The futility of War was clearly demonstrated in <b>The Warsaw Orphan</b> by Kelly Rimmer.   Another very good historical fiction set during WWII which showed the many ways lives are impacted as well as taking readers on the road to recovery after the fighting had ceased.

This novel was set in Poland and it primarily revolved around two families and some of their neighbours.     Elzbieta, a fourteen year old girl, is living in Warsaw under a false identity with her adoptive parents Mateusz and Truda and her Uncle Piotr.  She was adopted and they fled to Warsaw after her only remaining family -  her father and her brother - were executed by the Nazi's for helping Jews. 

Roman and his family were living in the Jewish Quarter (aka the Jewish Ghetto) in Warsaw. They tried to remain upbeat despite the lack of food, diminishing health and the daily threat of deportations.   Roman had promised his father he would not join the resistance  and agreed that so long as they were all together all would be well.  However their positivity was not rewarded and Roman was left behind when the family was rounded up and put on trains bounded to the concentration camps.

Told from the alternating perspectives of Elzbieta (aka Emilia) and Roman, the story spanned the years 1942 through to 1946 and showed us various aspects of the war.   Fear was a big one.  Loss of family.    Hunger another, even for the non Jewish Poles, living conditions were grim.   We saw how easy it was for Polish citizens to turn a blind eye to the mistreatment of the Jews and their fear of being accused of sympathising with them.    A strong theme was individuals doing their part to right wrongs and to fight for the country's freedom.   In this respect Elzbieta befriended Sara, a neighbour, and became involved in the Underground movement trying to rescue children from the ghetto and placing them with safe families outside the walled compound.   Meanwhile, with his family taken from him, Roman joined the ZOB (Jewish Fighting Organisation) and fought in the Warsaw Ghetto uprising.  There was the total destruction of the buildings, the culture and people's livelihoods. The loss of vast numbers of lives and even more wounded and critically injured.   Then we were shown how lives were altered (for the worse) by the Red Army as Stalin's forces occupied Poland and took out their anger and frustrations on the citizens.   Surprisingly though the story was also filled with feelings of hope, of goodness occasionally winning out over evil, and the beauty of family and friendships, of people coming through for others in incredibly tough situations.   Overall a very wothy read.

One thing I'd looked forward to and was somewhat disppointed not to find at the end of the book was an Author Note section.  I'd hoped this would reveal for me some of tge authors research, explain which elements were  based on fact and which were pure fiction.   Even without this I've since established that the Warsaw Ghetto uprisings and the AK (Home Army) uprisings were real events and so I have learnt a little more WWII history with thanks to this novel.

I enjoyed this book and provide thanks to the Author, to Harlequin Books S.A. and NetGalley for the opportunity of reading this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review which it was my pleasure to provide.

There are many novels that take place during World War II because of the material and dramatic narratives that can be constructed in that period of history. Some of these novels are memorable and draw the reader back through time. I thoroughly enjoyed this story told from the point of view of two young characters in Poland. While there is tragedy and great sorrow, Kelly Rimmer doesn't pull the reader through details of agonizing and terrifying scenes but focuses instead on the characters' feelings and transformations. Even though the story has sadness, it is more filled with inspiring hope and love. I greatly enjoyed this one!
Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy of the book. All opinions are my own.

Marathon-read this over a weekend and, as I expected, it is now one of my 2021 favourites! :)

Rimmer's latest was beautifully written, and her meticulous research completely immersed me in the world. I definitely cried a lot -- but the quieter moments/displays of love within each family ensured some of those were happy tears. Emilia and Roman's resilience left me hopeful and inspired -- I want to dive further into the history covered within the book and plan to revisit The Things We Cannot Say soon!

Look forward to recommending this alongside TTWCS !!

Kelly Rimmer is one of my top go to writers, so when I was offered The Warsaw Orphan it was a no brainer! YES PLEASE!Kelly’s historical fictions are amazing and The Warsaw Orphan is no different! Hands down 5+++ star book!
The Warsaw Orphan was a heartbreaking and beautifully written novel. Kelly wrote about such a difficult time with such grace and heart. There is really nothing I can say about this book that will do it justice. Take my word and read it!

