Book Review: Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly

Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly
4.5 Stars

This was a very powerful story about real women in history. Inspired by true events we follow three women:
- Caroline

- Kasia

- Herta

Caroline is a New York socialite and philanthropist working at the French consulate, whose efforts aid survivors of Nazi concentration camps. Kasia is a Polish Catholic Teenager who becomes one of the "Rabbits", women who are subjected to inhumane medical experiments at Ravensbruck concentration camp. Herta is a German doctor at Ravensbruck, whose involvement in the camp's horrific acts give a terrifying perspective in the eyes of the doctors themselves and just how brainwashed they were during this time.

This spans 20+ years or so post war, starting in 1939 through around 1959. We see some really hard events through this time, as expected, but it gives such insight on history and shedding light on a lesser-known aspect of WWII. I did not know about the horrors of Ravensbruck and the really delved into themes of courage and the complexities of war. We have the perspectives of victims and perpetrators here, making it a challenging read but an important one. 

I am thankful to have read this with my friend, Lauren, as the buddy read experience really enhanced the time reading. We both really loved Martha's writing style and I have found a new favorite historical fiction author. We plan to continue this series together. 

I would recommend this book for anyone who love character-driven stories that really showcase the many experiences of women during WWII and are looking to learn even more about history. This book will stick with me for a long time. My only complaint is I didn't love Caroline's love interest storyline with Paul, but I loved where her personal storyline went in the end to help these women. 

Note: Please be aware of content for sensitive readers, but it wasn't anything that was something I couldn't get through. We took our time with reading this over a week, so I would recommend taking breaks as needed to really soak up the story and process what is happening.

Specific Trigger/Content Warnings: sexual assault, medical trauma, suicide, war-time language a few times, animal death, antisemitism, blood, parent death, self-harm, torture and overall war time details. Personally, while these topics were hard to read through, they are real events that happened and make for an impactful read and one that will stick with me. Just be in the right frame of mind if you decide to pick this up and be ready to cry!

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7530782466
Amazon: https://amzn.to/43BCG2z

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