Member Reviews

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

Was this review helpful?

I have read quite a few books about this horrific time period in our history, some better than others.
With "The Girl Who Survived Auschwitz", I found author, Sara Leibovits's writing to be eloquent, easy flowing, and I enjoyed the changing timelines for the different perspectives (1st and 2nd generations).

To read the tale from a survivor’s perspective and then how it affects the second generation was a perspective I had not read previously. I would recommend this read for anyone as it is an important part of our history.
Thank you to NetGalley, Harper 360, and One More Chapter for providing me the opportunity to review "The Girl Who Survived Auschwitz". I am appreciative and leave my review voluntarily.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC! What a powerful story!! I highly enjoyed this one!!

Was this review helpful?

This was a very heartbreaking read, I've read many books about WW2 and this is not just a story, it breaks your heart to read and learn more and more stories of the atrocities that happened in that place, the inhumane treatment and the sadism that only shown the lifeless hearts these evil people had.

This is the story of The Girl Who Survived Auschwitz the story of Eti Elboim and Sara Leibovitz, Sara was a very brave girl I admire the strength of this lady, she was able to survive after many atrocities and cold freezing nights, but at the same time she was trying to help as much as she could, I remember that part where she couldn't belive they were finally saved she just kept walking and walking on the cold without knowing where they were heading. many people around them were here in this story. but we also had so many capos who were treating them as if they were not even kids.

The Girl Who Survived Auschwitz is a remarkable story and rea, I cried so much and my heart broke many times for Sara, she was so strong no matter how many times the evilness around her tried to not let her conquer.

Thank you, NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter, One More Chapter, for the advanced copy of The Girl Who Survived Auschwitz in exchange for my honest review

Was this review helpful?

This book is hard to review. Its content is horrible but beautifully written. My heat breaks for this mother and daughter but knowing they made it through that horrific time and came out as a happy family makes my heart happy for them. I gave this book 5 stars because that's what they deserve. I wanted to hear her story but I also did not want to know what she went through. I was so happy she survived and was able to live to tell her story. So many did not. To hear the side from a daughter of a survivor was interesting as well. You don't usually see or hear that side of things either. I flew through this book because I wanted to know what she went through and how she survived. I am heartbroken for them and happy for them. Honestly I don't know how to put into words a review but I do know they deserve the 5 stars.

Was this review helpful?

The Girl Who Survived Auschwitz: A remarkable memoir of love, loss and hope during World War II by Sara Leibovitz, Eti Elboim and translated by Esther Frumkin was powerful, tragic, and compelling. Sara Leibovitz was born Sara Hershkovits in 1928. She grew up in a small village in the Czech Republic which was eventually annexed to Hungary when the Nazis invaded. Today that same little village that Sara grew up in is located in Ukraine. Sara was the oldest daughter of six children. In 1944, Sara and her entire family were brought to Auschwitz in cattle cars. Her mother and her five younger brothers were sent to the gas chamber upon arrival. The last time Sara saw her mother and brothers was on the platform at Auschwitz. Of course she had no idea that she would never see them again after that day. Sara’s father was assigned to work in the Sonderkommando where he was required to remove the bodies of the gassed victims and burn them in the crematorium. Sara was fifteen years 10 months old when she arrived in Auschwitz. She became a number on that horrific day. Tattooed on her wrist were the numbers that would define her for all of the nine months she managed to survive in Auschwitz. Despite all the atrocities, backbreaking work, disease, starvation and loss, Sara never lost the will to survive. She tried hard not to ever loose her faith or courage and tried to be kind even when it was not easy. Sara was the only member of her family to survive.

Seventy years later, Sara Leibovitz, married to another Holocaust survivor and mother to three daughters was living in Israel. She had immigrated to Israel in 1947. Sara’s youngest daughter, Eti, experienced what it meant to be the child of a Holocaust survivor. Eti realized at a young age that there were things that were different about her mother but she did not understand or grasp those differences as a young child. The Girl Who Survived Auschwitz was written in alternating perspectives of both Sara and Eti on how the Holocaust affected their lives and shaped them as survivor and the child of a survivor. Sara recounted her harrowing existence in Auschwitz, her eventual liberation by the Russians, meeting her husband and immigrating to Israel. Eti grew up with many questions both from her own observations and those of her friends. She never quite understood why her mother had numbers on her wrist and why she didn’t have a big extended family with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins like most of her friends. When Eti was old enough to understand the concept of the Holocaust, she sought out information without her parent’s knowledge. Finally, Eti demanded to be told. She wanted to understand what her parents had gone through. Sara shared her story with her daughter and since then has accepted many speaking engagements to talk openly about her experiences and the atrocities that she witnessed. In Sara Leibovitz’s words, “I survived to tell.”