Kelly Rimmer succeeds every time to break my heart and put it back together again in 400 pages! Overflowing with history, emotion, and attention to detail, THE WARSAW ORPHAN, paints a picture with words that will last in the reader's memory forever. LOVE LOVE LOVE

Kelly Rimmer is an author that I will always read! Her historical fiction stories are incredible. This one was especially heartbreaking like I find most WWII stories. But she tells it so beautifully. Highly recommend this one!

Absolutely fantastic! I've talked about this book with many many friends and have encouraged them to read it. I appreciate how Rimmer handled some very difficult war situations without adding graphic detail. She certainly made you fall in love with the protagonists, and she highlighted an important piece of history (Warsaw Uprising) that I had only heard in passing but did not know details on. THIS is why I love and appreciate historical fiction. I also loved the part of the story with Emilia kept her baby and gave it to her adopted mother. What a beautiful example of the innocence of babies, no matter how they were conceived, and the importance of life!

If you know me, you know I love historical fiction! WWII is my favorite, so I was excited to get this engaging and captivating story and be part of this tour. I’ve read one of Kelly Rimmer’s other novels, Truths I Never Told You, so I know that I would enjoy it! This story is based in fact and I had heard of Irena Sendler, but this story just sucked me in. The details were amazingly vivid and the story stayed with me long after I was done reading.

Thank you for having me as part of the tour and for my e-galley!

I will continue to read anything written by Kelly Rimmer. She is an amazing storyteller. This new WWII historical fiction book was so well written and the characters were great. I would highly recommend this book to fans of historical fiction. Thanks to Netgalley for this review copy.

Thank you Kelly Rimmer for keeping the brutal history of The Holocaust alive in your writing. The Warsaw Orphan is the second book I have read by Kelly Rimmer, The Things We Cannot Say being the first. Both books are a solid five star read for me.

The atrocities that took place during Hitler’s reign are unimaginable. Rimmer does an amazing job in depicting the life of the polish people who lived in Warsaw during this time in history. You did not have to be Jewish to have experienced the torture, witness the destruction, loose family, and be forever mentally ruined.

The characters are very real, the struggles and pain they face are so well described that you are transformed into the ghetto, transformed into the Warsaw Uprising and transformed into the underground, believing you have stepped into their shoes and are actually living their lives. It is a nightmare that no human should ever have to endure. We must thank authors like Rimmer for keeping this part of history alive.

One of the characters in The Warsaw Orphan is loosely based on the real life heroine, Irene Sendler, a Polish nurse, who saved thousands of Jewish orphans from the Warsaw Ghetto. The character’s in the Warsaw Orphan are resilient, courageous, determined, strong, loving and have a passion for their country. They will go to any extreme to protect each other and their country.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an ARC of The Warsaw Orphan in exchange for an honest review and thank you Kelly Rimmer for bringing this story to readers. This is a must read in 2021.

The most profound impact of The Warsaw Orphan for me is the age of the main characters. They are young - children. Yet, they sound and behave as adults for that is the reality of their lives. Time and time again throughout this book, the events and then the reminder of their ages makes the emotion and the horror that much greater.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2021/06/the-warsaw-orphan.html

Reviewed for NetGalley and the HTP Historical Fiction Summer 2021 blog tour.

When I read The things we cannot say, I was amazed at Rimmer’s ability to portray feelings. That made me concern about The Warsaw orphan, what if it didn’t live up to its predecessor? (Not that is a series, although it is a companion story, I just mean I read it first).
Well, my concerns easily disappeared once I started reading The Warsaw Orphan. At first I just read some chapters each day because I was not sure what I would find, I was not sure it I could deal with heartbreak. Nevertheless, once you start immersing in the story you just cannot stop. I read for hours over the weekend, until I finished the book, late at night, with my eyes swollen from so much crying.
The story is heartbreaking, as any story about WWII could be, but the way that Rimmer shows the feelings, thoughts and connections of the characters is just so powerful that it is hard not to be moved by them. It was heartbreaking to see how life drew the characters apart, but it was beautiful to see all the love they still had for each other.
I loved Emilia; she was such a strong girl, from a very young age, as I am sure many teens were (forcibly) during that time. I loved her family and the way they supported her. I loved Sara’s ideals and Roman’s too. I loved the rawness of Roman’s feelings. Overall, I loved it all.
Kelly Rimmer did it again, and gave us a compelling and powerful story about goodness and love even in the hardest of times. A story about hope and faith that should definitely be read.

