NetGalley, Bookoture and Lily Graham for providing me with an early release copy of this book.

WWII Historical Fiction is a genre I love to read. I am very familiar with the time line of events and look for stories that can me offer something different / unique about this period that I haven't read before and this book hit the spot for me.

Told in 3rd person from the POV of both Eva and her best friend Sophie, it tells the story of how these women came to be Auschwitz, what they endured and how under the most horrific conditions, the miracle of pregnancy and birth happened. Reading this book was heartbreaking but I also felt the strong will to survive and never give up. It was very moving.

In all honesty I had no idea which 2 of these ladies were going to fall pregnant much less under what circumstances and that kept me intrigued.

Their daily struggle for survival in the camp and flash backs to life prior the anschluss whilst brilliantly delivered made up most of the book. Personally I felt the last few chapters were rushed and I was left wanting more. I would have enjoyed a few more chapters on their life after the war and the present day because I felt there was more to tell.

Lily Graham is a new to me author, and she is one I will read again.

Highly recommended to fans of this genre

I would rate this novel a solid 4-1/4 stars! As much as any story about the Holocaust is hard to read, this novel kept my attention and I finished this book in two settings! After reading this novel, my one thought through out this book was ...these people survived on pure luck and chance! There wasn't much added to this story that I haven't read in other books.... except a child born in Auschwitz and survived! I did enjoy this author ...her book is well researched and her style of writing kept me memorized from the first to last pages! I enjoyed her so much that I will look into more of her books in the future

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this novel in return for an honest and unbiased review

An engrossing description of the terrors of Auschwitz and the daily trials endured. We got a first hand account of Sofie and Eva, their loves, their hopes and dreams. My tissues were on the ready. This was by far one of the most in depth sorties I’ve read. Certainly worth reading.

This is the story of Eva and Sofie, prisoners in the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. While there, they both discover they are pregnant and vow to ensure the safety of their children. As with most WWII stories, there is a dual story line. Normally it’s past and present but this one spans only 4 years, which seems unnecessary. For that alone, the dual times don’t work for me personally. That being said, the story was slow to start but most of the story was more positive and hopeful than dark and horrific, given the setting. This was a new twist on a much-written about time in history.

'...despite all the horror in this world, all its darkness that tried so desperately to wipe us out, my life has been one full of joy, light, and love because no matter how hard someone tried to vanquish the day, what I have learnt in my long years in this life, is that dawn breaks even the longest night'

It is 1942, and Eva and Sofie are living with the consequences of their heartbreaking and impossible to decision to volunteer to be transported to hell on earth: Auschwitz. Both women are driven by desperation: Eva, to find her missing husband Michal; and Sofie, to find the woman who took, and hid, her son. But life in Auschwitz is almost impossible, and when Eva realises she is pregnant, both women are faced with unimaginable danger. How far will they go, and what they will give up, to ensure that hope survives?

This for me was a very quick read - I started it on Monday night, and had finished it by Tuesday lunchtime. It's not so much that it's a short book, more that it's one that lures you in and refuses to let you go: it's definitely one that isn't easy to put down!

Eva was such a well-written character, with none of the forced formality that can sometimes be found in historical fiction. Her voice is very much that of the average woman, which made her far easier to connect with, and also made her situation all the more poignant, as it really hits home the message that those who were imprisoned at these camps really were just like me or you. There was also a very strong sense of age - you could see a clear divide between the flashback scenes from her youth, and those written whilst she was at Auschwitz. This helped her feel more real, and to me showed a very high level of ability in terms of the authors writing.

While the focus of the story is on Eva and her search for her husband, Sofie also plays a significant role, and her search for the truth of what happened to her son is heartbreaking. To not know where your child is, not even to have the most basic information about whether they are safe, that pain is something I cannot even imagine, and it makes her decision to volunteer for life in Auschwitz even more understandable. The decisions she makes whilst at Auschwitz were incredibly brave, and everything she did was done to protect her friends, making her an incredibly strong and admirable character.

