Roberta Kagan (1)

10 years before Hitler’s rise to power, a 7 year old German boy makes a forbidden turn…

… where he is rescued by, Jacob, an older Jewish man.

… this turn changes his life forever.

On that day, a friendship began, but could it survive the horrors of what was to come?

As Detrick grew into manhood, Jacob became the father figure he lacked.

Detrick, now 17, and a blond haired, blue eyed, “Aryan” young man, sees Leah, Jacobs daughter, in a different light, and his world changed…

It was the worst time to fall in love.

1938- The glass shattered, synagogues were burned…

… And it was no longer safe to be a Jew.

With his friends joining the party and the laws changing daily, the rise of the Nazis can’t be stopped. They will come for the people he loves?

Everyone must obey or be crushed under the jackboots carrying out the orders of the SS.

Is the only way to protect Jacob and Leah to join the Nazi Party?

On the eve of the Nazis rise to power, will one young man choose what’s right over what’s easy?

You’ll fall in love this heart breaking story.… (mere)

It is hard to say I ever enjoy stories of the Holocaust and the tribulations of the Jewish people, but I do often find them compelling. There might not be any other period of time that offers so much of true tragedy for an author to tap. I am sorry to say, this effort fell flat for me. I never felt involved with the characters, so I felt more of the general feeling of sorrow that these events represent than any real empathy with the situations of these specific people. Perhaps it was Kagan's attempt to follow too many characters and cover every possibility that made none of her characters come alive for me.

I cannot help compare this work to [b:Sophie's Choice|228560|Sophie's Choice|William Styron|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1356714742s/228560.jpg|2912834], [b:The Diary of Anne Frank|5513|The Diary of Anne Frank|Wendy Kesselman|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1343931608s/5513.jpg|42419722], [b:Night|1617|Night (The Night Trilogy, #1)|Elie Wiesel|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1391969340s/1617.jpg|265616], or [b:Stones from the River|77163|Stones from the River|Ursula Hegi|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1366513909s/77163.jpg|1253009]and find it much less satisfying and moving.… (mere)