Despair and tragedy at every turn in 1942 Warsaw, Poland. However, courage and conviction are also at play. Elzbieta Rabinek has been living a comfortable life despite the tragedy she already experienced. However, she befriends her neighbor Sara, who is a nurse and who often acts as a social worker. Secretly, Sara has been working to save Jewish children, either orphaned, sick or dying, with hopes of secreting these children into families that might give these children a future. It is a dangerous endeavor to be sure, but Elzbieta pushes her way into the resistance, proving her incredible strength, friendship and value, although only fourteen years of age.

Then there is Roman Gorka and his brother Dawidek. Their family is starving and their mother is nursing a six-week old baby girl. Will they be deported, even killed, or simply (not so, really, albeit tragically) starve to death? Sadness and frustration lead to anger, and causes Roman to fight with incredible vigor.

Life has a measure of beauty, despite the dark days each of them face, although for different reasons. Will Roman find strength within himself, even while finding love for Elzbieta and take whatever risks that are in front of them to seek a freedom that is out of the reach for most? Will they face execution and death for their actions?

The Nazi occupation was awful, and that is truly an understatement. Elzbieta and Roman's story of fighting the impossible with the possibility of a future of freedom and love is equally tragic and touching. Over and over again the stories in this book are heartbreaking, considering the countless lives affected by the Nazis. Danger is never far away, making the idea of one day life being worth living a difficult concept to imagine.

The Warsaw Orphan is an incredible story, although utterly tragic, and one that brought many a tear, all while hoping against hope that Elzbieta and Roman just might survive their individual horrors to perhaps forge their way to a future together. I have read many historical fiction novels based on that terrible time during World War II, but this book was harder than most. However, the journey that Elzbieta and Roman traveled was told so well, often seperately, and I could not help but feel for the both of them, while applauding their strength and resilience despite incredible odds.

Many thanks to Graydon House and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

In the gut-wrenching follow-up to her novel The Things We Cannot Say, Rimmer depicts Elzbieta Rabinek’s emotional roller coaster ride through the fear, murder, starvation, rape, outrage, frustration, and heartbreak of both Nazi-occupied Poland and then Communist-occupied Poland. Born Emilia Slaska, the 14 year old Elzbieta flees her hometown with her newly adopted parents and must somehow keep her sanity surrounded by death and destruction. Living outside of the Jewish Ghetto, Elzbieta naively travels daily inside to help Jewish children learn their catechism in hopes they will survive the outside world. Along the way, she meets the angry and vengeful partisan Roman Gorka who has lost his entire family and will impact her life in ways that she never expected.

Every single aspect of my life had fallen out of my control, and not quite 14 years old, I was somehow both wise beyond my years and emotionally stunted. Unable to process or even understand my own confused feelings, I had begun to crave autonomy desperately enough that I was driven to seek even the illusion of it. I made dozens of small decisions each day. The goal was to keep me safe and sane.

I would be going home without food for my mother that night, and the implications made me want to curl up in a ball right there in the gutter. But hopelessness was dangerous, at least in part because it was always followed by an evil cousin. Hopelessness was a passive emotion, but its natural successor drove action, and that action rarely resulted in anything positive.



An unforgettable story with unforgettable characters. Both on opposite sides of the wall that separated the ghettos of the Jews and the rest of the people of Warsaw. Both Elzbieta Rabinek and
Roman Gorka. I loved these characters. Elzbieta's compassion and her ability to see what others missed. Her drive for courage. The courage and the fear she faced was incredible. I actually felt like a better person reading about her. Roman whose family was Jewish was dreading when his family would be deported on the trains. Rumors were abound. His anger and fight for his family kept his hope alive. When the two meet, it was something special. No words can describe their relationship. It was complex but there was a purity that I found fascinating.

It is sad that there are still people who do not believe that over 6 millions Jews died in Europe. The few people that fought for their survival. It shows the evils of man but also the humanity of hope. This one is up there with one of all time favorites. I devoured their story, their fight, their courage and their love for family and each other! Thank you Kelly Rimmer for bring their story to life.

