An Unforgettable Journey through History - A Must-Read!

Mario Escobar’s Forgotten Names is a masterpiece that truly stands out in historical fiction. From the very first page, I was transported into the world he meticulously crafted. The narrator’s skillful storytelling made me feel like I was right there with the characters, experiencing their joys, sorrows, and triumphs.

The depth of research and attention to historical detail is evident throughout the book. Escobar has a unique talent for bringing history to life, making complex events and emotions accessible and engaging. The characters are richly developed and their stories are woven together in a way that keeps you hooked until the very end.

What sets this book apart is the narrator’s ability to immerse the reader in the story. Every scene is vividly described, every emotion is palpable, and every moment feels real. It’s as if you’re not just reading about the past, but living it alongside the characters.

Forgotten Names is not just a book; it’s an experience. It’s a poignant reminder of the resilience of the human spirit and the importance of remembering our history. I can’t recommend it highly enough. This is a book that will stay with you long after you’ve turned the last page. Ten stars!

As an audiobook, this book earned a 3/5 stars. As a well written story, this book earned a 5/5 stars. Due to the garbling of character names, no matter how hard I tried, I could not follow the audiobook. the pronunciation of the character names should have been done in ENGLISH, not FRENCH! I could not distinguish who was who because their names were not memorable to me. I was completely lost until I purchased the eBook. In effect, I read the book 2x and thoroughly enjoyed this gripping true story. It was unputdownable! Thank you so much for this grand opportunity.

I have long wondered why more WWII books are not set in Lyon. I lived there during a study abroad summer session in law school, and found it fascinating. I also found this novel fascinating. I normally would be put-off by this structure, attempting to highlight so many stories, but it’s right in this book. Right, and amazing. These children, these parents, oh my heart. Well done.

Thank you for the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This is for sure not a light read or an easy one. It will tear out your heart and stomp on it with all the pain, fury, unrighteousness, and sadness that is contained within these pages. Then, at the end, it will pick you up, dust you off, and leave you filled with relief and gratitude for the ones who were saved, and the knowledge that, despite the tragedies of war, there is still some good in this world.

I listened to this six-hour book on audio in one sitting. The narrator is decent and brings the heroes and victims of this harrowing novel to life beautifully. The story takes place in a duel timeline alternating between 1942 and 1992.

I found some of the chapters a little tedious with all the behind-the-scenes details about the courageous citizens of France, their local resistance groups, clergy members, the Red Cross, and others during 1942 in Vichy, France. But overall this is a really well-written and comprehensive novel.

I admit that I found the chapters featuring Klaus Barbie, nicknamed “The Butcher of Lyon”, quite fascinating. I’ve never heard of him before, so this was very interesting to me as this monster was evil personified.

Some of the most painful moments in this book for me were the times mothers had to sign their children away to save them from deportation. Even though it was to save their children’s lives, their anguish is so vividly described, it broke my heart. Mario Escobar expertly delves into the conflict felt by these mothers, and the unfairness of it all, giving new meaning to “between a rock and a hard place”.

Not only is The Forgotten Names a book about some of the Jewish children in France who were spared a terrible fate by the hands of the Germans in WWII, it’s also about Valérie Portheret and others, then and now, whose brave and selfless acts will go down in history as the ones who saved them from permanent eradication.

Many thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins for an audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This historical fiction novel brings to life an important, but obscure, event from history which took place in the midst of WWII in German-occupied France. When foreign-born Jews were being sent east to interment camps, a team of people came up with a way to save over 100 children from that fate.

While this book didn't feel as emotional as similar ones I've read, it was an interesting enough story to keep my attention. The writing was concise and not overly descriptive, which I appreciated because it made for a quick read/listen. The narrator was excellent. She did an impressive job with the male voices. However, I did have to listen at a much slower speed than I normally do.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Focus for allowing me early access to the ARC audiobook edition of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Forgotten Names by Mario Escobar


This is a historical fiction read set during nazi occupied Europe and the rescue operations during WWII for the children.

In France, a law student is researching her thesis and runs into a list of names. She finds out these were children who were smuggled out by getting new identities. She is determined to find out the true identities of these children. Over the course of twenty five years, Valerie locates these children who are now adults to share with them their true origins.

This is a heartbreaking story about strangers who risked their lives to save Jewish children. It is based off a true story of a heroic act and those with different beliefs and ideologies who were determined to help save lives from the horrific atrocities happening during WWII.
It is compelling, insightful, and a great reminder how one person can make a big
difference to help another human being.

The book is a huge reminder about doing our part to help children who are experiencing the devastating loss from their parents during war. In a way, this book is timely and poignant because of children currently being separated and forced to flee and continue to see injustices during war.

This is my second Mario Escobar novel and think he does a phenomenal job researching and bringing unique Historical fiction books to light. His writing is easy to follow, moving, and atmospheric. I look forward to reading more by this author.

The narration did a job on keeping me engaged and feeling the ranges of emotions throughout the story. It was a quick listen, but the narrator did a powerful job conveying the bravery, courage, and resilience carried out by these heroes.

