I’ve always been a sucker for a WWI or WWII book, so when I saw this book I knew I needed to read it.

This book follows Sarah, a teenage Jewish seamstress. She comes from a long line of seamstresses and tailors. Her father owned the towns sewing shop but once their town had been invaded they were targeted and shunned for being Jewish.

Eventually Sarah and her sister are taken to a concentration camp where they are quickly used for their talents, and then transferred to Auschwitz’s to make dresses for the commanders wife and friends.

Throughout the story Sarah experiences tons of heartache losing people she loves, while also finding new people to care about.

This book was gut wrenching most of the time and by the end I just couldn’t believe that one person could experience SO MANY things. If you are like me and love a historical fiction book I highly recommend picking this book up, but be ready to have your tissues handy.

The Seamstress of Auschwitz by C. K. McAdam was a powerful, heartbreaking and yet hopeful novel that took place in Salzhausen, Germany, Altstadt, Germany, Ravensbruck Concentration Camp, Auschwitz- Birkenau Concentration Camp, Palestine and America during World War II and the years before and after the war. It was inspired by true events. C. K. McAdam’s research was extensive and impeccable. Her historical fiction novel captured the tensions that were developing in Germany during the early 1930’s in a very authentic and believable way. The female characters that she portrayed in The Seamstress of Auschwitz were strong, brave and courageous. The Seamstress of Auschwitz was well written but hard to read in certain parts. This was the first book that I had the pleasure of reading by C. K. McAdam.

Sara Schonflies grew up in Salzhausen, Germany. Her family was not rich but they were comfortable. Sara’s family were tailors and seamstresses by trade. The Schonflies lived above Sara’s father tailor’s shop. Sara was one of four daughters. She also had a brother, Georg, who had been sent to America to live with one of her father’s cousins. Sara’s father hoped that Georg would eventually open a store there where he would sell the suits that he made. Sara was just turning fourteen years old when her sister Alice was to be married. There was a tradition in Sara’s family when a girl turned fourteen. On her fourteenth birthday the girl received her very own sewing machine. Sara really wanted a Minerva sewing machine. Would her parents surprise her with one? Trouble started for Sara’s family at her sister’s wedding reception and did not relent in any way from that point on.

One night, Sara had been invited to stay overnight at her older sister Alice’s and her husband Hershel’s apartment with their precious little daughter, Ruth, when a loud knock was heard at the door. Sara and Hershel were forcibly removed from the apartment and taken to a prison by the Gestapo. Helene, Sara’s older sister by eighteen months, arrived at the prison sometime during the night. Sara had suspected that Helene and Hershel had been involved with a resistance group. They must have been compromised by someone in their group. From the prison, Sara and Helene were transported to Ravensbruck Concentration Camp. Their sewing skills would come to serve them well. Both Sara and Helene were chosen to work in the textile workshop. The prisoners there were responsible for sewing military uniforms for the members of the Wehrmacht. After Sara and Helene were at Ravensbruck for a little over a month, they were joined by their mother, their aunt and Alice, their older sister and her daughter, Ruth. They all were assigned to the textile workshop where they reluctantly made sure they met their quotas. Hunger was a constant problem as was the presence of all kinds of brutality and rampant disease. Then their worst nightmare occurred. They were all selected for transport to Auschwitz.

Upon their arrival at Auschwitz, Sara and Helene were separated from their mother and aunt. When the guards attempted to separate Ruth from Alice, Alice managed to take Ruth over to her mother and aunt. That was the last time Sara, Helene and Alice ever saw their mother, aunt, and Ruth. After being tattooed, shown their barracks and given a meager amount of watery soup and bread, a guard asked the prisoners to name their skills. Sara, Helene and Alice all responded that they were trained seamstresses and dressmakers. The sisters were brought to the basement of the camp’s headquarters. They had entered the Auschwitz Fashion Salon. The commander’s wife was responsible for the creation of this fashion salon. In the midst of death, starvation, disease and suffering, the commander’s wife expected these women prisoners to sew elegant dresses for herself, her daughters, her friends, other SS wives and wives of the Nazi elite. Their skill as proficient seamstresses and dressmakers might save their lives but what they were doing was in such contrast to everything occurring at Auschwitz . They were expected to work hard for twelve long hours each day. At least they were protected from the elements and hard labor. Would all three sisters survive the atrocities of Auschwitz?