Now for the star of the show if you will - the child of Auschwitz, although baby is more like it. The accuracy with which these sections were written - Eva's pregnancy, her decision of what to do about it, the options presented to her, the difficulties of pregnancy, and the state of the child at birth - all of these sections were just spellbinding in their heartbreak. I was almost prepared for an overly cheery miracle child, but the baby instead was a true representation of the reality of her situation, and for that I applaud Lily Graham.

All in all, I was incredibly impressed, and very moved. 'The Child of Auschwitz' is at its heart, a story of hope. A wife hoping to see her husband, a mother hoping to find her child, and an entire community of women hoping for the survival of an impossible child, and all that she represents. It is moving, heartbreaking, and ultimately, in a very strange way, uplifting - an inspirational tale of survival against even the most unendurable odds.

Thanks to NetGalley I was able to read this untold horrifying story about Auschwitz, before it was published.

Journalist Lilly Graham seven books with totaly different perspectives. While writing The Child of Auschwitz she was inspired by the stories of survivors of Auschwitz. Most people propably will understand that there were baby's born in Auschwitz (for example because woman came there while they where pregnant or because of rape) but what you might not expect is that there where babies who where born there and survived the horrible sircumstanses of Auschwitz. This because of the strenght and loyality of there mothers and some of the other prisoners.

Vera Bein was one of these woman, she gave birth to a baby in december 1944. The little baby just was 1 kilo and was so weak it wasn't able to cry. This probably saved her life during the time in the concentrationkamps. With this story in her mind, just as the other stories of survivers Graham wrote a beautiful heartbreaking story about hope and love in a terrible time with terrible sircumstances.

"She realised that it was possible to be happy, in even the darkest of times."

Eva and Sofie met eachother in Terezin, where they decided - each by there own motives - to vollunteer to go on transport to Auschwitz. Sofie with the hope of finding her niece, who braught her son to a safe place and wasn't able to tell her where that place was. Eva to follow the love of her live, who was sended to Auschwitz to help build the camp. Both of them not knowing what horrible place and circumstances they would end up in. In Auschwitz they find a constant horrifying situation with just two causes, finding the persons they are searching for and surviving. To make this happen, they take horrible risks wich might cost them there lives. Sofie doesn't find herself any other choice than to be the pretend love of one of the SS nazi's, just to get the things she needs to survive.

Thanks to her friend Sofie, Eva finds her love in teribble circumstances. But she has to pay big time, for seeing him. And than, all of a sudden, Eva is pregnant. There's no doubt in her mind, she's gonna keep the baby, even if this will cost her her own life. On the night Eva gets the bad news her husband has died, she gives birth to a babygirl in Birkenau. The girl is real small and doesn't have the strength to cry. But Eva and Sofie have decided. The three of them have to make it out alive.

"Eva tried to sit up to see her child, and Helga held her back, her eyes worried as they all peered down at the tiny baby between her legs. They were all waiting for the cry. Which did not come."

In a beautiful way in wich Graham honers the characters of Eva and Sofie, Graham describes there lives. The dreamy, artistic character Eva is, you will find in the way she and her experiences are written. The same with Sofie, who's character is filled with strength. It's special how Graham managed to keep her readers caught up in the story and make them feel with the characters at the same time. This is why - as a reader - I found tears in my eyes while turning some of the pages. Pages that are filled with hope, love and friendship.

A horrible and at the same time beautiful story that every reader who loves world war II stories has to read. It's unique, not only because of the story, but also because of it's strenght, beauty and the way Graham moves her readers. This book is impressive and deserves a little space in your heart!