"The Forgotten Names" by Mario Escobar is a historical fiction novel. The book tells the true story of Jewish children in Lyon who were abandoned during World War II. The book breaks your heart, it talks about parents who prepare themselves to go to death and abandon their children in the hope that they will stay alive.
An excellent book and audiobook that I will surely recommend. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC/Audiobook!

The book had short chapters which made it feel like the pace was fast and moving forward at a steady pace, but I found the writing to be a little stiff. I only found out after finishing the book that it was translated, so maybe it wasn’t translated well or the writing itself wasn’t good. I found it hard to keep track of the many characters mentioned in the book with very little of them being highlighted in the story to show importance. There was no reference to changes of the POV so that made it a little tricky to figure out when the next chapter started and needed to adjust to characters and timeline. The story was interesting and I usually love reading books about the past and reading more about the subject through other resources. I’m not into books with plots that focus extremely on politics or religion and the latter was prominent and lost me a bit with the story. Had I known this before picking the book, I most probably wouldn’t have picked this book.

This is an important art of history. I will say I have read other books where it is written in a more captivating way.

The Forgotten Names is another incredible masterpiece by Mario Escobar about atrocities committed during the Holocaust and WWII. This book is set in 1942 depicting the French resistance and the Butcher of Lyon, Klaus Barbie. Klaus was determined to rid the entire area of any Jew, regardless of age, sex, or disability. Barbie was a ruthless German officer of the Gestapo that was in charge of Vichy, France from 1942-1944, and reading through the thorough historical descriptions depicted by Escobar in this novel, it makes you cringe with disgust to hear that people of such negative character existed to end an entire population of people. The story bounces between two time frames, 1942 and 1992, where a third year law student Valerie Potheret sets out to write her research thesis on Klaus Barbie, but in doing so, identifies there were 108 lost Jewish children of Lyon, and she changes gears to find out what happened to them. Valerie worked for 25 years to find each and every lost and forgotten child on the list of 108 children. She traveled throughout Europe and the Americas and was able to not only find all 108, but also was able to give them back their birth names, for those who could not even remember where they came from before. Such an amazing story of resilience and determination and based on true historical facts! I love these kinds of novels! I learn so much about history and find so much inspiration from reading about the heroes and heroines of the time of WWII. Thank you to Harper Muse for allowing me to listen to the audiobook of The Forgotten Names by Mario Escobar through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you @harpermusebooks for this incredibly moving historical fiction giving the story of Jewish children who were saved from the Nazi's in France.

The dual timeline shares the horrendous decision that French Jews had to make in order to save their children and those who orchestrated this escape, with the law student Valérie Portheret who sought out the names of these children beginning in the 1990's. To hear the statistics is one thing, but to be carried along the steps of the families who lived it is quite another.

I began reading this book when I saw @netgalley offer the audio from @harpercollinsfocus and I was thrilled when I was able to listen as well! Saskia Maarleveld narrates this tale so well. I was pulled in immediately.

For fans of WWII fiction, this will be another stunning portrait of the costs of survival as well as the harrowing risks taken by those who would not look away. At less than 300 pages, this is a faster read with a compelling story.

Wow. Just wow. This was a fantastic listen and I think all fans of historical nonfiction and fiction should listen to this. I of course always recommend to actually read books, but because this takes place in France and also includes some German names it would probably be best to listen to this to hear the proper pronunciations.

This kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time as I couldn’t stop listening, I needed to listen to more. The nature of the time period alone is intense, but the way the author wrote this added to the intensity and suspense in the best way possible. I also appreciated and enjoyed that this is based on real people and their stories and experiences.

I cannot express how much I recommend this to other readers

As thousands of French Jews began to be deported to Germany in August of 1942, social workers attempted to document exemptions for as many as they could. The Germans decided not to accept exemptions for any adults, so the social workers offered the parents a heartbreaking way to keep their children alive and in France. They must be declared unaccompanied. This required parents to sign away their parental rights with the knowledge that they would probably not ever see them again. A harder decision could not be asked of them, yet they realized it was the only way to keep their children alive. These Jewish children were collectively smuggled away to other families through a joint heroic effort by civilians, clergy, French Resistance and social service organizations.

In 1992, a law student, Valérie Portheret, began her doctoral research into the 108 children who disappeared from Vénissieux and escaped deportation. Her research brought her to stowed and forgotten lists of names she began to identify as these same children. She ended up  making this her life’s work to pair these names with the survivors they belonged to. This was no easy task. Her heroic efforts are celebrated in this beautiful story based upon true events.

The audiobook narrated by Saskia Maarleveld is as exceptional as the story itself. Her accent, inflections and portrayal of characters proves to capture the passion that Mario Escobar pens in his stories and bring it to life.

My only misgiving regarding this book is that it contains around five cuss words that, in my opinion, were unnecessary and depicts a closed door scene of an unmarried couple. I received this audiobook from the author/publisher free of charge, with no expectation of a positive review.