The Seamstress of Auschwitz by C. K. McAdam detailed life in both Ravensbruck and Auschwitz concentration camps. It portrayed liberation, displaced persons camps and the impossible decision of where to relocate. The anguish parents felt when they chose to separate their children from their families in order to protect them from the Nazis was also evident in this book. Sara’s youngest sister, Clara, was able to escape from Germany and find refuge in England. Survivors guilt, fears and loss of loved ones was not forgotten. The Seamstress of Auschwitz was about survival, hope, loss, friendship, sisterly love, taking chances and how to go on living after surviving the worst nightmare of all. This was a time in our history where humanity was tested and evil prevailed. It was a time that must be remembered by survivors telling their stories so that the Holocaust can never be repeated. The Seamstress of Auschwitz was hard to read at times but Sara’s story is an important one. I highly recommend reading The Seamstress of Auschwitz to learn Sara’s story.

Thank you to Book Whisperer for allowing me to read The Seamstress of Auschwitz by C. K. McAdam through Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

I enjoyed this book. It isn’t so different than other historical fiction books about young girls sent to concentration camps, but each one strikes at one’s heart. And every person who lost their lives in those deserves to be remembered by the living. So I will happily read any historical fiction or non fiction from this time.
Sara wasn’t a flawless character but she was a real character. She did what she could to keep her and her sisters alive until she couldn’t. With a little help from some along the way.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley.

This was a very emotional novel showing the bond between sisters and family during the most horrible time. I highly recommend this novel to anyone interested in learning more about the Holocaust. I learn something new about this horrible time in history each time I read a book, even fictionalized one's. Never forget!

A story of a reign of terror that sees Sara and her family suffer more than just the loss of what they hold dear to them.

Sara is unsure of how she’ll ever survive, let alone anyone else, especially her sister. But it seems having a set skill of being a seamstress will get you somewhere when you have nothing else.

An emotional historical story, that pulls at your heartstrings.

Thank you to #netgalley for this free copy of this book for an honest review.

A gripping tale of survival, sacrifice, sisterhood, and unbreakable love.
For a group of seamstresses imprisoned at Auschwitz, the ability to create high-end fashion meant the difference between life and death.
Amid the horror of the Holocaust, starting in 1943, a select group of hand-picked women were segregated from their peers and set up in a workshop to create haute couture for the wives of Nazi camp officers. Their fame spread and wives from as far away as Berlin soon found themselves on a six-month waiting list for the Auschwitz seamstresses’ garments.Some of the women did not come with the requisite skills, but the collective accepted them as a form of solidarity and resistance.The “dressmakers” were treated relatively well, in part so they could perform efficiently and cleanly. The women had weekly showers, and their food was placed on their beds, so they did not have to fight for their meagre daily rations. Most important of all, they no longer had to endure “selections” for the gas chambers.
The Kanada warehouses, also known as Effektenlager or simply Kanada, were storage facilities in the Auschwitz concentration camp in German-occupied Poland during the Holocaust. The buildings were used to store the stolen belongings of prisoners, mostly Jews who had been murdered in the gas chambers on arrival.The property of prisoners registered in the camp and used as slave labour was kept on deposit.The warehouses became known as "Kanada" (or "Canada") because the prisoners saw them as the land of plenty. Although the name began as prisoner slang, it was apparently adopted by some of the camp administration. Prisoners who worked there were known as the Aufräumungskommando ("clearing-up commando") or Kanada Kommando.It was viewed as one of the best jobs in Auschwitz, because prisoners could "organize", in camp slang, and procure goods for themselves and other inmates.
Sonderkommandos were work units made up of German Nazi death camp prisoners,usually Jews,who were forced, on threat of their own deaths, to aid with the disposal of gas chamber victims during the Holocaust.

The Seamstress of Auschwitz by C.K McAdam.
As others have said , it is very much in the same of the Tattoist of Auschwitz and also many others of this genre.

A good story , well written with characters you were behind and their awful plight.

A well-written, historical novel showing the bravery and determination of the victims of the second world war and the horrors that they encountered.

