Reason for Reading: I enjoy historical fiction about WWII, especial
from a child's point of view.
Comments: This is an extremely compelling story about a subject
which I know very little about: The Lebensborn Program. I knew such
things were done but haven't really read anything about it before.
The story is of Nadia, who moves to Canada with a Ukranian man and
woman who are not her parents after World War II. She must call
them Mother and Father, though she knows they are not, but they are
kind and loving. Nadia is in somewhat of a state of shock and
really doesn't remember any of her past but this book is a slow
unraveling of her past as she starts to have flashes of memories
from her past that are haunting and confusing, making her question
whether she is a Nazi. Her new "parents" assure her she is not and
encourage her to keep on remembering, which she does. At the same
time, Nadia must also deal with fitting into her new country and
its customs which, unfortunately, a couple of children at school
make very difficult.
This is a bittersweet story that brings to life an aspect of the
Nazi regime that is perhaps not so well known. While not as
physically horrifying as other acts the Nazis perpetrated , it is
an awful "experiment" that tore families apart, and ruined the
lives of hundreds of thousands of children. The book is a
compelling read, and coupled with its shortness is a fast read. The
book's brevity does not however affect the power of emotion
contained within its pages nor the development of Nadia's
character. The reader connects with Nadia as a person and feels
great anguish with her as she also learns who she is and what has
happened to her.
The book ends with an Author's Note which includes just enough
historical background to place the story within context and to
pique the reader's interest in the subject. I will certainly look
twice if I find another book that deals with the same topic. I had
never heard of Skrypuch before but after a quick look I see she has
written quite a number of historical fiction which all seem to
centre around either one of the World Wars and be set in Eastern
Europe. I would most definitely read other of her books.
Recommended.