Exemplary storytelling

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True Rating: 4.5/5

This book is a fictionalized story of Cilka Klein. She survived 3 years in the Nazi concentration camps only to be then taken prisoner, at the age of 19, by the USSR for a sentence of 15 years. Her crime? Rape by Nazi's. In the gulag, she is once again subjected to rape, starvation, and poor living conditions. But throughout her ordeal, she remains strong, helping those she can.

Well, this book hurt. So much suffering. Punished for something that was beyond her control. It wounded my soul. But her resilience, strength. Her worries and cares for the other women in her hut. That was a bright light in this otherwise somber read.

I should note that this can be read as a stand-alone. I have not read 'The Tattooist of Auschwitz' (yet), and I had no problem following the storyline. Characters from that book do appear in this one though, as the book often flashes back to moments in the concentration camps.

* Thank you BookishFirst for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for a review. All opinions expressed are my own and based solely on the galley provided. *