A heartbreaking read about how a baby was born in Auschwitz and survived. There is a lot of pain in this story but there is also hope, friendship, and love. This is a story that is definitely worth reading.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

The Child of Auschwitz follows the struggles of Eva and Sofie while they are prisoners in the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. While I have read many WWII stories, this was a new story line for me. The narrative is told in duel timelines, one in the "present" which is 1942 and the "past" in 1938. While I normally love duel time lines, it felt a little irrelevant in this novel. For me the story started out slow, with most of the action described in the synopsis on starting at about 60%. I loved how the author brought hope to a story line that would have easily been weighed down by the horrors of concentration camps. If you love WWII novels you should definitely go out and get this one when it comes out on November 8th!

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for providing me with an advanced readers copy.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC.

I loved this book, felt it was written really well and moved from past to present times easily. Set during World War II and based in a concentration camp it was a story of love, loss, friendship, hope and survival. For me it was a haunting read as you know these events happened. The characters were very likeable and I had so much empathy for them and what they went through. It is a book that plays with your emotions, sad and poignant in parts and a book I just couldn’t put down. A compelling, haunting story. Read it in one day. I’ve not read any of Lily Graham’s books before and would read other books by her.

This stunning historical fiction in the setting of Auschwitz will haunt me for a long time to come. It’s a story of love, hope and told through a combination of the present and the past flashbacks. It completely captivated me that I read it in a day because I just couldn’t stop

A Haunting Yet Hopeful Story About Survival and Love

The Child of Auschwitz by Lily Graham began in Prague just prior to the invasion of the Nazis. The Jewish families were skeptical about all the rumors they had heard about the cruelties the Nazis were inflicting upon the Jews.. Most Jewish families felt that none of those things could happen to them. Their government would not allow it. How wrong they were. When they realized their errors it was too late to escape or do anything about their circumstances. The Nazis became a constant presence in their country. There was fear and dread among the many Jewish families living in the countries the Nazis had taken over.

During that time, Eva Adami, a young Jewish girl met the love her life. Before too long, Eva and Michal, a Jewish symphony violin player, married after a beautiful and loving courtship. They were not married more than six months when the Nazis rounded them up and sent Michal first followed shortly by Eva to the Terezin family camp. Not long after, Eva found out that Michal had been sent to Auschwitz. At Terezin, Eva befriended Sofie and the two young woman became best friends. When Eva found out that Michal had been sent East she became determined to follow him. She could not live without knowing if he was alive. Eva nor Sofie could have ever imagined what a HELL their life was about to become. As they were pushed into the already crowded train they found that they had to endure standing up in the dirty, filthy, not fit for any human conditions of the cattle car that carried them to Auschwitz in 1942. Both Eva and Sofie had lost someone that they loved very much. That common bond that they shared helped them pledge to each other that they would do anything they had to do to survive Auschwitz so they could find their love ones when the war was over. For Eva it was her husband Michal and for Sofie it was her son Tomas.

Eva and Sofie found themselves working many jobs as they made the best of their circumstances. They were constantly hungry, cold, terrified and in constant fear of the mean Nazi guards. One day both women were assigned to work at the Kanada, the place the Nazis stored all the possessions taken from the new arrivals at Auschwitz. Eva and Sofie and the others were ordered to look for valuables that were often sewed into linings or hidden in garments. During that time. Eva started to find photographs that had been confiscated. Eva was good at hiding things in her clothing, a trick her uncle had taught her well. She hifd the photographs and hid them beneath her thin mattress. One day, Eva saw a man, Herman, that was in one of the photos she had taken. When she gave Herman the photo of him and his family he began to sob uncontrollably. His whole family had been sent to their deaths when they arrived at Auschwitz. The photo was the only memory he had left of them. He was eternally grateful to Eva and became her friend and helped her look for Michal on the men's side of Auschwitz. During Eva and Sofie's time working at the Kanada, Sofie found that one of the young Nazi guards, Meier, had taken a liking to her. Sofie used this to her advantage but she paid a very high price in return. With the help of Eva's friend, Herman, who she gave the photo to and Sofie's guard friend, Meier, Eva found Michal. He had been beaten to inches of his death. Eva was allowed to visit Michal and she watched him get better. During one of her later visits Michal and Eva slept together and Eva soon learned that she was pregnant. Several weeks later, Herman, brought more news of Michal to Eva. Michal had been transferred to a factory and was killed when a bomb exploded on it. Eva was distraught and the news sent her into premature labor. How could she go on without Michal? She fought to survive to be able to be with him again. She had to go on though for her unborn child. Eva miraculously delivered a baby girl, Nadeje, weighing less that two and a half pounds. Eva was told that Nadeje's lungs were very small and that she might not survive and even if she did her bones were so weak she could have even more problems. Knowing that she and Sofie had to survive, Eva whispered to her fragile daughter that she would survive too and that she would make sure she did.