I found this particular Holocaust memoir quite powerful. It was compelling to hear the thoughts of a Holocaust survivor’s child in relation to her understanding her parent’s moods, secrecy and lack of extended family. Since there are so few Holocaust survivors left, it is so important that their stories be shared either through their children or through memoirs like this one. The cruelty, hatred, atrocities and antisemitism that was experienced during those terrible years, known as the Holocaust, must never be forgotten. We must do everything in our power so the Holocaust cannot and will not be repeated. Unfortunately, there are some who have not learned from the past. We must find ways to be strong, resilient and hopeful that one day there will be peace and harmony for all despite the color of anyone’s skin, ethnicity, religion or any other differences that define us. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to Harper 360 and One More Chapter for allowing me to read the very moving memoir, The Girl Who Survived Auschwitz: A remarkable and compelling memoir of love, loss and hope during World War II by Sara Leibovitz, Eti Elboim and translated by Esther Frumkin through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Was this review helpful?

***** I have received and read an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for giving my honest feedback. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.*****

It's always hard to review memoirs, especially ones dealing with things like the Holocaust.

There's really not much to say except that I'm glad I read it.

I think a little editing to clarify some of the points would be nice, but it's not truly necessary.

This would be an excellent book (at least parts of it) for high school students to study.

Was this review helpful?

As expected, this was a heartbreaking read. I've read many stories in this genre, but only a few from survivors. The horrors of the events clearly comes through, but so does the hope and resilience. It's a read that will likely stick with readers long after the final page, which it should, as this is a part of history that should not be overlooked or forgotten.

Was this review helpful?

I have read a ton of true stories and this one is very well written. Holocaust survivor stories are so very compelling and this one is the same. They are not easy to read but only because of the shock of what many went through and its inspiring to hear their stories and how they lived their lives after the war. Thank you Netgalley for this ARC. It literally gave me chills.

Was this review helpful?

This emotional and touching book follows a fifteen year old girl’s survival at Auschwitz. She finds out early in her imprisonment that she is the only survivor of her large family and must find the courage and strength to keep fighting for her life. As with all Holocaust memoirs, this is harrowing, tragic but immensely necessary. I receive a digital copy of this book from NetGalley.

Was this review helpful?

An excellent read and important novel about the Holocaust. A book I'd recommend to high school teachers for their history students to read.

Was this review helpful?

I grew up reading about the holocaust and this book was a good fictional book.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Wonderful, heartbreaking, and full of hope. This memoir following the lives of an Auschwitz survivor and her daughter is such a moving, beautiful look into humanity and the love that ultimately holds us all together. If you enjoy learning more about WW2, the Holocaust and it’s affect on the people who survived I would highly recommend this.

4/5 stars

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and One More Chapter publishing for providing this ARC

Was this review helpful?

A digital copy of this book was provided to me by NetGalley, Harper 360 and One More Chapter. The opinions are my own and freely given.

This is the story of Sara (Suri) who was captured by the Nazis along with her family at the age of fifteen (and ten months) and sent to Auschwitz. This is also the story of her daughter, 70 years later, as a child of a survivor of the holocaust.

As all stories of the holocaust are, this is very sad and disturbing; however, it shows how this young woman rose to the many challenges, hardships and the daily fear to survive one of the most brutal places on earth. In between the chapters of the horror of Auschwitz, we hear from her daughter Eti, and how she too had to overcome the stigma of being Jewish and learning as a child what her mother went through.

This is the first book that I have read from a woman survivor. There were things from a woman's perspective that I have never really thought about, such as the cattle trains. I knew they were cramped and smelly, but i didn't realize that they were not ever cleaned from the cattle prior to the transfer of the prisoners. (I know that is minor in terms of everything else they went through, it was just a prospective I never really understood, as woman would focus more on the cleanliness than most men.) Also learning about the women's camp and quarantine after their arrivals to prevent any spread of disease. Eti's part starts at an early age, when children ask her why her mother has numbers written on her arm. Although she doesn't know why they are there or what they mean, she can sense that they bring a pain to her mother.