A special thank you to Harlequin and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Warsaw Orphan

Author: Kelly Rimmer

Book Series: Standalone

Diversity: Jewish MC, Adopted MC

Rating: 4/5

Recommended For...: historical fiction, young adult books, world war 2

Genre: Historical Fiction

Publication Date: June 1, 2021

Publisher: Grayson House

Pages: 416

Recommended Age: 17+ (Starvation, Antisemitism, Mentions of rape/sexual assault, Rape TW, Pregnancy, Violence, Gore, Death)

Synopsis: In the spring of 1942, young Elzbieta Rabinek is aware of the swiftly growing discord just beyond the courtyard of her comfortable Warsaw home. She has no fondness for the Germans who patrol her streets and impose their curfews, but has never given much thought to what goes on behind the walls that contain her Jewish neighbors. She knows all too well about German brutality--and that it's the reason she must conceal her true identity. But in befriending Sara, a nurse who shares her apartment floor, Elzbieta makes a discovery that propels her into a dangerous world of deception and heroism.

Using Sara's credentials to smuggle children out of the ghetto brings Elzbieta face-to-face with the reality of the war behind its walls, and to the plight of the Gorka family, who must make the impossible decision to give up their newborn daughter or watch her starve. For Roman Gorka, this final injustice stirs him to rebellion with a zeal not even his newfound love for Elzbieta can suppress. But his recklessness brings unwanted attention to Sara's cause, unwittingly putting Elzbieta and her family in harm's way until one violent act threatens to destroy their chance at freedom forever.

From Nazi occupation to the threat of a communist regime, The Warsaw Orphan is the unforgettable story of Elzbieta and Roman's perilous attempt to reclaim the love and life they once knew.

Review: For the most part I really enjoyed this book. I really like the time period that this book is set in so it's usually really easy to please me, but I really like the focus of the book. I like how the book is duel POV and we got to see a fictionalized story of the movement to save the Jewish children and the fictionalized account of people who survived the ghettos and were able to tell the story and collect the history from that time. I also felt like the book had really well developed characters for the most part and that the world building was pretty well done.

However, I do have some critiques about the book. There is a part towards the end where Emilia's character has something drastic happened to her and it entirely changes her character. If about 30% left in the book I don't think that the offer did well to redevelop Emilia's character after that event. I also didn't agree with the direction that the book went, because while I do know that a lot of women were forced to do what Emilia had to do at the end of the book, there were also alternatives that the character could have done and at the character seemed to want to do and I'm saddened that those weren't even brought up as an alternative even though those methods have existed for centuries before this time period even begins. I also didn't like that the book didn't have an epilogue, I really felt that that was stolen for me as a reader because I felt so invested in these two characters. There was a plot point in the first part of the book that, towards the end was resolved but was never mentioned how it was resolved and it just leaves the reader with lots of questions. And lastly I felt like the plot was really solid until about 30% away from the end of the book, and then it became a bit of a jumbled mess. I think that the last 30% of the book could have been better in a separate book, maybe a sequel. But the book had a nice flow with the first plot point and then it was so rushed in the second plot point that it felt way too rushed for me as a reader and I didn't connect with the story as I was in the beginning.

Verdict: It was good but it lacked at the end for me.

Sixteen-year-old Roman Gorka is the son of Maja, a Jewish mother, and Florian Abramczyk, a devout Catholic who became ill and passed away at twenty-five. Roman's stepfather, Samuel, refuses to believe the rumors that the Germans plan to deport and exterminate the Polish Jews. Roman and his family live in the Warsaw ghetto in squalid and overcrowded conditions. Especially worrying is the health of Roman's malnourished baby sister, Eleonora. Maja cannot produce enough milk to nourish her infant daughter. In spite of his youth, Roman believes that he must fight the Germans and somehow save his parents and siblings. He scrounges around for scraps of food, and eventually joins the Resistance.

On the Polish side is thirteen-year-old Emilia Slaska, a motherless teenager living under the name Elzbieta Rabinek. After her father and brother are murdered, a goodhearted couple, Truda and Mateusz, take her in. They end up in an apartment in Warsaw rented by Piotr, Mateusz's resourceful brother. Emilia is grateful to have caring adoptive parents. However, after she develops a close friendship with a neighbor—a social worker, nurse, and good Samaritan named Sara—Emilia longs to do her part to help the Jews. Predictably, Emilia's fate becomes intertwined with Roman's. This young man strongly believes that "striving for justice is always worth the battle."

