The German Girl by Armando Lucas Correa

Who would've known that some German refugee's fleeing during WWII would have gone to Cuba?  I sure didn't. This Historical Fiction book is about a girl, Anna who receives a packed of pictures from her father's aunt Hannah. Without realizing what the connection between the little girl and her great aunt is, she starts looking into the life of a father she never knew.

Anna Rosen's dad disappeared while her mother was pregnant with her. Her mother can't tell her much about him as she hadn't been married to her for very long herself when he disappeared.
Her mother struggles with missing him, raising Anna and moving on with life without her husband.

We meet Hannah Rosenthal first though, the year of her 12th birthday. She lives in the middle of Berlin with her mother and father in an apartment her family owns. She is contemplating killing her parents as a protection of herself: "I was Almost Twelve Years Old when I decided to kill my parents." Her best friend Leo is the only person she knows that views life honestly and openly. She loves her father and puts up with her mother whom she calls, "The Goddess". Her family is wealthy. It is a few weeks after Kristalnatch and the threat from the "Ogres" is more dire than ever. She doesn't look Jewish and while wandering around town gets photographed by a man who puts her on the cover of Das Deutsche Madel. She becomes the image of the perfect German Girl. Ironic as she is Jewish.

I won't give away anymore of the story. You will just have to read it to find out "the rest of the story". I have read many, many books on WWII, the Holocaust and Jewish treatment in Germany, but this book was a new perspective for me. I didn't know that Jewish refugees went anywhere but to the US, Canada or other parts of the European nations. I was drawn in from the first paragraph and couldn't put it down.

All the women involved in this story had their own levels of strength, but I was impressed most of all by Hannah and her desire to honor her parents, Leo and the life she once had. It did hurt my heart that she stuck around Cuba, a place she never thought her family would permanently reside.  Living in one country that stifled peoples freedoms and having to leave that birthplace to be forced to live in another stifling country is beyond my comprehension. It also hurts that Canada and the US didn't even attempt to take the St. Louis's passengers into their countries. It is unfathomable to me, that they would rather have these poor people head back to Germany instead of protection them from the horrific situation of concentration camps.


Mr. Correa shows through his novel that he has researched in depth the passengers of the St. Louis and what it was like in Germany and Cuba at the time of the story. I once again felt like I was part of the story. Fantastic read.

I rate this 5 star for character development, and topic.

All The Missing Girls by Megan Miranda

Reading All The Missing Girls by Megan Miranda was definitely an adventure. No, not an adventure, it's a psychological thriller. I loved every twist and turn.

Nicolette Farrell left her small close knit town when she was 18 years old after her best friend Corrine disappeared. 10 years later she gets a mysterious call from her brother and she gets sucked back in to a place she never wanted to visit again.  This thriller is written in a unique fashion. I won't tell you about that because i don't want to ruin any of the fun you will encounter.

This is the 1st book I've read of Ms. Miranda's.  I was blessed to be able to talk to her about All The Missing Girls. 

My Question: "Megan- what part of writing the story was a surprise even to you? Did your characters develop their own stories that you didn't plan?" 

Megan's Answer: "So many elements end up surprising me as I write! This is one of my favorite parts about writing too -- I love to discover something I never expected when starting out. So many of the characters ended up becoming different than who I thought they were at the start. It was like I was uncovering more about them, just as Nic was." 

The intrigue of the muse has always gotten to me. We don't control our characters, they control us. We are just their mode of transportation into the world of their story. 

Nic seems to be unemotional, selfish woman during the whole story, however if you really analyze her reactions you see she is doing everything she can just to hold her mind together. Will she decide to face her past? Will we find out where Corinne disappeared to and do we ever really know who, in that small little town who is actually telling the truth? That is what you will wonder as you go through the life of Nicolette, her family and close friends. 
*I thoroughly enjoyed the book. The written format was perfect for the story. The characters were full of depth and I felt like I could be living in the midst of them all. Not that I want to be part of a murder mind you, but they were real flesh and bone to me. I feel that is the sign of a great author! 

I am now anxiously, anticipating reading her new book, The Perfect Stranger. 

My Rating: 

It's that good!

Read it for yourself and see if you agree with me...