Based on true events, this was an incredibly moving and heartbreaking story about young Jewish children evacuated during WWII who get sent to live with Christian families/Churches. Many of these children were forced to abandon their faith and kept separated from relatives who came looking for them later.

You can tell just what a personal story this was for the author, as she incorporates elements of deafness in children and the pain of growing up in one family only to discover connections to a birth family you never knew about.

I really loved how this story was told from multiple perspectives and across the years, with a surprising connection to the author's last book, The yellow bird sings. Really great on audio narrated by Gabra Zackman and Vikas Adam with a must listen author interview included at the end between her and the narrators.

Highly, highly recommended, especially if you want to learn about a different part of WWII history and the ways the war had long-lasting impacts on Jewish families. This was an eye-opening story and a part of history I had no idea about. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

Learn from my mistakes and DO NOT listen to this book while driving. The tears don't stop while listening to this book. I have never read a Jennifer Rosner book, but I am now a huge fan of her writing. Beautiful, heartbreaking and hard to stop. The characters were incredible, the research she put into this book was apparent from page 1. A holocaust story that focuses on the survivors, the parents and families who made the impossible choice to "give" their child(ren) to non-jewish families to save. The fact that Rosner was able to create a beautiful story of love and friendship and even what family truly means, during such a dark and horrible time, is awe-inspiring.

The book follows 4 stories, 4 children who were "saved" during the Holocaust. By family, by friends, by the Church and by the Synagogue. No one knew what was the best thing for these kids. The struggles through their life and beyond, all because there were people who cared enough to save them from Hitler and the Nazi regime. Based on true stories, this book was incredibly well done.

Thank you Netgalley for my advanced reader copy.

Rosner, once again, brought me to tears with this story, that’s both beautiful and incredibly sad. While most people know what happened to Jewish children during the Holocaust, many do no not about the Christian homes and orphanages who took them in, hiding the children’s identities and faiths to keep them safe from the Nazis. This story follows the lives of some of those children and the people who took them in and the struggle of the children to regain their religious connections after the war. An incredible story that’s more timely than ever in the wake of recent anti semitic rhetoric and violence