At the end of The Child of Auschwitz it was revealed that Nadeje finally told her mother's story and therefore her own as well. Nadeje wrote, "I was never meant to live, but I have, because of her. Because of them, and despite all the horror in this world, all its darkness that tried so desperately to wipe us out, my life has been one full of joy, light, and love because no matter how hard someone tries to vanquish the day, what I have learnt in my long years in this life, is that dawn breaks even the longest night." Lily Graham did and excellent job researching The Child of Auschwitz. The story was based on the true story of Vera Bein who gave birth to a daughter in the top bunk of camp C at Auschwitz/Birkenau in December of 1944. Survivors like Eva Schloss ,who was the step-sister of Anne Frank, contributed her story and helped make this book so believable. Lily Graham got a better sense of what life was like in Prague and the ghetto of Terezin during that time from a diary that was given to her from a survivor, Helga Weiss.. Lily Graham researched and made the reader aware of the fact that babies that were born to Jewish mothers were put to death until November 1944. Sadly, even though seven hundred babies were born in Auschwitz, only a few survived.

Although I have read many books about the Holocaust, The Child of Auschwitz, although haunting left me with a touch of hope. I did not know that newborn babies were gassed. What monsters the Nazi guards were. It was hard to read in parts but also a bit uplifting to witness the friendships that took shape and how some took dangerous risks to help others and to give some prisoners a bit of joy. I would give The Child of Auschwitz a strong 4.5 stars. I highly recommend it.

Thank you to Netgalley, Bookoture and Lily Graham for my digital copy of The Child of Auschwitz. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishing house, Bookouture, for providing an advanced copy for review. All thoughts and opinions written in this review are my own.

Eva is a young woman who finds herself pregnant while living in the horrible conditions of Auschwitz. She must do what she can to survive and give her child a chance at what she knows will be a better life.

I quickly fell in love with the characters in this book and especially the main character Eva. I have read many World War II Historical Fiction novels and I don’t recall a character with as much strength and resilience as Eva. I have read books with strong leads, but the difference with Lily Graham’s book was that I never felt Eva’s strength waver throughout the book. No matter what was thrown in her way, she had a very strong desire to survive and “we will survive this” was a statement made by Eva in the book during different situations that were before her. She was a source of strength for those closest to her as well. Her friendships with Sofie and Helga and her love for her husband, Michal, was heartwarming and I found myself moved to tears by reading about the things they had to do to survive the devastation of the Holocaust. I appreciated that the author wrote about a love interest, a friend that was around her age, and another friend that could have been her grandmother.

The story is mostly told in a present (1942) and past (1938) type of timeline. Ms. Graham shapes the back story of Eva and her friend Sofie which is necessary to the telling of the events that lead them to be in Auschwitz. I enjoyed the layout of the book and didn’t mind the back and forth as it was not difficult to keep up with.

If World War II Historical Fiction is your favorite genre, “The Child of Auschwitz” needs to make it on your list to read.

My review can be found on Goodreads.

A wonderful book that takes readers on a painful journey following friends and family through the horrors of the Holocaust. Sadness, hope and pain affect the characters as they strive for a resolution. Definitely recommended to those readers who wish to read this book.