Although Lilac Girls wasn't quite what I expected, it was a good read that held my attention and I enjoyed.

WW2 settings continue to call me in books. No matter how often I read books set in this emotionally charged period, a good one will horrify me all over again. Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly is a perfect example of this.

First Line of Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly


“If I’d known I was about to meet the man who’d shatter me like bone china on terracotta, I would have slept in.”

My Thoughts on Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly

This book is told from 3 very diverse points of view

•Caroline who lives in New York and volunteers at the French Consulate
•Herta who is a German newly qualified doctor and ends up working at a concentration camp
•Kasia, a polish teenager who is incarcerated in Ravensbruck, the notorious women’s concentration camp

Over the duration of the book, their lives become intertwined in horrible ways. The capability that some people have for inflicting terror and evil shocked me over and over as I read. I shuddered and cringed and wondered in awe at the resilience of the victims.

A large part of the books focuses on the medical experiments on prisoners known as ‘rabbits’. I first came across this in Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein (which I also highly recommend) but knowing what would happen didn’t dilute the horror.

There are lighter moments in the book though so it doesn’t constantly feel like a dark, depressing read. The friendship bonds between women, sisters, mothers and daughters all add a softer touch and some hope to the dark situation. I loved the little moments of rebellion, where the women at huge personal cost helped to hide the ‘rabbits’.

I also really appreciated that the book didn’t end when the war did. The suffering and post-traumatic shock is well covered and helps you fully appreciate just what a desperate plight this was for so many.

However while I enjoyed the book and engaged with all the characters (some with admiration and some with revulsion), I did find it was a little slow at time. Not in a detrimental way and I was never bored, I just wished some description had been cut. Despite this, I thoroughly ‘enjoyed’ the book, even if enjoyed is probably the wrong word. Appreciated is more like it.

Who should read Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly?

This is a must-read for fans of WW2 settings, especially if you like character focused books. Fans of The Nightingale and Code Name Verity should also enjoy.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group, Ballantine for giving me a copy of this book for review consideration.

This book is unputdownable! The author has put in an incredible amount of research and although the subject is not easy, the characters are very forceful in their own right and each one's story is gripping. I would thoroughly recommend this book to my Book Reading Group and many others that I know.

Thank you Net Galley for giving me opportunity of reading it.

Maureen Haltrecht

I wasn't sure where this book was going, but I truly loved how it blossomed and turned out. Truly worth the long read.

Love, love this novel. Such a sweeping historical story of WWII - despite the heartbreaking subject matter, really enjoyed how the women's' lives intertwined with each other. Such a beautiful story of redemption. Thank you for sharing it with me.

This one took me a long time to read and I have no idea why, because it's really quite good. I would read part and then set it aside and read other books, many of which weren't nearly as good. One reason is that I felt this deserved my undivided attention. It just wasn't that easy to follow if I put it on text to speech and let the Kindle read it to me. One of the more astonishing things about this book is that the events and some of the characters are real. Caroline is a New York socialite (real person) who is dedicated to charity causes, like French orphans. Kasia is a Polish teen (fictional but based on an amalgamation of real people) who gets caught up in the Polish Resistance. Herta is a German doctor (real person) who is pushed into dermatology because she is female. The story is set up as a narrative from each woman's perspective and how their lives all ultimately intersect. Oh and there's a fake made up love story for Caroline that sort of detracts from the main story. I think this could have been better if the Caroline story had focused more on her girl power. I think women need more examples of women who succeeded in their goals without their lives having to revolve around love and men. I do definitely recommend this because it's really very good.

Lilac Girls is a WWII story told from three different viewpoints. Caroline is an American working for the French Embassy when Hitler's Army invades Poland in September 1939, and then sets its sights on France.
Kasia is a Polish teen who is caught working for the Polish Underground and sent to Ravensbruck concentration camp. She along with her mother and sister, are sent to the camp together.
Herta is one of the few female doctors allowed to practice in Germany. She is sent to Ravensbruck where they perform medical experiments on a select group of women.

One of the reasons I love reading historical fiction is because of the things I learn. I have read a lot of WWII books, but had never heard of the "Ravensbruck Rabbits" and the experimental surgeries done on Polish women. It just astounds me the atrocities that some humans are willing to inflict on others. I hated Herta and her willingness to participate in the surgeries and her attitude towards it. She felt very little remorse and still wore Kasia's mother's ring after all that time! She paid a small price for her actions--and was still able to practice medicine for quite some time after her punishment. When I found out this character was based on a real person, I was angrier than ever.

Kasia, her mother, and sister suffered terribly, but were so brave. My heart broke for the guilt Kasia felt throughout the book, but was glad she was able to find peace in the end.

I loved Caroline and all she did to help the Polish women get medical treatment. She continued to be friends with these women throughout her life. She was truly a hero in my book. The one part of her story I didn't care for was the romantic part involving Paul Rodierre. I didn't like the idea of her becoming involved with a married man and all the twists and turns that plot line involved. I understand she had to have a storyline for Caroline while the rest of the story was taking place, but it just didn't fit well in my mind. When I read the author's notes and realized he didn't actually exist, but was a fictional character, it made more sense that I felt the way I did.

I read this book with my book club and we had a great discussion! I highly recommend it for all lovers of historical fiction.

It took me a few chapters to get into this book, but I'm so glad I stuck with it. The story is intriguing, even without it being based on actual people in history. The fact that much of what happened in the book happened in "real life" is horrifying. The story is compelling and the way the characters' lives intertwine is intriguing. This book will stay with me.