In "The Warsaw Orphan," Kelly Rimmer movingly demonstrates how Poles such as Sara (whom the author models on the heroic Irena Sendler) smuggled food and medicine into the ghetto and smuggled out small children. The author compellingly depicts Roman's and Emilia's determination to slow down the German juggernaut; the growing emotional and physical attraction between the two youngsters; and the ways in which other brave individuals tried to free Poland from their occupiers. This work of historical fiction is marred by passages of stilted dialogue and heavy-handed plot elements, but Rimmer effectively evokes the story's setting and creates a chilling atmosphere of impending doom. In addition, she realistically describes the carnage of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising and its aftermath, yet still offers a small glimmer of hope for the future.

This story will bring lots of tears to your eyes. It is always hard fir me to understand how some of these types of atrocities can occur but I think I understand how some people are just trying to survive themselves. This story tells of many of the horrors that people of the Jewish faith faced during this time in Poland. It also shows that there were some people in Poland that were trying to help the Jewish people. I felt this story was very emotional and inspirational. I received a copy of this book from Harlequin for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.

The Warsaw Orphan was a book I instantly wanted to read. I am a lover of historical fiction and lean towards stories of World War II. This story follows Elzbieta and her family as she tries to survive in Warsaw covered in German’s. She makes friends with her neighbor who comes to put her in harms way as he goes into the ghetto with the Jews and tries to help smuggle children out to safety. We also follow Roman as his family fights to survive inside the ghetto and how his story and Elzbieta’s cross.

This story was very dark. I want to lead with that because a lot of historical fictions in the time of World War II are dark, but also have some light of hope. The Warsaw Orphan was a dark story because these people lived in a very dark time. Kelly Rimmer really brought that through her writing. I felt the desperation that these families feel as they try to not be noticed by the wrong people, to find food to feed everyone, and the stresses of the jobs they are doing. Like, really felt it. My stomach hurt thinking about their hunger. My scalp itched thinking about not being able to shower. My nose wrinkled thinking about the smells from the sewer.

I love Elzbieta. She is very young for what she has to do, but her strength is so potent that even when she doesn’t realize her strength, I did as a reader. I wasn’t a huge fan of Roman. Sara was also one of my favorite characters. I’d call her a side character but she was also a very important person in this story. A lot of the supporting characters played very huge parts in this story and I think that really helped shape the story and how important it was for community and family to stick together in these times. Rimmer really drew that out.

The story itself flowed well. Most stories stick to the end time of the war, but this story stretched from 1942 to 1946 with large chunks of time explained. We got to see the struggles of the people, the uprising, the last stand, and even some of the recovery. I felt I got to watch the characters grow and learn from their surroundings and their mistakes. I’ve read a lot of historical fictions and The Warsaw Orphan just seemed different. A bit darker. A bit more gut wrenching, which is hard to do. But then you have the little story of hope and love that does twist its way into the story and really keeps you going.

I would definitely recommend The Warsaw Orphan to anyone who is a historical fiction fan. It’s not for the faint of heart, but worth every single minute spent reading. The ending will leave you feeling some hope in humanity. I’ll be checking out more from Kelly Rimmer very soon.

4.5 stars out of 5!

I absolutely loved the book All the Things We Cannot Say, and without a doubt, I loved this book too. It follows a character we meet in Thomasz and Alina's story Emilia, who is Thomasz's sister. This story focuses on the German occupation of Warsaw in the days of WW2 and the fight the Resistance gave the German soldiers at this time. It tells the story of Elzbieta and her family, and Roman and his. Elzbieta and her family live in Warsaw on the outside of the wall that separates Warsaw the city from the Warsaw Ghetto. through her neighbor Sara Elzbieta starts helping with the resistance and ends up meeting Roman and they build a friendship that lasts through a lot of things. Roman is very determined to do everything he can to help free Poland and restore the country to a self ruling status again. The character development in this story was absolutely beautiful but that is something that I expect from Kelly Rimmer. Every book of hers that I have read has been hard hitting and just absolutely beautifully written. I fell in love with the characters and when they hurt it made me hurt and I just kind of ran through the gambit of emotions with this book. To the point that I woke my husband up in the middle of the night because I was crying at one point. It was really nice seeing a book that takes place during WW2 that isn't taking place in France or England. After I finished the book I ended up researching the Occupation of Poland as well as checking out some of the sources that the author put in the back of her book.

Thank you Netgalley and Graydon House for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.