As disturbing as these books are, and bad as it sounds to say this, I love reading books about the Holocaust survivors and learning about this tragic time. They are a wonderful group of people that I look up to.

I would recommend this book, if you have never read a book by a holocaust survivor, or you have read a 100.

Thank you NetGalley, Harper 360 and One More Chapter for this book. Thank you especially to Sara and Eti for sharing their stories.

This is posted now on all links below and will be posted to instagram @kuhlreads on 9/25/23.

Was this review helpful?

Sara and Eti wrote a captivating true story of Auschwitz and the Holocaust that reads like a novel. It was easy to read even though the subject matter was at times hard to fathom. The brutality of living in Auschwitz comes through, but so does the survival, love, and triumph of Sara making it through the harsh conditions. A must read! I was fortunate to get an Advanced Readers Copy of it and found it hard to put down!

Was this review helpful?

This book is a memoir of events from WWII. Sara is a Jewish girl in wartime Poland. This book chronicles her and her family’s experiences, along with those of her friends and extended family. Her daughter gives her point of view as the daughter of a Holocaust survivor. It’s an incredible, heartbreaking story.
The book was written in the style of a historical novel and was very easy to read. Well, the writing style was easy to read, the content not so much. But then Holocaust accounts are not meant to be easy to hear. I expected to get emotional, and I did. Sara seemed very honest with her account. And I don’t believe I’ve ever heard the experiences of a survivor’s children. It was ver interesting getting that perspective. My mother was a child in France during the war but really too young to recall much. And she was Catholic.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in hearing an account of the Holocaust.
I did receive this book free as an ARC and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Was this review helpful?

At 15-years old, Sara Leibovitz was removed from her home and moved to the Jewish ghetto. At sixteen-year-olds Sara rode the train with her family. After being pushed off the cattle car at Auschwitz, her mother and baby brothers were sent to their deaths. Her father was forced to work in the Sonderkommando and later executed. Sara survived through liberation. Sara is the only person from her family to survive the death camp.

Based on Sara Leibovitz's story, read about the horrific events Sara experienced. Through it all, Sara showed perseverance, courage, and kindness. Her daughter, Eti, also shares her story, in which she shares the secondhand inherited trauma she experiences being the daughter of a Holocaust survivor.

This was an amazing read, seeing Sara's strength, faith, and determination she displayed throughout her life. It was very thought-provoking.

Thank you to @netgalley and @harpercollins360 for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for my personal opinion.

#bookstagram #bookstagrammer #instabook #booksbooksbooks #currentlyreading #readerforlife #bookreview #bookwormproblems #2023bookreleases #historicalfiction #thegirlwhosurvivedauschwitz #girlwhosurvivedauschwitz #etielboim #saraleibovits #worldwariifiction #worldwarii

Was this review helpful?

It’s always hard to review memoirs as they are so personal to the author and it honestly just feels weird to place my opinions and ratings on their experience. I find it even more challenging with such a hard subject matter such as the Holocaust. It is so important to document people’s stories and tell them and I’m glad I read this account.

It was obvious a terribly sad memoir but also filed with hope as it recounted how Sara moved on after the Holocaust and raised a family. I enjoyed how it was told from Sara’s POV and also her daughter Eti and how being raised by survivors affected her.

I did feel like the writing could use more editing and support but it may be due to it being a translated book. I also was a bit bother by the fact that Sara married her first cousin.

Overall it was an interesting book! Thank you netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

I received a copy of this in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.

I always have a hard time rating and reviewing memoirs. I mean these are someone's personal words... their experiences..... their trauma. How do you put a number or rating on that? Especially with such a topic as this.

This is the story of Sara Leibovitz. She was a 16 year old at the time of the Holocaust. This is her experience in the horrid camps and all that she lost and felt. Sara was the only one of her family to survive. I can't even imagine how heartwrenching and devastating that was for her.

Sara's story is intertwined with her daughter's Eti's 70 years later.

Everything in this book was raw, emotional, powerful, and heartbreaking. Please read this.

Was this review helpful?

A heart-wrenching, powerful read of survival. This one will stay with me for awhile. I’m so glad she fulfilled her father’s dream for her. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the early read.

Was this review helpful?