I really enjoyed this book and reading about Sara and her sisters. Following their journey during the Holocaust was emotional. If you enjoy reading Kristin Harmel books, you will like this!

The Seamstress of Auschwitz by C.K. McAdam offers a window into the harrowing times of life in the Auschwitz concentration camp by sharing the story of Sara. Sara comes from a family of seamstresses and tailors, and her expert skills essentially offer her a way to survive in Auschwitz. Over the course of the story, Sara loses members of her family to the atrocities of the death camp. McAdam does an excellent job of weaving the fictional Sara's tale with the horrific details of life in Auschwitz. The book follows Sara through the war, her time in a displaced persons camp, her stay in Haifa, and ultimately her life in the US. Fans of Holocaust novels will enjoy this novel. The part I liked best was seeing Sara grow stronger over the course of the book. If there is a sequel, I hope it portrays a flourishing Sara as she embraces life in the US.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for access to this eARC.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book. These opinions are completely my own.

It's hard to feel any sort of connection when a book advances as fast as this one. Luckily for me, C.K.McAdams was able to paint a strong memorable image of Sara and her family. The story unfolds quickly, every chapter building seamlessly to the one before

This was an excellent historical fiction story! If you are a fan of The Tattooist of Auschwitz’ you will not be disappointed with this! So intense and heartbreaking. A must read!!!

A very well written book, the characters and world building draw you into the time period during which it takes place. I would recommend this to older readers due to the subject material covered in the novel. It made me laugh, it made me cry, quite a lot, but it was a joy to read.

Beautiful story. This reminded me of the tattooist of Auschwitz which was a really amazing story. These are always heartfelt/sad stories but I think its so important for books like this to exist because it makes people aware. I also thought the length was good but enough information.

WW2/the holocaust is a time in our history that is so interesting to me but also devastating.

Sara and her Jewish family of seamstresses are living in Germany during Hitler's rise to power. This story covers pre-war through her struggle to find a life after life in Auschwitz. It's a fictional story but based on events that could have actually happened. I don't cry often when reading, but this one got me all sorts of emotional.

While reading this book, I kept finding myself asking my husband, "Could you imagine if you had to do this?" "Could you imagine ______?!" "Could you imagine living after this _____?!" I can't imagine that time in our history.

If you like Kelly Rimmer's, 'The Warsaw Orphan' or 'The Things We Cannot Say,' give this one a go!

This book tries to follow in the footsteps of successful Holocaust novels, but it just falls flat. I had a really hard time getting into it and what I did get into was repetitive of other books.

This was a phenomenal, edge-of-your-seat, heart-rending journey of one woman born into a family with a special gift that turns out to be life-saving. Reminiscent of "The Tattooist of Auschwitz", this story weaves through the terrifying time of WWII all the way to Palestine. I loved every second of it and could not put it down. I highly recommend this and hope there will someday by a miniseries made for this incredible book.

An inspirational novel about the imprisonment of the Jews in WW2. What they endured and overcame was truly inspirational. A highly recommended read!

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was in love with this story from the start. It’s about the prison women who were hired to make clothing for the Nazi wives. It was hard to read about their lives, yet these women had hope. Great book!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

WW2, historical-fiction, historical-figures, historical-places-events, historical-research, history-and-culture, 1930s, coming-of-age, Jewish, Jews, Auschwitz, children, German-occupation, holocaust, Palestine, grief, grieving, Y/A only-means-no-gratuitous-erotica*****

"Where they have burned books, they will end in burning human beings." Heinrich Heine, German-Jewish Poet (1823)
Sara's story is bookended by events in 2019, but it's the story of her life from 1932-1948 that is given as fiction. Beginning with her home life with family and all contributing to he father's tailor shop, moving on through the book burnings, beatings, moving about, transportation to the camp, working at the camp, and all that life entailed in those year. A short but effective read.
I requested and received a free temporary EARC from ARC provided by Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op | Paper Forest Press via NetGalley. Thank you

The Seamstress of Auschwitz tells the story of Sara and her Jewish family during the second world war.  We follow them as their community turns against them, the family tailoring business is destroyed and Sara and her sisters end up in a Nazi concentration camp.

A well-written, historical novel showing the bravery and determination of the victims of the second  world war and the horrors that they encountered.