As a huge fan of WWII historical fiction books, I have struggled to find books that are written with a new focus on the atrocities that occurred during the Holocaust. I thoroughly enjoyed The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel with a unique view of how innocent children were stripped of their identities during WWII. This book portrays a similar concept. While a sad view into the depravity of humanity, you are also provided a glimpse into the bravery of individuals who were willing to risk everything to save 108 children from the concentration camps. They had to take on new identities, but they were able to survive the atrocities of Hitler’s reign of terror. As a dual time-line book (1942 and 1992), you are also allowed the to get to know Valerie Potheret as she worked tirelessly to complete her doctoral dissertation. Though she initially planned to focus on Klaus Barbie, a truly evil man who inflicted such heinous acts on innocent Jews. The discovery of the box containing 108 names changed the course of her research project and she was determined to locate every child, learning about their story, and giving back their name.

One negative comment is that you do not get an indepth view of the characters, you still can grasp how terror was part of their every waking moment. A story of hope, resilience, and courage, I was touched by the lives of each child who lost their name as well as those who worked hard to save each young person. I continue to be amazed at the strength, resilience, and utter bravery that was demonstrated during the days of WWII. God bless those who were willing to risk everything to save a child.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

For more reviews, please visit my blog at: https://www.msladybugsbookreviews.com/. Over 1000 reviews posted!

Ultimate Sacrifice

Mario Escobar is an excellent author of WWII historical fiction. This is one of those stories he writes. They are all so sad, but they reflect the history as it happened with true events and times as can be in fiction writings. True historical fiction always has some real people and events intertwined with fictional characters and happenings.

This story is of an event which is not so well known but was horrific in its entirety. As the Nazi’s rounded up the foreign Jewish population in France, a town called Lyon resisted. A group of resistance and some catholic priests risked their lives to save 108 Jewish children from certain death.

At the time the Nazi’s were allowing any unattended child to be exempt from the transport to the German Concentration camps. The resistance workers worked well into the night to find all the parents and children in the Venissieux transfer camp. The then had to talk the parents into signing over their parental rights so they could save their children. This was the ultimate sacrifice for these parents. Lose their children forever to save their lives.

Fifty years later a university student Valerie Portheret decides to do her thesis on the life and death of Klaus Barbie “The Butcher of Lyon”. As she is researching and talking to survivors of the war during the holocaust she hears the story of these children which were saved and decides to find every one of these lost children.

It is a sad story, but one which needs to be told. We hear of the horrible deeds of the Nazi’s but not as much of the courageous people who risked their lives to save some of the Jewish population. Many turned their eyes away and some helped the Nazi’s, but there were those few brave souls that knew what was right, moral and saved those they could.

This is the story of the 108 children that were saved in one night from certain death , the people that saved them and the student that was brave enough to tell their story.

I read the book and I listened to the audio book while reading the book. The narrator did a great job, the tempo was right and the voice was easy and pleasant to listen to.

Thanks to Mario Escobar for writing another great story, to Harper Muse for publishing it and to NetGalley for providing me with a copy to read and review.

I received a complimentary copy of this book "The Forgotten Names" and all opinions expressed are my own. I listened to the audiobook. This was interesting and I think for me better listening to it. I like to know more about history and historical times. Overall I liked the book and the narrator was good.

Highly interesting story based on true historical facts and brave, resilient people - and very well researched by the author.

The audio narration was great - the pace, the annunciation and the accents. However, the overall story was a little hard to follow at times - I think due to the choppiness of the short chapters and so many names thrown into the mix.

Thank you to the audio publisher, HarperCollins Focus, for an audio copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I could not stop listening to this to this book. Starting in 1992, law student, Valerie Portheret, researching her thesis, uncovers a list of Jewish children smuggled out from the Nazi's and given new names. The story goes back and forth from 1942 to 1992 which can be a bit confusing, but it was well done. This is a sad and often long told piece of history but one I had never heard before. Parents asked to give up their children to save them from the sure death of a concentration camp to an unknown life. Brave people and their selfless mission to rescue these children make this a must read.
Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy.

The narrator had a very calm, breathy voice. I think they did an excellent job slipping in and out of different accents.

Listening to the audiobook felt a little tricky at times because I would lose track of which POV was happening. Sometimes I noticed the change and others I would think "wait where am I now?"

I think the length of the book was good. Not too long to be exhausting or overwhelming. I will say that while the subject matter is very sad and emotional, I didn't feel as connected as I normally feel when reading books on this topic.

Thank you to NetGalley, Mario Escobar, Saskia Maarleveld, and Harper Collins Focus for the opportunity to listen to The Forgotten Names. I have written this review voluntarily.

This took a little time to get into, but once I had listened a for a few chapters, I was definitely engaged. Heart-wrenching story, based strongly on actual events, of 108 Jewish children who were saved from the Nazi concentration camps by the kindness and sacrifice of others - and the willingness of their parents to relinquish their parental rights, and the people - on both sides of the conflict - who intersected with them. A bit of cursing, and one sexual scene that made me uncomfortable (not explicit), but otherwise, I enjoyed and was wrapped up in the story, though it felt a bit disjointed. I'd never heard of the history behind this, and am so glad I now know, thanks to this story.